Gothic / Romantic
Frankenstein is a novel with attributes of both the gothic and romantic
genres. The former should come across as being incredibly obvious, as the book is about
Victor's meddling with nature and the unfortunate (yet hilarious!) consequences as his
hideous creation turns on him and essentially destroys him through the killings of
Victor's friends and family. The romantic genre was incredibly popular at the time and, as
a result, Frankenstein contained a lot of it as well, which is clearly shown
through most of the main characters, who are romantics at heart.
Romantic based quotes from the novel:
Letter I
"These visions faded when I perused, for the first time, those poets whose
effusions entranced my soul and lifted it to heaven. I also became a poet and for one year
lived in a paradise of my own creation; I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the
temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated." (Walton)
Letter IV
"Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the
beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful
regions seem still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth." (Walton)
Chapter 2
"Henry Clerval was the son of a merchant of Geneva. He was a boy of singular
talent and fancy. He loved enterprise, hardship, and even danger for its own sake. He was
deeply read in books of chivalry and romance. He composed heroic songs and began to write many a tale of enchantment and knightly
adventure. He tried to make us act plays and to enter into masquerades, in which the
characters were drawn from the heroes of Roncesvalles, of the
Round Table of King Arthur , and
the chivalrous train who shed their blood to redeem the holy sepulchre from the hands of
the infidels." (Describing Henry)
"...I find it arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten
sources; but, swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has
swept away all my hopes and joys." (Victor)
Chapter 4
"It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful
harvest or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage, but my eyes were insensible to the
charms of nature." (Victor, ironically denying is Romantic nature whilst confirming
it)
Chapter 5
"But his affection for me at length overcame his dislike of learning, and he has
permitted me to undertake a voyage of discovery to the land of knowledge." (Victor
speaking of Henry)
"By very slow degrees, and with frequent relapses that alarmed and grieved my
friend, I recovered. I remember the first time I became capable of observing outward
objects with any kind of pleasure, I perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared and
that the young buds were shooting forth from the trees that shaded my window. It was a
divine spring, and the season contributed greatly to my convalescence. I felt also
sentiments of joy and affection revive in my bosom; my gloom disappeared, and in a short
time I became as cheerful as before I was attacked by the fatal passion." (Victor)
Chapter 6
"Little alteration, except the growth of our dear children, has taken place
since you left us. The blue lake and snow-clad mountains, they never change; and I think
our placid home and our contented hearts are regulated by the same immutable laws. "
(Elizabeth)
Chapter 11
"Several changes of day and night passed, and the orb of night had greatly
lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw
plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink and the trees that shaded me with
their foliage. I was delighted when I first discovered that a pleasant sound, which often
saluted my ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had often
intercepted the light from my eyes. I began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the
forms that surrounded me and to perceive the boundaries of the radiant roof of light which
canopied me." (Creation)
Chapter 12
"I saw no cause for their unhappiness, but I was deeply affected by it. If such
lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary
being, should be wretched. Yet why were these gentle beings unhappy? They possessed a
delightful house (for such it was in my eyes) and every luxury; they had a fire to warm
them when chill and delicious viands when hungry; they were dressed in excellent clothes;
and, still more, they enjoyed one another's company and speech, interchanging each day
looks of affection and kindness. What did their tears imply? Did they really express pain?
I was at first unable to solve these questions, but perpetual attention and time explained
to me many appearances which were at first enigmatic." (Creation)
"The pleasant showers and genial warmth of spring greatly altered the aspect of
the earth. Men who before this change seemed to have been hid in caves dispersed
themselves and were employed in various arts of cultivation. The birds sang in more
cheerful notes, and the leaves began to bud forth on the trees. Happy, happy earth! Fit
habitation for gods, which, so short a time before, was bleak, damp, and unwholesome. My
spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my
memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and
anticipations of joy." (Creation)
Chapter 18
"He was alive to every new scene, joyful when he saw the beauties of the setting
sun, and more happy when he beheld it rise and recommence a new day. He pointed out to me
the shifting colours of the landscape and the appearances of the sky. "This is what
it is to live," he cried; "now I enjoy existence!..." (Describing Clerval)
Gothic based quotes from the novel:
Chapter 5
"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my
toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life
around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my
feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and
my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw
the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion
agitated its limbs."
Chapter 7
"...Night also closed around, and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I
felt still more gloomily. The picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw
obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings."
"I remained motionless. The thunder ceased, but the rain still continued, and
the scene was enveloped in an impenetrable darkness. I revolved in my mind the events
which I had until now sought to forget: the whole train of my progress towards the
creation, the appearance of the work of my own hands alive at my bedside, its
departure."
Chapter 16
"...I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howlings. I was like a wild beast that
had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the
wood with a staglike swiftness. Oh! What a miserable night I passed!"
Chapter 17
"These were wild and miserable thoughts, but I cannot describe to you how the
eternal twinkling of the stars weighed upon me and how I listened to every blast of wind
as if it were a dull ugly siroc on its way to consume me."