Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley was written during the 19th century and was completed entirely in May 1817. Mary Shelley had decided to base her novel on the story about the Greek god, Prometheus. Prometheus and his borther Epimetheus were given the task of creating man. It was Epimetheus'job to create animals, whereas Prometheus took the duty of creatiing and molding man from clay.
Combining the myth of Prometheus and Goth had brought tremendous success to the novel Frankenstein. Gothic novels were mainly written to evoke terror in their readers and to show the dark side of human nature. They tend to describe the frightening terrors that lie beneath the controlled and ordered surface of the conscious mind. There are several elements that are needed in order to create a successful novel. Gothic tales rely heavily on the setting such as nature, supernatural elements and in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's case, monstrosity.
Steel engraving (993 x 71mm) for frontispiece to t...
English: Portrait of Mary Shelley
Manuscript page from Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyThese are vital elements in Frankenstein as well as other gothic novels, since the story would not be complete without them.
THe mood for Frankenstein is set from the very first pages of the novel. In a gothic novel the setting is usually dark and brooding, which is similarly found in Frankenstein. The weather contributes to the gloomy and dark atmosphere, beginning during Walton's journey to the North Pole. During Walton's voyage, he meets a stranger where the weather gives to its tone, "Our situation was somewhat dangerous, especially as we were compassed round by a very thick fog." (Shelley, p. 8) They soon perceived a stranger in the far, which they eventually made out to be a gigantic figure. In the novel, thi is where we first encounter the monster. When the stranger begins to tell Walton the story which led him to come this far, the weather...