Novel shop Essay Example For Students

Novel shop Essay It has been suggested that the Gothic is a particular way in thinking, feeling and expressing rather than a specific genre limited to a certain place and time.  Compare at least 2 appropriate works to say how far you would support this view.  As the quote above indicates the Gothic unlike many types of writing is thought to surpass the chains of bygone eras. It is now as popular in the 21st Century with writers such as Steven King as it was in the 18th Century when authors like Walpole and Lewis were bringing Gothic literature to the forefront of popular culture. In comparison to novels written in the 19th Century by authors such as Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens and George Elliot which were predominantly Victorian novels, it is thought that novels such as The Italian The Castle of Otranto and The Monk amongst others were firstly recognised as a Gothic novel and then perhaps considered from the time it was written. Botting claimed (1996) Gothic can perhaps be called the only true literary tradition. Or its stain. This can be evident by observing novels written since the beginning of the 19th Century, in particular Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights to texts written within the last thirty years such as The Woman in Black. The Gothic Tradition has been there to push the boundaries and limitations of society. This is particularly evident within Shelleys Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein shows thorough fascination with trying to change the world by trying to create life in scientific techniques. During the period of transition into the enlightenment, elements such as this were sure to cause controversy within the public and a whole new idea was implemented into the structure of the Gothic in religious terms. Previous to the publication of Frankenstein, Lewis published The Monk showing the utter corruption of those in a religious vocation. However, in the case of Frankenstein he usurped the role of God by taking the power and using it in a negligent manner. Victor had decided to lift up the veil concealing the wonderful phenomena of living nature, and alter this to dangerous effects. Frankenstein also brings about religious connotations such as references such as the fallen angel in relation to Paradise Lost. The importance of this is that by Frankenstein creating life in a scientific manner without religion or females is doing it falsely, and has much in relation to the controversial matter of cloning which is on-going in todays society which shows in a sense that elements of Frankenstein are not limited to a certain place or time. Another aspect concerning the conflict between the creature and Victor in Frankenstein is that in this specific tale, gothic elements turn the power struggle between the protagonist and antagonist onto its head. In many Gothic texts old and new such as Daphne du Mauriers Jamaica Inn or The Castle of Otranto has a character labelled inherently evil who chases the innocent victim. However in Frankenstein, the creature is automatically labelled as the malevolent antagonist which is not the case. He is described as disfigured, His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness;with his watery eyeshis shrivelled complexion and straight black lips creating a terrifyingly gothic description of his appearance creating a sense of uncannyness. But the truth is that without societal pressures, the creature would not have committed the crimes he did, as he was the purest being which links in with theories submitted by William Godwin who thought that individuals could only learn to be good and virtuous if they were integrated into society. So, overall, it is the actions of other people that have forced the creature to murder people such as William, Elizabeth and Clerval. This is much like in Wuthering Heights, where the actions of characters such as Hindley and Edgar has helped turn Heathcliff into a monster, and also in The Woman In Black Jennet was forced to give her child up in traditional Victorian value system and then suffer grieving over the death of her son. So, in the main texts I have studied regarding the Gothic tradition all show that the villains are placed there due to circumstance rather than to choice. Consider How Stephen Daldry's 1992 production of 'Inspector Calls' explores Priestley's theories and ideas EssayTo conclude, I agree with the quote It has been suggested that the Gothic is a particular way in thinking, feeling and expressing rather than a specific genre limited to a certain place and time because from my essay there are notions that exceed certain eras and still exist in literature to this very day. Frankenstein and The Woman In Black are both classed as Gothic novels but have very different elements which make them Gothic. Steven Mallatrat commented on The Woman In Black saying that the way it had worked on my imagination made it stand out, while critics have commented on Frankenstein, If, however, the gothic imagination is enlisted not as a mechanistic technique but as an aesthetic to help convey other sensations or philosophies, then it may deserve lasting attention demonstrates my point as in Frankenstein, gothic is just within the text while in The Woman in Bl ack Hill employs many gothic techniques. But all texts have had impacts on later texts. For The Woman In Black Hill had been inspired by Dickens as a writer, but also The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins, The Turn of The Screw by Henry James and Ill Whistle and Ill Come to You my Lord by M R James. Frankenstein was inspired by Romantics of the time, as well as scientists such as Humphrey Davy. But the quintessential inspiration for gothic novel has to be Walpoles The Castle of Otranto as The Spirit of enquiry which Walpole introduced was rather frivolous though pleasing. The spawn is in every novel shop.