During the first week of my class, our first assignment was to read Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft. What are the themes that make Mary’s Frankenstein Gothic? We talked about it in the lecture of our first class and what exactly makes it “Gothic”. Some of the big tropes that show up in the novel is the use of a mysterious old castle, filled with rooms shrouded in darkness and found littered with cobwebs by the protagonists. This also includes long spiral staircases and dark Gothic architecture. The protagonists stumble upon an old discarded journal with instructions on how to bring the dead back to life. This leads to them following the prophecy on how to bring back the dead and the eventual rebirth of Frankenstein’s monster. A now supernatural undead creature that cannot be explained.
Another trope found in this novel is the use of the damsel in distress. It has an attractive, young woman who gives off a sense of innocence and who the viewer wants to protect. They are usually submissive and much more sensitive than what is often seen in reality.
A final trope seen is the use of shadows and lights used throughout. The descriptions of the book and visuals of the original 1932 film describe the use of lightning when giving life to Frankenstein’s monster, or the use of torches by the towns members as intensive and frightening as well as the use of shadows as dark, dreadful and mysterious, unknown for the viewer. Both of these extremes are used to great effect and are all essential elements of gothic storytelling and characterization.
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