'It has been suggested that the Gothic is a particular way in thinking, feeling and expressing rather than a specific genre limited to a certain place and time'.Compare at least 2 appropriate works to say how far you would support this view.

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Catherine Hodgkinson

Gothic Essay 1

‘It has been suggested that the Gothic is a particular way in thinking, feeling and expressing rather than a specific genre limited to a certain place and time’.

Compare at least 2 appropriate works to say how far you would support this view.

As the quote above indicates the Gothic unlike many types of writing is thought to surpass the chains of bygone eras. It is now as popular in the 21st Century with writers such as Steven King as it was in the 18th Century when authors like Walpole and Lewis were bringing Gothic literature to the forefront of popular culture. In comparison to novels written in the 19th Century by authors such as Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens and George Elliot which were predominantly Victorian novels, it is thought that novels such as ‘The Italian’ ‘The Castle of Otranto’ and ‘The Monk’ amongst others were firstly recognised as a Gothic novel and then perhaps considered from the time it was written. Botting claimed (1996) “Gothic can perhaps be called the only true literary tradition. Or its stain”.  This can be evident by observing novels written since the beginning of the 19th Century, in particular ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ to texts written within the last thirty years such as ‘The Woman in Black’.

The Gothic Tradition has been there to push the boundaries and limitations of society. This is particularly evident within Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. Victor Frankenstein shows thorough fascination with trying to change the world by trying to create life in scientific techniques. During the period of transition into the enlightenment, elements such as this were sure to cause controversy within the public and a whole new idea was implemented into the structure of the Gothic in religious terms. Previous to the publication of ‘Frankenstein’, Lewis published ‘The Monk’ showing the utter corruption of those in a religious vocation. However, in the case of ‘Frankenstein’ he usurped the role of God by taking the power and using it in a negligent manner. Victor had decided to “lift up the veil concealing the wonderful phenomena of living nature”, and alter this to dangerous effects. ‘Frankenstein’ also brings about religious connotations such as references such as the ‘fallen angel’ in relation to Paradise Lost. The importance of this is that by Frankenstein creating life in a scientific manner without religion or females is doing it falsely, and has much in relation to the controversial matter of cloning which is on-going in today’s society which shows in a sense that elements of Frankenstein are not limited to a certain place or time.

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Another aspect concerning the conflict between the creature and Victor in ‘Frankenstein’ is that in this specific tale, gothic elements turn the power struggle between the protagonist and antagonist onto its head. In many Gothic texts old and new such as Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Jamaica Inn’ or ‘The Castle of Otranto’ has a character labelled inherently evil who chases the innocent victim. However in ‘Frankenstein’, the creature is automatically labelled as the malevolent antagonist which is not the case. He is described as disfigured, “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was ...

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