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Gothicism and Romanticism
PRE-READING
MATERIAL
FOR FRANKENSTEIN
Gothic Literature and Romanticism
 Gothic Literature emerged during the Romanticism
time period
 Romanticism embraced the Progressive Movement
that emerged during the French and American
Revolutions
 It parallels the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions
Elements of Gothic Literature
 Is known for:
 Supernatural characters
 Frightening, far away settings
 Darkness and death
 Curses and secrets
 Haunted Houses
Romanticism
 Is NOT sentimental love stories!
 It is:
 Idealism that caused people to question authority
 A fascination with youthful innocence
 Awareness of social change
Romanticism and Nature
 The Romantics very much believed in NATURE!
 Nature is NOT just known for its beauty
 Nature IS believed to inspire the human mind
Romanticism and Society
 Romantics REJECTED:
 Conservative morality
 Authoritarian governments
 Reason being the primary way to explain the world
 Self-Control
 Conformity
• Romantics BELIEVED in:
o Individualism
o Personal Expression
o Emotional responses to life experiences
Themes of Romanticism
 Travel
 Nature
 Adventure
 Legends
 Folklore
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
 Frankenstein is a gothic novel because it involves the
Romantic tradition of the supernatural and the
unexplainable.
 It closely aligns with the genre of today’s Science
Fiction.
 It did NOT conform to society expectations, it was
NOT conventional, philosophical, or educational.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
 Mary Shelley created Frankenstein out of her
imagination.

NOT: her mind, education, or personal experience.
•
Shelley admitted that the idea came to her after she woke up
from a dream.
•
The title, Frankenstein; the Modern Prometheus, alludes to a
Titan God (Prometheus) who was punished by Zeus for stealing
fire.