Frankenstein
...has been evident since its inception as a reactionary literary movement in the mid-18th century. Major Gothic works such as Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Poe’s poem The Raven stoker’s short story Dracula’s Guest make liberal use of traditional gothic conventions and techniques in their exploration of themes like the inevitable decay of human creation and the role of supernatural. Through various Gothic techniques in areas like psychological character profiles and setting imagery, they effectively convey different themes often associated with the Gothic genre.
The psychological profiles and journeys of a gothic text’s major characters are important in shaping the mood and themes of such a text. Often we see an example of Rationalist antihero who meets his downfall or eventual epiphany on account of his rejection of Romantic values, which are important to most Gothic works. The character Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley’s novel of the same name, can be seen as an example of such an antihero. In his rational quest through scientific thought and experimentation to ‘banish disease from the human frame and make man vulnerable to none but the most violent death’ he creates a monster of hideous proportions. He at once banishes his creation and is haunted by suffering to the end of his days as the monster seeks retribution for being forsaken by its master in a unaccepting society. Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein’s character is continually contrasted against other characters who demonstrate a more Romantic set of beliefs and who thus appear more harmonious and appealing to the sympathies of the reader. This is most evident in the characterization of Henry Clerval and Elizabeth Lavenza, both of whom are close friends of Viktor and exhibit a powerful Romantic harmony with nature, but who also ultimately meet their demise owing to the failings of Viktor’s Rationalist...
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