Gothic Elements
Isolation
Isolation from society
Victor works alone
"detestable occupation, Immersed in a solitude"
Victor has no one, he is left all alone
Victor does not interact with many people
Victor distances himself from society although goes near nature
"I abhorred society, wished to view again mountains and streams and all the wondrous works with which Nature adorns her chosen dwelling-places." (Shelley 19)
Victor goes to the Alpes to be close to nature alone as the presense of another will destory the scene
"I determined to go without a guide, for I was well acquainted with the path, and the presence of another would destroy the solitary grandeur of the scene." (Shelley 10)
Victor wants to be alone from his family, goes to the boating lake as a distraction
"Often, after the rest of the family had retired for the night, I took the boat and passed many hours upon the water." (Shelley 9)
Suicide
Victor
Wishes to turn into nothing
"If ye really pity me, crush sensation and memory, let me become as nought." (Shelley 17)
Received suicidal thoughts due to the deaths of William and Justine
"I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake." (Shelley 9)
Settings
Unusual acts of nature
Violent thunderstorm that shattered a tree
"When we visited it the next morning, we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed." (Shelley 2)
A storm is always brewing
Evil purposes
Suspense
Cemetery
Grieve the losses or his brother and fiancé
Vows to seek revenge for their deaths
Wishes his dead family goodbye
Dimly lit
Victors hut workshop has very little lighting
"I had not sufficient light for my employment, and I remained idile" (Shelley 20)
Victor's lab is dimly lit when he was working on his creation
"my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light." (Shelly 5)
Victor's mother deathbed causes a sad atmosphere
"akin to death, of the house of mourning." (Shelley 3)
Williams death brought misery
"ou come to us now to share a misery which nothing can alleviate; yet your presence will." (Shelley 7)
Death of Beuford, causes sad atmosphere
"This last blow overcame her, and she knelt by Beaufort's coffin weeping bitterly, when my father entered the chamber. (Shelley 1)
Nature
The monster claimed winter as a gloomy setting
"What before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the most beautiful flowers and verdure." (Shelley 13)
Murder
The murder of William
Victor had a hunch that the monster was the murderer
"He was the murderer! I could not doubt it" (Shelly 7)
Killed by the monster after he recognizes him as Victor's little brother
The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza
Killed on wedding night
Thrown across the room and strangled
Killed by the monster to ensure Victor does not have a female companion.
The murder of Henry Clerval
Killed by the monster to seek vengenece
"The child still struggled and loaded me with epithets which carried despair to my heart; I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet." (Shelly 16)
Emotion
Victor feels agony and pain upon seeing the bodies of Henry and Elizabeth
Falls into shock
Get feverish and falls in
Screams with agony and terror
He blames himself
The monster feels fury and vengeance and wants to seek justice
"For the first time the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom, and I did not strive to control them, but allowing myself to be borne away by the stream, I bent my mind towards injury and death." (Chapter 16)
When the De Lacey's encounter the creature Felix gets aggressive as Agatha faints, since they are not used to a human with that appearance
"Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage." (Chapter 15)
"Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father, to whose knees I clung, in a transport of fury."
The monster hates himself due to his horrendous physical looks
"I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity.'(Chapter12)
Elizabeth and her family face many emotions during Justine's imprisonment
"Oh Justine! Forgive me for having for one moment distrusted you. Why did you confess? But do not mourn, dear girl. Do not fear. I will proclaim, I will prove your innocence." (Shelley 8)
"The poor victim, who on the morrow was to pass the awful boundary between life and death" (Chapter 8)
Victor sees his creation with rage and horror
"Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust!" (Shelley 10)
"I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach and then close with him in moral combat." (Shelley 10)
Nightmares
Victor has a nightmare were the monster was choking his neck to the point of death
Victor has a nightmare about Elizabeth
"I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health" (Shelley 5)
Women in distress
Victor consoles Elizabeth after her distress for the death of William
"Come, dearest Victor; you alone can console Elizabeth." (Chapter 7)
Alphonse saves Caroline from poverty and being an orphan
"Interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva and placed her under the protection of a relation. Two years after this event Caroline became his wife." (Chapter 1)
Scientific Tone
Use of electricity
Electricity to bring the monster to life
Emphasis of alchemical substences
"diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life." (Chapter 2)
Creation of a monster through aspects of science
Victor creates a second monster
"I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organization." (Shelley 4)
Victor studies the ins and outs of the human body
Obsession with science
Victor studies science in University as well as natural philosphy
Victor's thirst for knowledge in science
"In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations, and so worthy of my consideration." (Chapter 2)
Secrecy
The Monster
Victor keeps the monster a secret even after the death of William
Victor does not tell his father where he's going for what
"I expressed a wish to visit England, but concealing the true reasons of this request, I clothed my desires under a guise which excited no suspision." (Shelley 18)
Laboratory
Victor creates the monster in it without anyone's knowledge
Death
Justine
Dies by execution of William's murder
Victor's Father Alphnose
Dies after news of Elizabeth's death
Victor's Mother Caroline
Dies of Scarlet Fever
