Examine the presentation of horror and terror in ‘Frankenstein using integrated linguistic and literary approaches. In the course of your writing, explore connections between ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and demonstrate the significance of relevant contexts
Throughout the novels horror and terror have a clearly significant effect on the body. They prevent the individual from thinking and acting rationally. Sometimes referred to as the ‘mother of the gothic genre’, Ann Radcliffe recognised horror and terror are opposites – ‘terror expands the soul and awakens the facilities (the senses)’.
She then goes on to state that horror ‘contracts and freezes’ the senses. In chapter two of volume three, Mary Shelley writes that Frankenstein’s eyes ‘shut to the horror of (my) proceedings’ which illustrates Radcliffe’s interpretation of the impact on the senses that horror has. On page 262 Shelley describes how the feeling of horror causes Walton’s blood to ‘congeal’ and ‘curdle’ in response. Typically, a person is not aware of their blood running through their veins but in this case, Walton’s senses are heightened, he is now more aware of his inability to physically function correctly. The environment in which Robert Louis Stevenson sets Jekyll and Hyde are considered idal for writing terror literature.
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In chapter five of Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde it’s described how, upon his serendipitous discovery of the forgery within the letter, Utterson’s ‘blood ran cold’. In the same way that Walton’s senses are heightened and his body is frozen in horror, Mr Utterson may not literally feel that his blood is cold but instead he is now aware of his body reacting to the sudden horrifying information. Despite the two novels being written nearly seventy years apart, Frankenstein being a Victorian novel written in 1818 and Jekyll and Hyde being a novel written in the Romantic era of 1886 the use of blood going cold in reaction to something shocking or frightening is a common literary element of both gothic stories.
Readers of the Gothic genre, such as Professor John Bowen have suggested that gothic novels use settings that are often mysterious, frightening but at the same time both ‘simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar’. Within these settings writers within the Gothic genre, similar to Mary Shelley, produce tales of ‘constraint, entrapment, and forced actions’. We see constraint emerge in Frankenstein when the Creature uses the method of strangulation to commit his horrendous murders. Professor David Punter states that the ‘central mood of the Gothic is fear’ where often the protagonist is reacting to something insubstantial, finding it difficult to defend/protect themselves which would then provoke reactions of terror.
Every so often horror and terror are inflicted on those that are in the vicinity of the Creature however, after the death of Frankenstein the Creature reveals the horror and anguish torture he felt personally while carrying out his crimes. After the murder of Clerval it explains that ‘I pitied Frankenstein; my pity amounted to horror: I abhorred myself.’ These feelings are awakened within himself as a result of his actions which are a contrast to how these feelings are usually displayed when Frankenstein approaches anyone. As a consequence of these murderous crimes an emotional response is triggered in the creature and causes impulsive actions to follow, ‘I had cast off all feeling to riot in the excess of my despair…evil thenceforth became my good.’
In comparison with Jekyll and Hyde, while conversing with Mr Utterson, Mr Enfield describes how the ‘man’ he witnessed attack a young woman ‘trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming’. The audience later discovers this ‘man’ to be Mr Hyde. The adverb ‘calmly’ highlights the difference in attitude towards committing an horrendous act. Whilst the actions of Shelley’s Creature leave it with a mental scar, Stevenson’s Mr Hyde remains unaffected. This may be because the Creature was created to be a human, using human parts allowing for human feelings of horror and terror, whereas Hyde is described as ‘ape like’ with ‘animalistic’ tendencies.
Shelley continues to use the adjective ‘agony’ to accompany both horror and terror which is then paired with a with verbs such as ‘cry’ or a ‘scream’. This is displayed on page 221 where Victor Frankenstein ‘screamed aloud with agony and terror’ at the mental image of the Creature he had created.
Stevenson also writes on page 44 that as Poole swings his axe there was ‘a dismal screech, as of mere animal terror’. The pre modifying adjective ‘animal’ in this case has connotations of a certain aggression and desperation beyond what a human is able to tolerate and express. It is also interesting how Hyde is described as being animalistic with ‘uncontrollable desires’ as well as forever despised and friendless due to the horrifying impression that he leaves after encountering anyone. However, despite also filling those around him with a sense of horror and terror, Shelley’s Creature is not compared to an animal in terms of his erratic behaviour but his physical description leans more towards that of something inhuman, perhaps even animal like. Author William Green recognises in his article ‘Frankenstein, when he has created the Monster, uses ‘horror’ many times to make clear his shock of the Monster’s appearance. Planned to look like a human, Frankenstein has misjudged the creation of the Monster making him become increasingly animalistic looking fearing his personality and behaviour will be as shocking as his appearance.
The majority of the reactions that are influenced by a horrifying/terrifying experience are provoked by appearance. The Creature is often referred to as ‘hideous’, ‘ugly’ and a ‘monster’. These adjectives create a typically horrifying image of the physical appearance of the Creature rather than forming an idea of the personality behind the frightening exterior. In both novels, Shelley in Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the authors use their stories to display Victorian cultural fears.
Robert Louis Stevenson addresses the issues surrounding what can happen when science goes too far in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dustan Hahnel explains that ‘while science can be used for the betterment of mankind; Jekyll uses science to create his own monster.’ The Victorians feared those who meddled in things they simply had a lack of knowledge about and the outcome of their adventurous experiments. In this case, Victorian audiences would be horrified at the idea of Jekyll using his wealth of knowledge and resources to create his horrifying alter ego Hyde for his own benefit of exhausting his own primal urges and desires. Patrick Johnson agrees and points out that in Frankenstein ‘much like the Greek mythology that lends its name to the novel, Frankenstein is a cautionary tale, warning about the dangers of science and technology going too far.’ Victorian readers would be frightened at the thought of Victor Frankenstein using his scientific knowledge to take the place of God and a creator of life.
Bibliography
- Essay written by John Bowen – http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gothic-motifs
- Essay written by David Punter – http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gothic-motifs
- Human and animal behaviour in gothic texts by William Green – https://www.askwillonline.com/2013/05/essay-gothic-human-animal-kingdoms-blurred.html
- Fear of Science in Jekyll and Hyde by Dustan Hahnel – https://victoriansttu.wordpress.com/fear-of-science-in-jekyll-and-hyde/
- Frankenstein is a reflection of society’s fears by Patrick Johnson https://www.atmostfear-entertainment.com/health/psychology/frankenstein-is-a-reflection-of-fears-of-the-society/
