When the monster has woken up this is the first time he is actually described in the book. He is described as having wavy black hair straight black lips and pale eyes and it’s at this moment that victor realises what he’s done and abandons his creation. In this chapter of the book Mary shelly built up a feeling of horror by describing a dull and dreary setting its dark with dim light a storm outside and a monster coming to life
Another good example of how Mary shelly builds a feeling of horror is in chapter 7 when victor is at the lake it is described as “a dark and stormy night with vivid flashes of lightning and pitchy darkness” it describes how victor Frankenstein meats the monster and he describes the monster himself “its gigantic structure and the deformity of its aspects more hideous than belongs to humanity”. These descriptions try to show the creation as a deformed ugly monster making you feel afraid like you’re in his presence. “The wretch, the filthy demon”. This shows victors feelings towards the monster. The tension is built up by setting it in the middle of a storm. Its dark and he can’t see anything, he sees the outline of a figure and then a flash of lightning shows who he is. All of these aspects build a feeling of horror, the storm, the darkness, the description of the monster in a flash of lightning and all this in the rain which also gives a feeling of depression.
In chapter 24 tension is mostly built as victor Frankenstein is at the graves of all those who have been murdered by the monster and makes an oath and says: “by the sacred earth on which I kneel by thee shades that wonder near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear and by thee, oh night, and the spirits that preside over thee, to pursue the demon who caused this misery until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict”. This passage tells us that now that victor Frankenstein has lost everyone close to him he has gained the confidence to fight the monster and builds a feeling of suspense and tension and this continues to build until the monster approaches him then runs. This is when victor begins to chase the monster. A feeling of horror is conveyed when he is in the graveyard. It is in the stillness of night that the monster approaches victor with a fiendish laugh and tells him that he is now satisfied with what he has done to him and then runs. Horror is built up in this and when the chase begins it builds a feeling of anger revenge.
In conclusion to this work I would say that Mary shelly builds a feeling of horror by carefully describing each aspect of every scene to make you feel as if you’re in the story. She describes the settings in detail, the characteristics of each person, their behaviour and in some cases describes the tones of the characters voices. All of these things are carefully written and built together to create a feeling that you are a part of the story and very much afraid.
