Frankenstien can be seen as a science fiction text: plan

* Basis of the novel is science fiction e.g. the creation of the monster, although it is a Gothic act the way in which the idea comes about and the way that it is created is all through science experiments and research.

* Science fiction creates Gothic elements e.g. bringing the dead back to life, being surrounded by body parts etc. All of these events happen due to Victors passion for science but they all add to the Gothic genera and atmosphere.

* The language which Victor used is very scientifically and yet comes across very dark and Gothic e.g. 'my arms dropped the motion of every muscle and fibre was suspended i could feel the blood trickling in my veins and tingling in the extremities of my limbs.'

* Science over rights everything to Victor e.g. his religion, his relationships with other characters, sense of right and wrong, the way in which he chooses to live his life.

* The science makes the novel seem like The modern Promethean. This is because like Prometheus undermined the gods with fire Victor is undermining the gods with science.

my essay :) lol

Drawing upon at least two stories from ‘The Bloody Chamber’ explore the ways in which Carter might be considered to re-interpret gothic conventions.


Angela Carters describes her stories as being ‘gothic mode but with narratives suggested by traditional western European fairy tales.’ By mixing these two very different genres Angela manages to twist the typical gothic elements, which readers are used to, and instead make up her own structure of gothic elements.

The main gothic element which Angela uses is exotic scenes. As many of her stories are based on fairy tales the twist of adding in exotic sex scenes can make the readers feel very uncomfortable and creates the gothic atmosphere which Angela is after. This is best shown within the story ‘The Snow Child’ which is based upon the fairy tale Snow white. It is only a page long but includes a vicious murder then rape which shocks the readers. ‘Weeping, the Count got off his horse, unfastened his breeches and thrust his virile member into the dead girl.’ After showing so much love for the girl this incident comes out of nowhere and shocks the audience. During the tale the Count is very protective and acts like a father figure towards her making this seem even more perverse, like an account of incest. Just within this short sentence Angela manages to take the audience on the emotional rollercoaster that they would expect from a normal gothic story. She creates heroes and villains and also the gothic atmosphere of surprise and horror. She has therefore changed this element to make the response one of a usual gothic element reaction.

An act which Angela appears to use in many of her short stories to add a gothic effect is by adding in a scene of closeness by characters licking one another. This appears in three of her stories ‘The Tiger’s Bride’, ‘The lady of the house of love’ and ‘Wolf-Alice.’ It is not the licking itself but what it leads to which makes it give off the gothic reaction. For example, in ‘The Tiger’s Bride’, which is based upon the fairy tale beauty and the beast, the transformation from human to tiger is done by licking off her skin. ‘Until I felt the harsh velvet of his head against my hand, then a tongue, abrasive as sandpaper he will lick the skin off me!’ This turns the simple action in to one of Angela’s re-interpreted gothic elements. The way that the action is described also adds a gothic twist as she describes his tongue to be like ‘sandpaper’ which is an indication to the audience that this may be hurting her as sandpaper is very rough against the skin. This action reoccurs within the other two texts when it again symbolises the transformation of characters.

Angela regularly adds in humoristic characters in her stories to add in another side to them. This probably being her main achievement as she manages to make humour moments have a twist of gothic within them. For example, in ‘Puss’in’Boots’ the cat is regularly making sarcastic comments which lighten up the mood. However, what he is joking about is not always funny and is what makes this feature appear gothic. For example, he jokes about the death of the man who was originally married to the women his master loves.

The snow child

i reckon that maybe the reason that only the countess clothes are described could be that maybe her clothes are her identity?? some people express themselves through their clothes and this could be what the countess does. This could also explain how every time the count takes the girls side she loses an item of clothing. It is like she is being ignored and the girl is taking away parts of her, which the clothes symbolises (sorry if this sounds confusing but i no what i mean lol :D) it does seem to be a power struggle story. for example, how the count takes power over the girl by not given her a name, making her out of his desire and in the end having sex with her when she's dead. Also there is the power struggle between the girl and countess. The girl is becoming the counts prised posession pushing his wife out the way and everytime that she tries to kill her - and fails - she is trying to gain back her power and position from the girl. i think that maybe the story could be the countess dream as that would explain all the weird supernatural stuff but it would also explain why her husband has sex with the girl. it's like the countess nightmare, her worst fear, losing her place to someone else and slowly being pushed out. the girl is everything she's not but at the same time everything the count wants. this could explain why the girl melts away as she is just imagined by the countess and it could symbolise that the countess knows he is cheating on her but she is willing to turn a blind eye as long as she gets all the treats and sweet things e.g. the rose.

Chapter 3

In chapter 3 of Frankenstein we find out that Victor is being sent of to a University but before he gets the chance to go his mother unfortunately dies. Victor takes his mothers death very badly and sees it as the start of the rest of his misfortune 'An omen, as it were, of my future misery.' This could insinuate that his downfall mentally starts here. This point is made more strong when Victor makes the statement 'Chance - or rather the evil influence, the Angle of Destruction, which asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment i turned my reluctant steps from my fathers door.' Victor can tell that the events at home before he left put him in the state of mind, also on the path, for his future self-destruction. It also puts the feel across that maybe he was destined to take this path maybe as a lesson for science or even humanity?

In this Chapter you also hear Victors views on what i believe is life and death and also God. After his mothers death he makes the statement 'We must continue our course with the rest and learn to think ourselves fortunate whilst one remains whom the spoiler has not seized.' By 'spoiler' i believe he is referring to God and the way in which he takes lives and 'spoils' peoples families. This shows his views on life as well as he believes they all have to follow their 'course' which portrays his believe in destiny. I also begin to believe that Victors mothers death is what made the 'bring humans to life' theory in his head as he explains 'but when the lapse of time proves the reality of evil, then the actual bitterness of grief commences!' This could once again also suggest that he is talking about God as he sees him as the 'reality of evil' which leads him to start his experiments. This is also the audiences warning that things are going to begin to happen as he explains things are going to start commencing. Furthermore, it is also a warning that what is about to happen can only be bad as he is doing it out of 'bitterness and grief' which suggests his head is cloudy out of some sort of revenge.

Another reason shown in Chapter 3 as to why he would create the monster is when he gets sent of to University he makes the statement that he 'must now form my own friends and be my own protector' which could be seen as the monsters purpose. It sounds as if Victor is actually literally trying to make his own friend and protector. On the other hand, later on in the chapter when Victor talks to his lectures about the science in which he is interested in they tell him that he has wasted his time and needs to start his research and science based knowledge all over again. Victor gets very insulted by this and revels 'It was very different when the masters of science sought immortality and power, such view, although futile, were grand.' Maybe Victor decides to try and make the monster so that he can prove to the professors that he does no alot about science and is clever enough to full fill what other could not. The professes could be seen to off pushed him on to carrying out the experiment. This also reflects on the scientific matters of the time in which Frankenstein was written and also how the views were reflected on society.

I believe chapter 3 gives the audience alot of ideas and views on why Victor takes the drastic action that he does in the following chapters. It sets them up for the rest of the story with the background. Plus, it explains other factors about the story and Victor himself e.g. his thirst for knowledge, the science at the time it was written and a view in to how people would of taken Mary Shelley's radical views on bring a human back to live.