The Gothic Novels - Frankenstein

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Gothic novels- Frankenstein
In the history of English literature, the latter part of the eighteenth century is considered
important not only because of the beginning of the Romantic Movement but also the Gothic
literature. This Gothic revival was marked by the publications of Frankenstein and many other
titles (Alam 295). Both Romantic and Gothic ran parallel and enriched the English literature.
Gothic novels are characterized by certain elements that are found to be common in them, such
as the setting around an old castle and haunting or abandoned places with claustrophobia flavors.
The Gothic influences can be seen in the disturbing visions, dark imagery, the supernatural and a
threatening atmosphere (Murugan and Peruvalluthi 149). Dramatic events take place in these
gothic novels with a narration that is filled with emotions and disturbing visions. There is always
suspense and mystery in these novels. Frankenstein satisfies the Mario Praz definition of the
Gothic genre that reflects of an anxiety from which there is no escape.
Mario Praz defines the fundamental theme of the Gothic genre to be ‘an anxiety with no
possibility of escape’ (Dryden 39). It is this unavoidable anxiety through a malicious ‘other’ that
undermines the cohesion of the self. For example, in “Frankenstein,” Frankenstein and his
creation are connected in a number of ways, like as the creator and the created or the father and
the son. However, they are the elements of the same individual. As the fate of Frankenstein and
the creature get more tangled, their identities merge when approaching death. In Frankenstein,
there is anxiety from which he cannot escape after he creates the monster based on perverted
science (Dryden 39).

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Frankenstein is the story of a young college boy who has always been interested in the
ancient alchemists and their works. He learns about modern science when he attends university
and becomes fascinated with the conception of life (Ginn). He starts experimenting with the
body parts of the dead with the objective of creating a monster. When his family and professors
point out that he is taking his obsession a bit too far, he continues his pursuit and loses control
over himself as well as loses everyone who is important in his life (Anderberg). As asserted by
Skalošová (16), the novel carries Gothic elements such as secrecy, murder, monstrosity and the
relationship of a monster and his creator
In “Frankenstein,” Victor lacks self-awareness and thus develops it via self-
consciousness. His confrontations with the Monster he creates is like showing himself a mirror.
Victor Frankenstein can be seen as a subject of study in human psychology. It is his excessive
ambition that creates the repulsive monster, and his creation brings down his downfall. Victor
Frankenstein himself feels alienated from the monster when he looks at him and classifies the
creature as an animal. The yellow eyes of the monster are similar to an animal, and Victor feels
frustrated seeing those eyes. He feels the anxiety within him when he sees his own creation and
confronts the monstrosity of his creation. It can be concluded that Victor’s reaction is the human
in the animal as well as the animal in the human. The animal in Victor distances from humanity
in the monster (Skalošová 26). Victor works alone and in secret to create the creature using
materials gathered from slaughterhouses and dissecting rooms. His mind is filled with anxiety
and tension about his ambitions. He makes his creature large and tall. However, the moment the
creature comes to life, Victor is overcome with revulsion. His mind is filled with fear, and he
tries to escape the very “monster” that he has brought to life. It is the anxiety within the young
scientist to know more about the creator and his creations or how he creates. And then it is the

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fear of his own creation that creates certain anxiety within him. He is unable to face his creation
and thus seeks escape from it. He feels that he has no control over the monster he has created.
Victor, as he narrates the story to Walton, writes that it was his anxiety that had almost
turned to the agony that made him infuse a spark of life into the lifeless thing. “For a year I had
worked to make this creature, but now it looked terrible and frightening. I almost decided to
destroy it. But I could not. I had to know if I could put life into it” (Shelley 11).
The above lines show the burning desire and anxiety within Victor if he could put life
into the lifeless and create a creature. Howsoever, although he was successful in his experiment
and could create life, he was not free of his anxieties. In fact, now he found himself sinking
deeper into his anxieties and agonies, once he realizes that the creature he had made was even
more horrible and ugly, now that it was alive. Suddenly he wanted to be away from that ugly
thing and escape from it.
“Fear for my family and hate for my monster were with me day and night. I became ill
again, and Elizabeth's love could not help me” (Shelley 18).
After his creation materializes, Victor is engulfed with fear, fear for his safety and his
family. He lives with those feelings of anxiety day and night and became ill. He wanted to
escape those feelings but couldn’t. He was now filled with great anxiety and fear at what he had
done and what he had created.
Frankenstein’s monster is given some character features of monstrosity. The monster
possesses supernatural forces with some elements of horror and terror (Skalošová 13). The birth
of the monster is not a natural one and takes place in a scientific lab and based on laboratory
work. Thus, the monster is a mixture of several identities, and this is where his namelessness