Question

Describe how the novel Frankenstein combines general romantic characteristics and traits specific to the gothic novel. Support your response with evidence from the text.

Answer 1

Frankenstein contains elements of both gothic and romantic literature. Mary Shelley brings out the romantic’s love of nature in the story. Both Frankenstein and the creature explicitly credit nature with giving them joy and lessening their sorrow several times. Victor commits a great sin by trying to go against nature’s laws. Walton is shown to be at fault for his desire to explore the arctic. Mourning the loss of nature to industrialization in the mid-eighteenth century was a romantic trait.

Romantic themes of education and human potential can be found in the scenes with the De Lacey family.

The reanimation of a dead body and descriptions of graveyards and corpses are all gothic conventions designed to create horror or terror in the reader. Other gothic conventions used in Frankenstein are murder, suicide, madness, and the suppression of women.