How Does the Language in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Reflect its Gothic Genre

The gothic genre was popular around the nineteenth century. It is often associated with dark, evil things
and death. This seemed appropriate at the time as there were no electric lights or televisions so it was
generally darker than it is in the present day.
It brings to mind stories like Frankenstein, Dracula and Dr Jekyll and
Mr Hyde. It may have been popular at this time because it is typically based about ominous things in dark
places making it seem more realistic because of the use of candles at the time.

I am focussing on the beginning of ‘Frankenstein’ and observing how his dreams drove him to his own
destruction, and how he is left to…show more content…
The letters are set in St.
Petersburgh in Russia and in the icy, desolate wasteland in the ocean around the North Pole. Here Walton
writes of his isolation and how he lacks someone that he can confide in on the ship.

Throughout all four letters we notice Walton’s spirits getting worse as he goes from being eager to go on
his adventure to longing to get home. This is typical of the gothic genre, a light beginning gradually leading
to a dark ending.

It is not until the fourth letter we meet Victor Frankenstein. Walton and his crew find him nearly dead.
They found only one dog of the several that Frankenstein had pulling his sleigh. This shows just how cold it
must have been for the specially bread dogs to be unable to survive it and yet, Frankenstein is still hanging
on, showing his determination to destroy the monster. Frankenstein refers to the monster as “the
daemon”; this shows just what an evil creature
Frankenstein considers the monster to be. The word “daemon” is a very strong one, used to describe
creatures from hell. Using this kind of adjective Shelley is representing the gothic genre very effectively.

We see Walton’s growing obsession with Frankenstein as he says “he excites both at once my admiration
and pity to an astonishing degree”.