Frankenstien;In her 1831 introduction to the novel Shelley explained how she wanted to 'curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart'. Do you think she achieves her aim? Look closely at chapter 20.

Another gothic theme is that of women roles being portrayed as feeble and constantly at the peril of male statures. This theme is explored in two ways throughout chapter 20. Victor has spent months creating a female companion with the same dedication and detail he created the initial monste. It is only on the evening, when the extreme months of isolation have finished and the female companion is in a fit state to be brought to life, that victor decides to destroy her form. This is a perfect example of the male dominance. Victor is not only filling the role of God and in so designing this females every detail but he also has the option to give life or not. By destroying her form he has effectively taken away her life even if he has not killed her. The second example of male rule in the chapter the threat the monster makes to victor about his wedding night. As the wedding night happens we are then aware that the monsters threat was made towards Elizabeth rather than victor and the monster viciously murders her. Women are traditionally seen as weak helpless beings in gothic novels, and although Shelley has contradicted this through the action of some female characters in various stages of the novel, it is generally portrayed as the woman being a helpless victim or in need of a dominating man to save her.

Duality is another technique used in gothic literature. By setting up opposites running parallel it emphasises the extremes in their contrasting factors. Shelley has set up many dualities throughout the novel and the conflict between good and evil is obviously apparent in chapter 20. This is especially shown at the beginning of the chapter when the reader gains perspective of Victor’s toil and torment when thinking of the creation of the female companion. After hearing the monsters narrative the reader does sympathise with his wanting for a companion. On the other hand however the reader sympathises with the reasons victors has against the creation. Victor knows the monster will never be accepted into society as everyone is “prejudiced in so deadly a manner” and that the companion may just inherit the resentment toward the human race and pose a threat. This conflict between two opposing elements is a very gothic devise, Shelley uses it throughout chapter 20 through; the creation of life and death through the companion’s destruction; and the distinction between duty and responsibility, victor had a duty to the monster but a responsibility to mankind.

The surroundings created for the characters are another device Shelley has used to form an atmosphere of terror and mystery. Victor is in the remote, desolate isle off the Scottish land, not only far from any main settlement but months of travelling time away from his home and family. This extraction from any nearby society creates the sense of vulnerability as there is nowhere for him to access help. This reflects the position he is in and his feelings towards creating another creature, He believes no one can help him against the monsters controlling demands or the consequences of not obeying them. Victor has not mentioned the monster to any other person. This shows the fear he has for the monster as the purpose of its creation was for victor to gloat that he could do what no man had previously done. So why when he had achieved such things of glory had he hidden them? When the realisation of what he had created sunk in, Victor was left “breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart”. Ever since the creation of the monster Victor continually acts as though guilty of a terrible crime, he neglects telling anyone about this ‘devil’ like creation even when he sees an innocent person prosecuted for the monsters actions he does nothing. This shows that victor considers himself guilty and is ashamed, once again fitting into the gothic element of crime and the use of a villan. When he is repeating the creation process he once again isolates and removes himself from society, again supporting his belief in a guilty conscience as well as giving Shelley opportunity to create a gothic atmosphere through victors surroundings. The isle on which Victor and the monster reside (in chapter twenty) reflects the similarities shared by both their emotions, for example, the loneliness and abandonment of their surroundings as well as their desolation and extraction form civilisation and help resulting in their vulnerability.

Shelley uses many gothic techniques to effect the settings such a pathetic fallacy, for example using darkness to induce fear into the reader as they then expect dark events to happen, to occurrence of the monster is always accompanied by weather that reflects the gloom and dismalness of the monsters physical appearance. This technique heightens tension, when the weather is portrayed as calm and peaceful it entices the reader into a comfortable state where they are expecting no tragic events, this is how the technique heightens tension. The reader automatically is led to believe the characters are safe as long as the weather reflects this, however, there is Shelley creates a sense of foreboding and as a result as soon as the weather turns dark and harsh the readers emotions are heightened and they are expecting an element of horror.

Many believe the way in which Shelley has structured the character of Victor Frankenstein creates an aspect of terror that continues and worsens with every action taken as he progresses through the novel. One critic said “Victor: class mad scientist, transgressing all boundaries without concern, or brave adventurer into unknown scientific lands” this show that Shelley leaves a sense of ambiguity to victors character, meaning the reader can never truly predict his actions.

Other critics have said that “victor is doomed by the lack of humanness’, this is another technique used by Shelley to make victors character obscure and something that people can not easily relate to. Again making the characters actions harder to predict, which builds up a sense of tension and heightens fear of his actions.

Shelley uses classic gothic themes throughout the novel to heighten tension and create a sense of terror. She uses a mixture of gothic themes throughout the novel and techniques in specific chapters to create tension and terror. Whether she has achieved her aim however depends greatly on the individual. Many aspects of society condition their inhabitants into holding different beliefs and values. One of the main ways Shelley creates horror is through a sense of shocking the reader by controversial events. For example the way Shelley usurps the role of god could potentially shock people with strong religious beliefs and the act of someone going so against god could create a feeling of terror. Others may be affected by the gothic techniques for example pathetic fallacy. The way in which this is used throughout the novel heightens the reader’s awareness of upcoming events. The suspense of the readers wait for the unknown again induces terror and emphases the climatic events. Chapter 20 is one of the most successful chapters in not only creating a sense of terror through Shelley’s techniques but by further shocking the reader by the dramatic climax of the events Shelley has built up to. Shelley has definitely succeeded in producing a gothic piece of writing that effects the reader’s emotions, her aim however to have such an impact of terror on the reader is dependent on the individual.