 |
| Credit: Pic came from HERE |
When it comes to Gothic literature, the question is raised:
is religion present or absent? I believe the answer is yes. It is both. Religion, to me, is an organized
set of beliefs and practices that are practiced routinely and governed by some
type of moral code that is implemented by people. Catholicism would be a
religion, whereas the personal belief of a Catholic person would be their
personal Faith. I believe that religion is in Gothic literature, though
sometimes it’s purposefully avoided. Wendy Hall, from Marquette University
states that fictions were often set “against a religious backdrop, since it was
fertile territory for the Gothic exploration of the supernatural and unknown,
as well as its anti-Catholic project.”
Gothic
literature was born in the late eighteenth century in Europe, shortly after the
dawning of the Enlightenment Period. “At the heart of this movement lay the
firm conviction- especially among intellectuals- that human reason should
determine understanding of the world and the rules of social life.” (West in
the World, p.436) Gothic literature displays this struggle between the
practices of religion -allowing the Church to govern the affairs of society,
and using human reason, science, and tangible facts to govern your own life.
In the
Castle of Otranto, Religion is presented to the reader rather obviously. The
book begins in the midst of the religious ceremony of marriage when something
supernatural and unexplained occurs, causing the death of Conrad. The
supernatural and the unexplained are all a part of having faith and a spiritual
belief. The Castle itself has a chapel and places for practicing quiet prayer
and a nearby monastery. The characters pray to God and consult the Friar.
Religion is not hidden or mocked in the Castle of Otranto, instead we have a
struggle for power between Manfred and God. Manfred believes that he can be
immortal and that no one can stop him from his desires. “If you try to achieve
absolute power, you will be brought down by the darkness of your own excesses.”
(Blouin, Webisode 1) Eventually, Manfred is brought down and put in his place
by a supernatural being, Alfonso.
However, in
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a stark absence of religion and the
supernatural. The Frankenstein family does not seem to be a church going
family, for Church is never mentioned. They do not seem to rely on spiritual
faith in their daily activities, though occasionally a prayer is mentioned.
There is a crude comparison of Victor Frankenstein as a creator of life, to God
the Father as our Creator. The monster has read Paradise Lost and has compared himself to Adam, calling Victor his
god. He subsequently curses Victor and the day he was given life. “God, in
pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a
filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance.” (p.119) Was
Mary Shelley mocking religion or was she showing us that we cannot play God on
earth to achieve absolute God-like power?
I have read
that Mary Shelley was an atheist. We also know that she was pregnant and out of
wedlock from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen when she started
writing her novel. By the standards of society, her child not yet born would
have been considered a bastard child, perhaps it would become an outcast
because of her actions. Could these thoughts have played into her creation of
Victor and his monster? We also know that she had lost most of her babies after
they were born. If she, being an atheist, did not believe in a higher power or
an afterlife in Heaven, could she have considered what it might be to bring a
person back to life? Throughout the novel, the absence of religious practices
is noticeable and the struggle of a spiritual faith and moral belief system is
real. Religion is both present and absent in Frankenstein.
Victor Frankenstein, like Manfred of
Otranto, is struggling to become a master of all things and to be a powerful,
immortal being. Their internal and external strife lead them into the dark
excesses which eventually cause them to become estranged from others. They
fight to power with some unknown opponent and consequently are brought to ruin.
Gothic literature uses the human struggle of having power over our lives and
surrendering to a higher power as a base for dramatic strife, taking the reader
through an intense story of supernatural and internal confusion. Therefore, I
believe religion is both present and absent in Gothic literature.
Citations:
Hall, Wendy. Glossary of the Gothic: Religion. ePublications at Marquette. Web. 12 June
2016
Sherman, Dennis, and Joyce Salisbury.
The West in the World Volume 1: to 1715
Fifth Edition. New York City: McGraw Hill, 2014. Print.
Blouin, Michael. “Webisode One ENG495”. Online video lecture.
YouTube. 20 Apr 2016. Web.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein.
New York City. Bantam Dell, 1981. Print
No comments:
Post a Comment