Art (359 Essays)
open Biology (4,354 Essays)
open Business Studies (4,053 Essays)
open Chemistry (4,968 Essays)
Classics (285 Essays)
open Design & Technology (846 Essays)
open Drama (1,190 Essays)
open English Language (6,085 Essays)
close English Literature (32,573 Essays)
open Drama (14,975 Essays)
open Poetry (5,345 Essays)
close Prose Fiction (12,253 Essays)
close By Author (11,145 Essays)
Albert Camus (47 Essays)
Aldous Huxley (192 Essays)
Alice Walker (62 Essays)
Arthur Conan Doyle (541 Essays)
Barry Hines (62 Essays)
Bram Stoker (141 Essays)
Bronte Sisters (14 Essays)
open Charles Dickens (2,095 Essays)
Charlotte Bronte (493 Essays)
David Guterson (17 Essays)
DH Lawrence (77 Essays)
Edgar Allan Poe (132 Essays)
Emily Bronte (274 Essays)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (232 Essays)
George Eliot (235 Essays)
open George Orwell (443 Essays)
H.G. Wells (603 Essays)
Harper Lee (554 Essays)
Ian McEwan (71 Essays)
J.D. Salinger (40 Essays)
Jane Austen (583 Essays)
John Steinbeck (1,394 Essays)
Jonathan Swift (29 Essays)
Joseph Conrad (88 Essays)
JRR Tolkien (131 Essays)
Ken Kesey (29 Essays)
Margaret Atwood (93 Essays)
Mary Shelley (670 Essays)
Mildred Taylor (99 Essays)
Other Authors (127 Essays)
Robert Louis Stevenson (397 Essays)
Susan Hill (92 Essays)
open Thomas Hardy (300 Essays)
Tim Winton (2 Essays)
William Golding (786 Essays)
Miscellaneous (1,108 Essays)
open Geography (1,416 Essays)
open Health and Social Care (1,048 Essays)
open History (8,681 Essays)
open Information & Communication Technology (1,730 Essays)
Law (432 Essays)
open Maths (3,329 Essays)
open Media Studies (1,676 Essays)
Miscellaneous (461 Essays)
open Modern Foreign Languages (1,572 Essays)
Music (145 Essays)
open Physical Education (Sport & Coaching) (861 Essays)
open Physics (3,148 Essays)
Politics (1,445 Essays)
Psychology (234 Essays)
open Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics) (6,284 Essays)
Sociology (2,321 Essays)
Welsh (87 Essays)
Work experience reports (165 Essays)

How far can 'Frankenstein' be considered a 'Gothic' Novel?

Words:
1378
Submitted:
Wed Feb 18 2004
Average rating:
(0 votes)
Preview
Page 1 of 3
here's a short preview of this essay with formatting removed for you to read

Have a little read: ... How far can 'Frankenstein' be considered a 'Gothic' Novel? The 'Gothic' genre was first conceived in 'The Castle of Otranto', a novel written by Horace Walpole in 1764, while trying to find a new way to write fiction. The result was a classic ghost story, involving a lonely castle, suits of armour, hidden passages and more. These seem very cliché, but 'The Castle of Otranto was the first novel ever to include these kind of things, and hence was the origin of these modern clichés. 'The Castle of Otranto' reads like an episode of Scooby-Doo, but altogether more complicated and bizarre. The following features are included in the modern definition of 'Classic Gothic': * Use of isolated & lonely scenes (e.g. ruins, castles) * Weakness and insignificance of women * Presence of supernatural * Use of Epistolary (i.e. letters, diary entries) * Sense of evil, unscrupulousness * Darkness, gloominess Common sub-genres of the 'Gothic' style are 'Classic Gothic', 'Victorian Gothic', 'Gothic Horror' and 'Neo-Gothic'. 'Gothic Horror' expresses a taste for the macabre and disturbing, while 'Neo-Gothic' novels seek to probe the human mind, and interpret the sub-conscious, often focusing of dreams and nightmares. 'Victorian Gothic' novels have science as their main theme. Upon first glance, 'Frankenstein' fulfils all the requirements for a 'Classic Gothic' novel, though when one makes a more precise examination, two of the 'Classic Gothic'; characteristics are found to be slightly awry in 'Frankenstein' - the presence of 'haunted' castles and ruins; the presence of the supernatural. As an initial example, I would like to show the only scene in the book which actually contains castles: "Still, as I ascended higher, the valley assumed a more magnificent and astonishing character. Ruined castles hanging on the precipices of piny mountains; the impetuous Arve, and cottages every here and there peeping forth from among the trees, formed a scene of singular beauty." Sure, we have castles and ruins in an isolated position and moody settings, but the protagonists are merely passing these castles and ruins. None of the story takes place inside these settings, the characters do not even go near them, their mention is merely part of Frankenstein's commentary on his surroundings. Therefore can we consider this aspect of the 'Classic Gothic' genre fulfilled? The answer is not helpful - castles and ruins; desolate landscapes and loneliness all come under the same broad point, and though the castles and ruins are glossed over in Frankenstein, there is no shortage of

Secure low cost access to the largest collection of model answers anywhere...

Finally, did you know, we are the only essay site certified as safe by the Credit Card industry? (100% PCI DSS compliant). You can feel 100% secure accessing the largest collection of model answers on the Internet - plus our very low price means even struggling students can afford to get help fast. Start now...

  • Feel secure and in control - the ultimate stress buster
  • We're the only site with over 1 Million monthly visitors
  • You'll instantly spot winning structures and ideas - FAST!
  • Backed by Anti-plagiarism experts
  • Your revision, essays or coursework DONE! Just 17p!