A Gothic novel Essay Example for Free

A medieval novel EssayHow farthermost can we accept Mary Shelleys Frankenstein as a typical example of the Gothic Tradition? commission on specific examples of the genre to illustrate your answer. Many critics have named Mary Shelleys Frankenstein as a Gothic novel. A traditional Gothic novel can be described as, tales of the macabre, fantastic and supernatural. In the beginning, the expression Gothic implied medieval, but with time its meaning altered, until its emphasis lay on the macabre.Many of the best gothic novels show examples of invention and produce moments of horror far greater than pieces that are less emotive. Frankenstein fits into this category. Victor Frankenstein is an ambitious, although misguide inventor, looking to solve the secret of life. In her introduction, Mary Shelley declares her desire to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart. This quality of language immediately signals to the reader that Frankenstein should be placed in t he gothic genre.Gothic novels are generally said to include some of the following elements. They should be set in a fastness with an cash dispenser of suspense and mystery, there should be supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events, am ancient prophecy, omens, portents, visions, naughty or overwrought emotion, women in distress or threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male, and at long last the metonymy of gloom and horror. Frankenstein does not really include any of these points to the excess.It is not set in a castle and the language cannot really be said to be mysterious, as we are narrated clearly throughout. Can it assuage be said to be a gothic novel, even without any of the conventional gothic traits? The line gothic covers a wide variety of texts and is by no means easy to define. It is not that unreserved to therefore relate Frankenstein to other gothic novels. However, some certain elements of Frankenstein can be determined as gothic, even though other parts may not fit the pattern.