Frankenstein As a Gothic Fiction

Name : Ravi RajyaguruRoll No : 28M.A : Sem -2Paper : (5) Romantic LiteratureEnrolment No : PG15101032Email id.: rajyagururavi24@gmail.comSubmitted To : Department of English Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

What is Gothic Fiction ?Gothic fiction is a genre or mode of literature that combines fiction, horror and Romanticism.

Horace Walpole was the first one who used Gothic fiction.

He apply it is in his novel “ The Castel Of Otlanto “ which was published in 1764.

Famous Gothic Fiction

Elements of Gothic Fiction

Spooky castlesDark settingOminous dreamSuspenseOverwrought emotionMetonymy of GloomA Supernatural element

Spooky Castel

Writers always use spooky castle to increase horror and fear in readers. The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, trick panels, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections. Shelly used word like “ruined castles overlooking tremendous precipices, with the dark Rhine rushing beneath; and on the sudden turn of a promontory”.

Dark setting

It was a dark night when Frankenstein has created monster. To show a darkness Shelley used words like “ dreary night of November… the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and the candle was nearly burnt out “.

Overwrought emotionThe narration is full of emotions. the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Victor used words like these when he shared his emotions to Walton, “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!”.

Metonymy of Gloom

Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). Metonymy for gloom suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural. It increases horror. just like this words in novel “as I drew nearer home, grief and fear again overcame me. Night also closed around; and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I felt still more gloomily”.

Ominous dream

The ominous dream, a common component of Gothic fiction. It arouses interest in readers that it is going to be a true or not. It arouses fear in character as well as in reader. Here just like in this novel Victor dreams and shares it “I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death”.

A Supernatural element

Supernatural is often used interchangeably or paranormal. It refers to conscious or unknown forces that can not ordinarily be perceived except through their effects. Here we can see that Victor creates a supernatural element, Monster, with the help of electricity and chemistry.

Suspense

Suspense is the valuable element of Gothic fiction. It keeps you unmovable and force you to read. This novel is full of suspense because of letters. Each and every letter tells something new. Here when after two months a letter come to Victor from his father, he react like this “This suspense is a thousand times worse than the most horrible event; tell me what new scene of death has been acted, and whose murder I am now to lament?”.

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