The Gothic Elements and Their Effects in Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

杨漾

【Abstract】 Frankenstein was written in 1981 by Mary Shelley. For a long time， it has been regarded as the forerunner of science fiction in the world. However， its horrible and mysterious elements and violent and suspenseful plot also indicate its Gothic style. As a matter of fact， Frankenstein is a Romantic novel with Gothic traits. This paper discusses the Gothic elements and their effects on this novel and the English Gothic novels as well.

【Key words】Frankenstein； Gothic novel； Gothic elements； Romanticism

1. Frankenstein——A Romantic novel with elements of Gothic horror

Generally speaking， and independent literary work possesses its own content and form. They both support to express the central idea of the work. The author is the designer of the content and form. As far as Frankenstein is concerned， the eerie and ghostly atmosphere is created in Gothic manners， which not only achieves Mary Shelleys aesthetic motive， but also intensifies her rational Romantic themes.

In her Introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein， Mary Shelley noted how she began the story： assuming “what terrified me will terrify others”（9）. She began the important day with the words， “It was on a dreary night of November…”（57） Although this sentence appears at the beginning of Chapter V in her book， it sets the Gothic atmosphere for the whole story， which indicates three features： firstly the word “dreary” directly brings out a sense of horror. Secondly， “night” usually refers to darkness and evil， here it symbolizes the coming actions or things that cannot bear the light of day. Thirdly， “November” gives us the definite time when the story takes place. Additionally， as the second and coldest month in the season of winter， November gives us a sense of chilliness both physically and mentally. Thus the very first sentence not only prepares the potential Gothic elements for the prevailing atmosphere but also establishes an everlasting sense among the readers. Following this sentence， the whole paragraph further stresses this dominant atmosphere through the “birth” of the creature as well as the description of some objects.

The atmosphere of the Gothic novels functions as stimulation to proceed with the story and arousing the readers interests in it， who can get excitement， pleasure and enjoyment from the sense of tension and curiosity. We can see that in Frankenstein， the atmosphere is also embodied with Gothic tradition， which stirs up horror among readers.

1.1 Eccentric characters

The characterization of the villain heroes is one of the outstanding features of the Gothic style. Villain hero， according to Chris Baldick， is “the principal evil character”（Baldick， 2000， 291） descending from the devils. The word “villain” itself is a paradox. Nevertheless， his guilt is not naturally born， but the result of his distorted personality imposed by the social injustice. So he can arouse sympathy and even admiration among people. In the case of Frankenstein， the features of Gothic “villain-hero” pattern are imprinted in these three characters： Victor Frankenstein， the monster and Robert Walton. Mary Shelley does not inflexibly smear the images of them or oversimplify their individualities. Instead， she ingeniously borrows the literary archetypes from Prometheus myth， Faustian legend as well as John Miltons Paradise Lost and provides us with three vivid characters full of blood and flesh， who， tortured and alienated by inner conflicts， have distinct but complex personalities.

1.1.1 Victor Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein， one of the villain heroes， can indeed be seen as the modern Prometheus. He defies the gods by creating life himself. Instead of being the created， Frankenstein takes Gods place and becomes the creator. Just as Prometheus was punished by the God ， from whom he stole the fire， Frankenstein is punished by his creation.

Looking from another angle， Victor Frankenstein is also like a Faustian figure. They have one essential quality in common： the desire for knowledge. They have the desire to acquire knowledge of the unknown.

1.1.2 Robert Walton

Robert Walton functions as the conduit which the reader hears the story of Frankenstein and his monster. Like Frankenstein， Robert Walton， dreaming of becoming a famous explorer as important as Christopher Columbus， he is following the same quest in his search for a passage through the Arctic regions.

Compared with Frankenstein， Walton is an innocent Faust， who is pulled back by Frankensteins experience. Frankensteins story is， in fact， narrated as a cautionary tale which serves its purpose in the end by turning Walton back to the world of normal society.

1.1.3 The monster

The monster serves as another villain hero as well. His ugly twisted and frightening appearance turns out to be the cause of all his problems. People are frightened when they see him， which keeps the monster from making contact with them. This inability of personal contact and the isolation is what indirectly drives the monster to his crimes.

The monster， however， feels a strong connection to the character of Satan and Adam in John Miltons Paradise Lost. He is rejected by his creator Frankenstein， just as Adam were cast out of heaven by God. However， he thinks he is not a creature like Adam， for Adam is born noble and loved， while he is disguised and abandoned.

Thus the monster interacts with the readers and stirs their profound inner response.

1.2 The Romantic theme with Gothic tradition

The Frankenstein is a Romantic novel with Gothic elements， which not only expresses the authors insightful Romantic ideas about the inner world of human spirit， but also embodies Marys thematic quest of Romanticism.

1.2.1 Quest for Glory

Essentially， the quest for glory is a typical theme in Romantic literature. Because it represents the Romantic attention to the spiritual and emotional life of man， and the quest for glory is a way to get rid of the dissatisfaction and perfect the world.

In Frankenstein， the quest for knowledge， which is interconnected with the quest for glory is potentially the fatal flaw in Robert Walton and was the major reason that causes the downfall of Frankenstein. Their desires to explore nature or create life and to achieve great fame make them reckless and dangerous.

1.2.2 Tragic revenge

Actually， the Frankenstein is not only a story about Frankenstein， but also about the monster he creates. It tells a story of resistance and revenge against the desertion and discrimination. The monster is a complicated character. He is an orphan， avenger， and also an embodiment of “evil”. Desertion is the reason of revenge， and “evil” is the exhibition of extreme revenge.

Nevertheless， the authors attitude is obvious. Mary Shelley sympathizes with the “human” monster， affirms his right of pursuing equality， understanding and loving. Through the monster， the author also condemns the discrimination and persecution of human beings in society. But facing with the “demonic” monster， the author shows her resentment. The “human” and “demon” nature of this monster reflect the complexity of human nature.

2. The effect and significance of the Gothic elements in the novel

Although we understand the Gothic elements in Frankenstein， it is not precise to define Frankenstein as a Gothic novel. Mary Shelley makes full use of her imagination on the base of scientific theory， instead of traditionally Gothic novel. It makes a big step toward realistic novels and develops the Gothic novel from a dominant literature genre to the basic element of other literature genre. This influence is multi-faceted and profound.

Firstly， Frankenstein reflects the difference between the human beings living in nature and in society， it gives an example of a grotesque novel， demonstrates how people survive when alienated from society. In this novel， Mary Shelley attacks the male dominance and unbalanced social system， by which the traditional Gothic theme——battle between justice and evil has been changed， and the novel is getting close to reality.

Secondly， the novel tells a realistic story. Frankenstein happens in the real world， as a result of the advancement of science. So the novel has some features of realistic novels in the 19th century， which are the absence of ghosts and gods， idealism， supernatural power and religious elements， but the presentation of common lives of common people.

Finally， Frankenstein is regarded as the forerunner of science fiction. Mary Shelley successfully describes the experiments of Frankenstein. Since Frankenstein， science fiction appears on the stage of literature.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein profoundly affects the theme and the development of the English Gothic novel. It merges realism and scientific imagination on the base of traditional Gothic. This creation diversifies the developments of the Gothic novel， and Gothic elements gradually become an important constituent of other literary genre. When the Gothic novel is no longer a dominant literary genre， the Gothic elements had been the permanently invisible power of all kinds of literary works.

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