Gothic novel (theme of the sublime)

Stories full of supernatural elements and where there is always a clash between
good and evil. The living characters are punished in the books. The need of this
type of books start from the conception of sublime. Sublime is what cause
astonishment and is a particular feeling because your feeling are suspended
between fear and the contemplation of beauty. People fell that they were subject
to mysterious force. They couldn't fight against them, in the reality this can
identified by the economic process. Gothic novel is a reaction of industrialism.
The industrial revolution destroyed the importance of the single human being and
man felt that a force controlled them, it was the economic process.
People need always to escape from reality and they found it in this kind of poem.
The gothic novel was a success and it is still successful still now, the interest was
the same for all the social classes.
The circulation of library were related to people that travelled around the world
and they rent the books, so even people that were not from upper class had the
opportunity to read more because the books were cheaper.

Why the name gothic? Gothic is an architectural design used especially in the
middle ages for the cathedral that are considered mysterious (interest in the
middle ages by the romantics). Horance Walpole is the author of the Castle of
Otranto. he was very rich and this man loved the middle ages in fact a books
came from this interest. Otranto is in Italy, in Puglia. It is a unknown part of Italy
(cult of the exotic). Italy is a catholic country and the Anglicans didn't go well with
them so Anglicans believed that in a catholic country could happen anything.
The nature of this fear was reflex of a specific historical moment.
In the books the bad one are the embody of the evil and they have mysterious
power (supernatural elements). We find people (evil characters) that can control
the other. Dracula was written later but is a gothic novel and has supernatural
power. Nouns ere considered negatively.

Frankenstein
frankest in is composed but numerous subplot. It doesn't have all the features of a
gothic novel like the supernatural elements or being. The main theme is not fight
between good and evil, it is the relationships between the scientist and all the
mankind. In Frankestain there are thins related to the rime of the ancient mariner.

Mary's father remarried and this influenced her life because outfought she had a
good relationships with her step-sisters she didn't o well with her step-mother. She
had an excellent education and she also met many intellectuals of the time.
Percy Shelley was married when he met Mary, he beloved in free love and he
started a relationships with Mary. The they went away and the left his wife and the
children's alone without economical support. Shelley's wife, after a while was
found death, she committed suicide but she was also pregnant. This fact brought
a bad reputation to many and Percy, they never returned to England. Another
story says that Percy's wife met a officer and the children was this man's children.
When the officer had to go he promised he would have retuned and many wrote
him some letters that never reached him. Mary thought he refused him so she
committed suicide.
During the journey many and Shelley lived in Byron house in Switzerland and after
a few weeks they got married. That year summer was really particular in fact due
to an eruption all the essays were brought by the wind. The temperature was
below the normal so it was a cold summer, in fact it also snowed. They couldn't
go out their house so they decide to do a challenge, to write a gothic novel. In fact
in the introduction of frankestain was written that she wrote the novel due to a
challenge that she even won. The novel was publishes anonymously. Shelley was
found death 10 days and he was burnt because there was a law that established
that corps founded so later had to be burn in the spot and couldn't be transferred
in the town. Mary, that was only 26 at the time, conserved his heart. Shelley was
protestant. They had four children but only one survived.
Inspiration:
1. intellectual stimulation
2. a nightmare she had due to her situation with Percy and everything. in the
nightmare she saw a scientist crating a monster joining part taken from
other corpus.
Frankestain is organized in many subplots. The main theme are:
social classes
injustice in society
The creature was and army and he had frightening physical appearance. Dr
frankestain gives his own life trough electricity. When he woke up the creature is
like blank space in fact he does not know anything about the world he woke up.
He didn't received education because Dr frankest in ran away when he woke up
because he was frightening. Dr frankestai wanted to fell like god, he wanted to
crate life, he was obsessed. After he crate him he understood that he didn't
something against nature so he even ran away. The creature at the other side try
to understand what he is, he start to learn. The book has to make people ask: is
education really important when people doesn't want to be with you? In fact the
creature is rejected by the society due to his physical appearance. He became
bad when he is rejected by people. In Mary Shelley's book there are Roseau's
theme. The creature starts to search for his creator, that he considered his father
although he want to kill him because he abandoned him. He want to ask him: why
did you crate me and abandoned me?
Dr Frankesrai is an irresponsible scientist because he follows his ambition and to
discoverer the secret of life. He want to kill the creature. He is irresponsible to
mankind, the creatures and his family that will be killed but the creatures.
Responsibility of the scientist. Respect the rules of nature or to feel the
consequences. Dr fanjestain challenged the divine authority and was punished
because she wanted to search for something that is beyond his possibility.
At the time the physical appearance provided the inner condition of a person.
Myth of Prometheus -> divines crated man but abandoned them.
In the book we don't know who is good and who is evil.

Plot: The story start with Walter in the north pole, an explorer who also, like
frankestain want to reach something that's beyond him but at the end he gives
up. Man can't reach some limits. The story is not chronological in fact its a series
of letter written by Walter to his sister M.S. The sorry has different point of view
and this gives to story more realism.