Is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" a typical Gothic Novel? Context and Themes in "The Modern Prometheus"

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Frankfurt (Main), language: English, abstract: "What makes Frankenstein an important book, though it is only a strong, flawed novel with frequent clumsiness in its narrative and characterization, is that it contains one of the most vivid versions we have of the Romantic mythology of the self, one that resembles Blake's "Book of Urizen", Shelley¿s "Prometheus Unbound" and Byron's "Manfred", among other works. Because it lacks the sophistication and imaginative complexity of such works, Frankenstein affords a unique introduction to the archetypal world of the Romantics."

This quotation by Harold Bloom, focuses on the aspect of why the novel Frankenstein is so important and why it stands out compared to other novels of the same genre. The argument is discussed later in this paper. Consequently, more questions are answered: What is Shelley's style of writing? Which elements does the novel Frankenstein consist of, and what makes it differ from other Gothic novels? The paper's aim is to answer these questions and to give information about the question: Is Frankenstein a typical Gothic novel?

The structure is as follows. At first, the context of the novel is explained by giving background information about the author Mary Shelley. Subsequently, the Gothic genre is introduced, followed by the Gothic themes in "Frankenstein" which are analyzed under different aspects. Lastly, the findings are compiled in the conclusion.