To what extent do you think that gothic literature is characterised by a fascination with death?

Some may argue that gothic writing is characterised by a strong focus on death because of the way it affects the characters in each text. Whether they die themselves, or lose someone else to death, it appears that gothic writing is fascinated with the ways death can affect our psyche or behaviour. However, there are other key themes that many gothic texts appear to be fascinated by, such as ambition, sin and transgression.

  It initially appears that The Pardoner’s Tale is fascinated by death due to the ways the protagonist uses death in their rhetoric. The Pardoner is presented as having a great insight into our fear of death, and uses this to extort money from his audience. In his tale, death is personified as an unstoppable supernatural predator: a “privee theef” that takes any life he chooses. Thousands have been “slain” by the opening of the tale, and by the end the three rioters have also died by their own hands. This cyclical structure suggests that this gothic text is fascinated by death, as the Pardoner repeatedly relates to his audience how death “took” anybody at any time. Furthermore, the Pardoner subtly suggests that death is not confined to the tale, and creates a lot of terror, when he hypothetically states that “paraventure hir breke a nekke atwo”. Thus, it appears that The Pardoner’s Tale is characterised by death, and its role with fear and terror. The Pardoner’s message ominously states that if you are not careful, death can easily come- “fallen of a hors”- before your sins are absolved.

  However, this gothic text appears to have a much greater fascination with the gothic concept of sin. The revellers are presented as the epitome of immorality and wickedness: “superfluitee abhominable”; they reside in the “develes temple”. The poem appears to be fascinated with condemning their sins, which is perhaps why they die at the end. Their death may be a punishment for their endless hedonism “dronken… al day and nighte” and how their excess greed (they were “glad of the sighte” of the gold). Whilst the poem does close with death, it appears that the greater focus is on the sins that precede it. Even when The Pardoner mentions the idea of death at the end of the tale, it is immediately followed by an offer of “absolucioun” and help to the “blisse of heaven”. In an innately religious medieval society, where an eternal afterlife in hell was a very real fear, it appears that this text would have been received as having a greater focus on “sinne”.

  Similarly to The Pardoner’s Tale, death in Frankenstein is presented as a punishment for both Frankenstein and the Creature’s crimes. Both commit very horrifying and inhuman deeds. Frankenstein arrogantly usurps the role of God “a new species will bless me as its creator and source”, and the Creature murders many innocent victims, such as the “sweet” William. A contemporary reader would consider the death of a child who was “so gentle” and “innocent”, which connotes vulnerability and being in need of protection, to be the worse crime. In contrast, a reader in the 1800s may have a greater abhorrence for Frankenstein’s transgression. His arrogance as he desires to reach the God-like power of breaking the “ideal bounds” of life and death may have been considered the most horrifying and sacrilegious of all crimes. Death, in this case, is presented as an apt punishment for his transgression and for trying to break beyond his limitations. Whilst it could be argued that this novel is more focused on the ambitious act of transgression itself, a much greater reading suggests that this novel does have a greater fascination with death. It is effectively used to close the novel, creating a satisfying and just conclusion to Frankenstein’s character development. The ending of this gothic text thus appears obsessed with how death can be used to restore the natural order that Frankenstein had so greatly disturbed.

  Many may argue that Macbeth has the greatest fascination with death, for there are excessive amounts of violence and bloodshed.  This play also has a cyclical structure, as the narrative begins with a battle where the protagonist “unseamed” his enemies in order to protect his king, and closes with Macbeth’s “brandished… head on a pole”. The play opens and closes with death, with the rest of the narrative being characterised by Macbeth’s murderous crimes during his rise in power. Furthermore, the play also appears to be fascinated with Macbeth’s relationship with death. During the opening, it takes Macbeth an entire act to become “settled” on murdering Duncan. By the end, he is presented as desensitised and indifferent to it, as the “firstlings of my heart become the firstlings of my hand”. Murdering other soldiers soon becomes reason for him to “smile at”. Thus, it could be argued that Macbeth is fascinated with a killer’s relationship with death, and how one grows accustomed to it with the more murders they commit.

  However, a much greater reading suggests that Shakespeare’s play has a stronger focus on ambition than death. Through the repeated use of asides and soliloquies, we get insight into Macbeth’s “deep desires”. He is presented as a character defined by his “vaulting ambition”, and his desire to “overleap” the established natural order at the time. Every murder he commits is presented as being a way of satisfying this ambition: Duncan’s murder allows him to be crowned, and Banquo’s murder is committed to prevent his kingship becoming “fruitless”, dead and “barren”. Whilst the amount of death in this play is excessive and extreme, it appears that this gothic text is characterised by a fascination with ambition with death.

  Gothic writing initially appears to be characterised by a strong focus on death. Many of the texts examine our complex relationship with death, such as our fear of dying and how we can become desensitised to it over time. However, a much greater reading suggests that gothic writing is not fully characterised or fascinated with the theme of death because it has a much greater focus on themes such as sin and ambition. Whilst death does often appear to be a consequence of these other two gothic themes, it is clear that the focus is still on ambition and sin, and how they may affect different characters throughout the course of the narrative.

To what extent do you agree with the view that, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is exploring “the dark side of the human psyche”?

