'The storm appeared to approach rapidly; and, on landing, I ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress. It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops, but its violence quickly increased.'
The weather in the book seems to add to the dreariness and sadness or intensity of a scene and this is very true towards the end of the novel. When Elizabeth is about to be murdered and Victor grows increasingly agitated the clouds are said to sweep across the heavens more swiftly than the 'flight of a vulture'. The use of the word vulture implies that something ominous is about to happen, (the death of Elizabeth infact) and as if the clouds are swooping to kill something just as the vulture swoops to catch its prey. In this sense of Gothic literature 'Frankenstein' very much complies and there is definitely a link between the mood of the character and the way in which nature is being described.
In a gothic novel the atmosphere is known to be threatening and dangerous as well as spooky and secretive. Most of the novels of this time would also have been very gory with lots of blood, terror, horror and evil. In 'Frankenstein' the atmosphere is often tense and exciting as well as being full of suspense. For example, there is much tension and suspense just before Victor awakens his monster. This is shown when ---
"With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me..."
The use of the word agony conveys how anxious Victor is. The suspense of giving life to the monster is hurting Victor and this also creates an atmosphere of tension and wonder as to whether his creation will work. A feeling of mystery is also created throughout the novel where the reader is left guessing as to what is going to happen next. This is shown when Victor is alone in the Alps and a strange and rather large looking man bounds towards him with 'superhuman speed'. Victor wonders anxiously over who it can be and this turns into a very tense and mysterious moment. 'Frankenstein', primarily a story seeking to curdle your blood, also has many moments when an atmosphere of horror arises. This is illustrated when Victor's monster comes to visit him to see how the creation of a fellow being is getting on. Victor had no idea that the monster had followed him to England:
"A ghastly grin wrinkled his lips as he gazed on me, where I sat fulfilling the task which he had allotted to me…"
The vision of the monster glaring over Victor in his work is one that is scary and frightful. Another instance in which suspense has been created is when Victor hears the footsteps of the wretch along the passageway and he fears with uncertainty what is going to happen to him:
"I trembled from head to foot; I felt a presentiment of who it was… but I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot.
The fact that Victor is trembling with fear creates a tense and suspense atmosphere and the mystery of who the visitor may be adds to this chilling feeling. Frankenstein therefore covers many Gothic ideas of what the atmosphere in a novel should be like.
The Supernatural aspect of a Gothic novel is also very important and this often adds to horror within a story written at this period of time. For example, the typical spooky characters may be used such as vampires, ghosts, zombies, ware wolves and witches. The supernatural is anything that is not exactly normal and has not been entirely proven. Things such as apparitions, omens, magic and spirits are all things of a supernatural nature and also cannot be explained or proven. In Shelly's 'Frankenstein' there is only really one thing of a supernatural nature, and that is of course the creation of a life, which is somewhat different from that which we know as a human being. The whole nature of the monster is "unreal" and the thought of such a wretch having feelings seems completely strange and supernatural. When the monster comes alive a disgusting and unbelievable description is presented to the reader, which is very imaginative and vivid. Victor's creation has worked and this in its self is a very supernatural event, the creation of a human being without birth. This can be seen when the monster is awoken and is said to 'come alive':
"I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs."
This description immediately highlights the horrific movements of the monster and the fact that its eyes are 'dull', which suggests that it is barely alive. Also when the monster's breath is said to be 'hard' and with 'convulsive movements' of its body we get the impression that it is more of a machine than a human being. Apart from the monster there are no other supernatural events that happen but it is a mystery how the monster manages to travel and follow Victor across the country without even knowing his final destinations.
As well as the setting, atmosphere of the story and the nature of events, the plot of a Gothic novel is also very significant. Most Gothic novels have a plot of mystery and suspense, which would be built on horror and melodrama. It is also true to say that the plot would be focused on a theme of revenge and this is certainly true in Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. Throughout the whole of the story there are two main characters that are seeking revenge. They include the monster, who wants revenge over Victor and his family because he hates Victor for creating him, and Victor who wants revenge over the monster for destroying everything that he cared for in his world! However, it is at the very beginning of the story that we find a plot of suspense and mystery. This is shown when the narrator hints that there is a secret among the whole story but that it shall only be revealed at the end; the reader is left in mystery:
"I see by your eagerness, and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be: listen patiently until the end of my story…"
An example of where the monster feels revenge towards Victor (and the rest of the human race) is when he is explaining how unhappy he is to his creator. This is when he expresses his hate for Victor and all human beings that would not except him:
"…from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me…"
The word "war" in this extract implies that there is a very strong hate between the monster and the human race but this is considerably understandable because he was unaccepted for no reason other than his hideous appearance. Due to the monster's strong feeling of revenge towards the Frankenstein household he ends up murdering William, Victor's eldest brother. This can be shown is as it says:
"I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet."
In the same example, the monster also sets fire to the cottagers' house in an act of revenge. This is when he visits them for the first time and they beat him until he leaves the cottage because they are overwhelmed by his terrifying appearance:
"…I fired the straw, and heath, and bushes, which I had collected. The wind fanned the fire, and the cottage was quickly enveloped by the flames, which clung to it, and licked it with their forked and destroying tongues"
It is, however, after the monster had killed William, caused the injustice of Justine's death, and killed Elizabeth that Victor feels the greatest revenge towards the monster:
"...desired and ardently prayed that I might have him within my grasp to wreak a great and signal revenge on his cursed head."
His feelings are so strong that he declares to follow the monster until he has hunted and killed him. By killing the murderer of his loved ones, Victor thinks that the feeling of loss he is experiencing will be calmed some what.
