Frankenstein Notes
A Guide To Frankenstein!
A Guide To Frankenstein!
GENRE: * Gothic:
“It can be useful to think of the Gothic in terms of certain key cultural and literary oppositions: barbarity versus civilisation; the wild versus the domestic (or domesticated); the supernatural versus the apparently ‘natural’; that which lies beyond human understanding compared with that which we ordinarily encompass; the unconscious as opposed to the waking mind; passion versus reason; night versus day.” David Punter, emag 29 * Horror: fear from physical shock – ‘Watery eyes almost the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set’ * Terror: fear from uncertain or obscure – ‘frightful dreams’, ‘he might have spoken, but I did not hear; ne hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, nut I escaped’ * Sublime: sense of awe at something much bigger than ourselves that we cannot understand fully – ‘A serene sky and verdant fields filled me with ecstasy’, ‘A cold wind played on my cheeks which braced my nerves and filled me with delight’ * Obscurity: both physical and mental, things not properly seen or understood - ‘The for an instant everything seemed of a pitchy darkness’ * The Uncanny – unsettling experience over something that is strange, eerie or mysterious -‘dull yellow eyes’ * Taboos: Cultural, moral or religious rules which are under pressure, challenging limits and norm- ‘the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body’ * Doppelganger: double, mirror image or alto ego of a character – both called ‘wretch’, ‘creature’ . Later in the novel, the loss of control of the creation mirrors Victor’s loss of control of himself. * Elements of Romanticism: * ‘Romantic’ writers interested in the concept of ‘self’ as distinct from society indulging a sense of individuality. Walton is physically isolated on a ship in the Artic carrying notions of discovery and adventure whereas Frankenstein
A Guide To Frankenstein!
GENRE: * Gothic:
“It can be useful to think of the Gothic in terms of certain key cultural and literary oppositions: barbarity versus civilisation; the wild versus the domestic (or domesticated); the supernatural versus the apparently ‘natural’; that which lies beyond human understanding compared with that which we ordinarily encompass; the unconscious as opposed to the waking mind; passion versus reason; night versus day.” David Punter, emag 29 * Horror: fear from physical shock – ‘Watery eyes almost the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set’ * Terror: fear from uncertain or obscure – ‘frightful dreams’, ‘he might have spoken, but I did not hear; ne hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, nut I escaped’ * Sublime: sense of awe at something much bigger than ourselves that we cannot understand fully – ‘A serene sky and verdant fields filled me with ecstasy’, ‘A cold wind played on my cheeks which braced my nerves and filled me with delight’ * Obscurity: both physical and mental, things not properly seen or understood - ‘The for an instant everything seemed of a pitchy darkness’ * The Uncanny – unsettling experience over something that is strange, eerie or mysterious -‘dull yellow eyes’ * Taboos: Cultural, moral or religious rules which are under pressure, challenging limits and norm- ‘the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body’ * Doppelganger: double, mirror image or alto ego of a character – both called ‘wretch’, ‘creature’ . Later in the novel, the loss of control of the creation mirrors Victor’s loss of control of himself. * Elements of Romanticism: * ‘Romantic’ writers interested in the concept of ‘self’ as distinct from society indulging a sense of individuality. Walton is physically isolated on a ship in the Artic carrying notions of discovery and adventure whereas Frankenstein