Is 'Frankenstein' Anything More Than A Horror Story?
Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is a novel, which contains many aspects and themes. Although Shelley originally wrote it as part of a 'ghost story' competition amongst friends, it is more complex and deals with greater issues than those of a short and fictional ghost story. However, as we see by the prefix, Shelley's first ambition is to horrify the reader. She wanted to "awaken thrilling horror - one to make the reader dread to look around, to curdle the blood and quicken the heartbeat." This she evidently accomplishes through imagery and intense language, yet during the novel, many other themes are introduced. We recognize not only a traditional Gothic horror, but also deeper psychological horrors, which, even today are being explored. While 'Frankenstein' creates the path for 'Dracula' and other great Gothic novels with the ability to thrill whilst exciting disgust and horror, it also shows much more realistic horrors, which sow the seeds of true terror.Mary Shelley captures our fascination in the passage "Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries below." The symbolism of the colour yellow deliberately brings images of sickness and disease to the reader, and the image of bulging huma
Frankenstein is the 'Modern Prometheus," and through this title we foresee his downfall. The similarities between the murders, if taken to a deeper level, are horrific and create increasing suspense, especially if the reader does not know the ending. 'Torture' alone, inspires fearful imagery, while the word 'grave' forces issues of death forward, which are often taboo, even in modern society. "I was delighted when I first discovered. If Shelley had wanted the novel to be solely a horror story would she have given us the perspective of the monster? Would she have asked such moral questions at the death of William, and plead for our sympathy? "Carried despair to my heart. The monster symbolizes her conclusion that nothing is born evil; it only becomes so as a defence mechanism to the undeserved problems it encounters. The fact that we are manipulated to feel empathy towards the main target of our terror shows the novel is much deeper than a horror story, especially when the focus of our horror is the focus of our compassion. The theme of society and its treatment of people is explored and exposed. Man has an unexplained fear of human anatomy, perhaps because it is one thing he cannot control; Shelley identifies this loathing and uses it to heighten the reader's emotion. This is reminiscent of the reader as his horror too, stems from the imagination. " Frankenstein's guilt and psychological trauma becomes physical horror. The imagery of the physical horror chills the blood, but it is the psychological horror, which leaves us scarred, and it is in the psychological horror we associate with our own lives and reality.
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Acceptance Essays