For a novel to be considered a Gothic one I have demonstrated many different aspects which the story must encompass. Apart from the ones above, a typical gothic novel also has a definite pattern of characters in a story. For example, there will usually be a female heroine who is being threatened in some way. She will frequently be very beautiful, vulnerable and in most cases angelic. This very much relates to the character of Elizabeth in 'Frankenstein'. She is not only threatened but she fits the criterion of being beautiful and angelic. At the beginning of the tale Elizabeth is described to be the most beautiful child among many others. This is shown when is says:
"a garden roses amongst dark-leaved brambles"
By being described as a 'garden rose', (which is bright, colourful and beautiful) compared with 'dark-leaved brambles', (which are dull and lifeless looking) suggests exactly how beautiful she is. It immediately makes Elizabeth the most remembered and almost special character of the book. In addition to this Elizabeth is a threatened character too and this is illustrated when the monster says that he will 'be there on their wedding-night!' Although it was not directly pointed at Elizabeth, Victor could see what the monster meant when he said this to him. The monster has plans to murder Elizabeth in order to cause more destruction within his family. In a Gothic novel there will also be a main and central character, usually seen to be the 'hero' of the book as well as the female heroine. Although Victor by no means saves Elizabeth from dying, he is, however, the main character in 'Frankenstein' and is the narrator to most of the story. Along with his wife, Elizabeth, Victor is the central 'good' character of the book and this again relates to the gothic theme of good versus evil within the characters. No characters can be mutual in a gothic novel and their souls are very 'black and white' in that sense. This again relates to the monster of the book because he is solely evil. His demands for revenge are so great that he ends up brutalising and killing most of the Frankenstein family. To accompany his awful acts of cruelty, the monster seems to feel better whenever he kills someone, and almost gets a thrill out of hurting Victor. This is shown when he kills Elizabeth and looks through the window at Victor with a malicious grin on his face:
"…I saw at the open window a figure the most hideous and abhorred. A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife."
Although the monster expresses feelings of sorrowful regret after killing Henry Clerval I think that these were not sincere. Some could argue that he is only evil because the hand of man pushed him out of society and drove him to such an extreme, but I do not agree and he is entirely wicked and evil.
The language in a story helps to convey ideas and feelings from all of the characters, and also helps to enhance a setting or atmosphere too. In a Gothic novel it is very usual to see much 'overblown', dramatic' and 'inflated' language where the story is made into something which can be exciting for the reader. There are many examples of this within the story of 'Frankenstein' and one example includes when Victor thinks about the effect of making a second female monster. His thoughts lead him to believe that if he does make another the world may be destroyed! An example of where this is demonstrated is when it says:
"…the daemon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror…"
Besides over dramatic language, powerful descriptions are also used and at times can startle or even shock the reader. The most noticeable of these is the hideous description of the monster Victor makes:
' His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath… but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes…his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips."
The fact that the monster has yellow skin makes him seem completely unnatural and out of the ordinary and well as gruesome to look at. The thought of being able to see some of his arteries and muscles where the skin didn’t cover his body frame implies that he looks constantly wounded and gory. As well as this the use of the word 'shrivelled' to describe the monsters complexion makes him look dead and old when he has only just been theoretically 'born'. As the monster is introduced to the reader in such a horrific and vivid way, they will constantly have a picture of such an ugly and awful wretch as they read the remainder of the tale. This is very typically a gothic description and is definitely there to scare you!
The use of words within a dramatic scene, or powerful description is also very important and within Gothic literature very apparent. An example of this, in 'Frankenstein', is where the monster is saying how he is feeling after his destruction of the cottage. Here he feels that everyone hates him and you almost feel sorry for him because he thinks that even the stars, an object of nature, dislike him and will not accept him:
"O! what a miserable night I passed the cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me…All, save I, were at rest or enjoyment:"
The fact that the stars were shining in 'mockery' makes the monster seem so lonely and unloved. He says that everyone (except himself) is enjoying them selves, which implies that he is experiencing; as he says at the beginning, a very miserable night. Throughout the story the monster is never given a name apart from 'daemon' and 'wretch', which again reiterates the unloved feeling that is shown towards him.
It is definitely true to say that all of these aspects contained within a Gothic novel help to make them far more exciting than they would otherwise be. They also allow the mind to wander into that of a supernatural and usually scary but very interesting and exciting world. However, can Gothic literature still appeal to us today? A modern day gothic novel is probably thought of as one that is a horror story based on old gothic ideas. When you think of a horror story pictures of bats, ghosts and other supernatural occurrences usually come into your head and are particularly popular with the younger generations of today, who like anything that scares them. However, in a modern society we would probably not accept reading literature that is as 'over blown' and exaggerated as that of the gothic genre. However, authors have realised this and there are many who write in more of a Gothic form, but without the 'inflated' language.
These include Stephen King with many of his novels, the most recent of which, 'The Dream Catcher' written in 2001, is a story of four men's experiences with a 'creature from another world'. This follows the gothic theme of the supernatural and Stephen King is definitely a very popular author of today and is also well know for his novel 'Carrie', which has also been made into a film. Written in 1974, it is said to be a 'very scary story' where a girl, bullied at school, finds out she has abnormal powers which she uses to seek revenge over her bullies. A typically Gothic theme and yet still very appealing. As well as King there are many other modern Gothic authors including Christine Feeham with her Scarletti Curse (2001), Evelyn Rogers with Devil in the Dark (2001) in addition to The Wolf of Haskell Hall by Colleen Shannon. These are just a few, but in turn they prove that Gothic Literature can still appeal to us today if horror, mystery, supernatural and 'dark' stories are what you like to read.