Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is representative of the gothic genre, and has influenced film and literature, particularly the television program 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. The novel's genre can be determined through the identification of gothic conventions and characteristics within the novel such as sinister settings, fascination with the unconscious and abnormal psychology and the atmosphere of fear and horror. These characteristics can also be found in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', thus proving the novels influence.
             Gothicism is part of the Romantic Movement that started in the late eighteenth century and lasted roughly three decades into the nineteenth century. The Romantic Movement is characterised by innovation, spontaneity, freedom of thought and expression, an idealisation of nature and the belief of living in an age of "new beginnings and high possibilities". The word 'Gothic' has a multiplicity of definitions, however, the gothic novel is a world of nightmare, and that nightmare is created by the individual who is in conflict with values of the prevailing society, it often represents a psychological reaction to evil that leads its characters into a moral ambiguity, for which no meaningful answers can be found. Several gothic conventions include; the supernatural, nocturnal activity, inclement weather and the portrayal of darkness, both physical darkness and the darkness that is part of the atmosphere of the story, which can be created from such elements as a characters actions the themes of the story. Indeed, these conventions are present within Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'.
             A gothic characteristic found within the novel is the sinister setting and atmosphere. The opening sentence in Frankenstein sets the atmosphere for the entire novel. Shelley begins with, "You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise...