How Are The Elements Of The Gothic Developed In Frankenstein’S Narrative?

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Throughout Frankenstein’s narration, many gothic elements appear in each chapter of the text. Mary Shelly develops these gothic elements through Frankenstein’s narrative. This essay will explain how Shelly does this and what effect it has. It will look through the first ten chapters up to the start of the monsters narrative. Shelly writes Victor’s narration as embedded within the frame narrative of Captain Walton’s character. He starts with his family background, birth, and early childhood, telling Walton about his father, Alphonse, and his mother, Caroline. Alphonse became Caroline’s protector when her father, Alphonse’s long time friend Beaufort, died in poverty. They married two years later, and Victor was born soon after. Frankenstein then describes how his childhood companion, Elizabeth Lavenza, entered his family. The structure is very basic and in a chronological way. There are many different settings in different countries like Italy, France etc. the narration. This gives of the element of the exotic, mystery and the unknown. Shelly uses religious imagery in her first chapter of Frankenstein’s narration. ‘My more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only’ This quote implies Victor is very obsessive and it could also suggest that even though he loves her, he still thinks of as a object that he has. Therefore, both extreme obsession and sexual oppression are present in the first chapter. We soon learn from Mary Shelly that Victor is an obsessive character that focuses on over succeeding. Again, the first few chapters focus on his upbringing and his early life and his learning off old scholars. There is a key point early on in chapter 2. ‘Soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remain but a blasted stump’ this is an important turning point in the

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