The central emotion of the gothic is fear. Do you agree that

Gothic novel arouses readers to feel horrified and terrified, which is their primary aim. The writers uses gore, blood and supernatural figures to create emotions of intense fear and anxiety. Terror is seen as an emotion where one anticipates and feels intense dismay or dread. As for horror it is of witnessing an act which brings about fear and also anxiety. Thus gothic novel evokes such emotion to the reader.

Horror has been seen through the use of supernatural beings or “stock” characters to allow readers to feel uncertainty, whereby there is the presence of things out of the ordinary. This is present in the earliest gothic text of “the castle of Otranto”, whereby we see the manifestation of supernatural being, such as the presence of the skeleton being able to tell Manfred to stop Matilda’s wedding and the death of Conrad whereby he was killed by a gigantic falling helmet. This causes the reader to feel certain unease as it could not be logically described by explanations, moreover the using of such characters also brings about fear as they are given human like features, such

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Moreover, Jekyll have mentioned that he enjoys the transformation making him feel younger, shows of the liberty Jekyll felt. Not only do we destruct ourselves, but also objects around us. In ‘Frankenstein’, Mary Shelby blames Victor Frankenstein for the creation of the monster and his own plight. He was instantly attracted to lust when he was exposed to it, allowing his actions to come out in excess.

Using the tool of foreshadowing and foretelling creates the suspense of the story. Whereby, Victor’s disgust led him to hatred towards the monster, drives him to his death.

In doing so, we commit act of crime such as murder that we in the end lead us to our death or admitting the act. Whereby, in Castle of Otranto, we see the dark side of aristocrats, their failure is evident in Manfred’s act, whereby he abuses his power to achieve his wants. Early gothic has been written to criticize the failure of the enlightenment period. Human’s natural state contains the id, ego and super ego, where we use our super ego to contain our natural animalistic behavior.

Industrialization becomes the criticism, as the gothic figures no longer stand by being the institution but move closer towards us and also the failure of science and technology. Where humans do not progress but in state go backward and also doomed due to their own actions. Humans too, are govern by natural instincts ultimately, without rationality. Moreover, the aristocratic power is restored however Theodore marriage with Isabella is only a substitute of Matilda, which is not of a happy ending.

Human’s natural psychological state is also challenged, from the idea of Freud’s theory, which is present in Jekyll and Hyde.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1196
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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