In Frankenstein, Shelley appears to explore various elements of the dark side within the human psyche; the darkness within our mind and how it is affected by the subconscious. There are many aspects of the human psyche, or mind, that Shelley explores through Frankenstein and the Creature: violent and impulsive instincts within one’s id; an arrogant desire to play God and the effects of guilt. However, it is important to note that Frankenstein is a Gothic novel. Thus it is just as plausible that Shelley may be trying to explore many Gothic themes instead, such as punishment, the dangers of science and the monstrous.

Through the doubling of Frankenstein and the Creature, Shelley could be exploring the dark, violent and impulsive tendencies within the id of the human psyche. After his own framed tale, the Creature is presented as very barbaric and fierce. He is often described as a “wild beast” and as “monster” which connotes how he has lost his human characteristics and that he has become more bestial. Much like an animal, the Creature appears out of control in his rampage: he “glutted” himself in violence and allowed himself to be “borne away” by murder. This frenzied representation of the Creature mirrors the presentation of the protagonist, Frankenstein, later in the narrative. He also becomes full of “fury” and a vengeance which “moulded my feelings”. Through a paralleling structure, the Creature is thus presented as Frankenstein’s doppelganger. Furthermore, both of them are linked by an allusion to Satan in Paradise Lost- each of them “bore a hell” within. The Creature, as his double, appears to symbolise the repressed instincts within Frankenstein’s own mind, his id. Nevertheless, these subconscious elements begin to seep into his own consciousness (or superego) after the loss of his entire family. Frankenstein begins to act on the repressed instincts that his creature represents. Thus it could be argued that Shelley is exploring the ‘breaking point’ of a person, where the lines between id and ego collapse in the psyche. However, a much greater reading infers that Shelley is exploring the gothic theme of punishment. By having Frankenstein deteriorate from a passionate young student who wants to satisfy his “thirst for knowledge” to a “hellish” monster hell-bent on revenge, Shelley appears to be presenting him as damned, or ‘sentenced’ for his crimes. The character’s many sins, such as creating the Creature, appear to be condemned through Frankenstein’s declining sanity. Thus, it is a much more plausible that Shelley is exploring the idea of punishment rather than the dark side of the human psyche.

Shelley appears to be exploring more of the human psyche’s dark side, such as ambition and arrogance, through Frankenstein’s characterisation. In the novel’s opening, Frankenstein is presented as utterly obsessed, devoted and addicted to the creation of his being: it has an “irresistible hold” on him. His “heart and soul, in one pursuit”- this connotes how he is more than a man of “enthusiasm”. He is portrayed as being in “slavery” to his passion, implying that he has lost all control to this addictive obsession. It could be argued that this “ardent desire” stems from a subconscious yearning to play God. He wants to find the “hidden secrets of nature”, to “penetrate” the mystery of life. Contextually, these secrets are what a reader from the 1800s would associate with as arcane and only belonging to God. To try and find these secrets would have been considered an abhorrent usurpation of God’s role. Shelley appears to be exploring the hubris integrated within the dark recesses of the human mind, and possibly highlighting how it leads to the “emaciation” of mind and body. However, a contrasting interpretation suggests that Shelley is examining the dangers of science instead. Frankenstein is characterised as devoted to scientific research and the “secrets of life”. This appears to be criticised by Shelley, who was writing during the rise of Galvanism and the Age of Enlightenment. Science appears to lead Frankenstein to “ruin” and decaying into a “lifeless” thing. Furthermore, the product of this scientific pursuit is a “daemon” who rampages through the rest of the novel, leaving only a trail of deaths. Thus, it is much more plausible that Shelley is instead analysing the dangers of science and not the dark side of the human psyche.

Shelley is at her most probing of the dark side of the human psyche when she explores the guilt of Frankenstein. In response to Justine’s impending execution, Frankenstein is presented as remorseful and sorry: he is in a state of “living torture” and “horrid anguish”. He appears to be devastated that someone full of “joy” could be blamed for the crime committed by his creation. It could be argued that, through Frankenstein, Shelley is exploring another dark element of the human mind: destructive guilt. After all, “remorse pressed upon” the heart of this remorseful character, and it appears that the rest of the narrative hinges upon his desire to destroy the Creature and redeem himself. However, a much stronger reading suggests how Shelley is not exploring the guilt within Frankenstein’s psyche. Would a regretful character let the “innocent”, “most grateful little creature in the world” be executed for crimes they did not commit? They would not, which connotes how he does not feel guilt at all. Rather, Frankenstein is actually presented as egocentric and indifferent towards Justine. Following Justine’s execution, the words “I” and “my” are repeated often, which connotes his lack of consideration for her suffering. His only concern is for “my pain”, and this is chilling for the reader. Shelley appears to be exploring how monstrous and desensitized to death Frankenstein has become, possibly following the practice of grave-robbing. Rather than examining the dark, guilty side of the human psyche, Shelley appears to be presenting Frankenstein as monstrously indifferent. As readers, we are left wondering whether this egocentric protagonist truly has anything ‘human’ to be explored.

It is clear that Shelley does slightly delve into the dark side of the human psyche, examining many aspects such as the impulsive instincts within the id, a hubris that leads to the usurpation of God’s authority and remorse. However, it is clear that these are not Shelley’s primary concerns, as a writer of the Gothic genre. There appears to be more of a focus on themes such as punishment, the dangers of science and the monstrous. Whilst it is still an integral part of the narrative, the dark side of the human psyche appears not to be a primary point of exploration for Shelley in her classic novel.