The gothic horror genre attempts to make the reader/viewer feel a sense of
dread, fear, terror, disgust or horror. ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley and
‘Interview with the vampire’ by Neil Jordan both explore the elements which
compliment the Gothic Horror Genre. Major elements that are constant
throughout the two texts are the constant search for knowledge which can be
dangerous if in the wrong hands which can lead to supernatural or
inexplicable events, omens or visions occurring, Humanity and the continuous
quest to find what it means to be human touching on the idea of life after
death, Isolation and the want for companionship, the responsibility of actions
and the consequences, wanderers and the idea that women are often shown
to be in distress.
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’, Victor Frankenstein’s obsession to know more and
more about life, how it is created and others who have quested to do the
same such as the Ancient Mariner have eventually lead him to the creation of
the his own human which was a supernatural event. In this case has also
created a disaster due to the constant search for knowledge turning
Frankenstein insane and dangerous. After creating the creation Victor saw it
as a mistake. ‘I had finished, the beauty of my dream vanished breathless
horror and disgust filled my heart’. Later in the book Victor preaches to Walton
‘You search for knowledge as I once did…’ ‘… I hope it does not sting you as
it once did me’ Shelley used Emotional Language to express Frankenstein’s
horror and disgust in what he has done and creates a sense of forgiveness
and pity for Frankenstein.
‘Interview with the Vampire’ a film, demonstrates the same concept of the
constant search for knowledge, which leads to a downfall. Louis has always
longed to leave his life, as he was never satisfied with the life he was living
and has always been curious about vampires and life after death. ‘I longed to
be released from it. I wanted to lose it all…’ ‘… My invitation was open to
anyone…’ ‘… But it was the vampire that accepted’. This quote shows Louis
relentless longing to leave the life he currently is in. This curiousness for
answers to life and the unknown leads Louis to the choice to become a
vampire. Louis accepts not realising that becoming a new person/vampire
does not erase the feelings of a human only makes them worse because he is
now locked in a life of evil with no way out. Hubris is a technique that Jordan
uses to show Louis fatal flaw of searching for something new to end his
current life, by becoming a vampire Louis for fills this temporarily but
eventually finds there is no way out and is worse off that before. This gives
the reader pity and sorrow towards Louis.
Both composers have explored the theme of Humanity and the continuous
quest to find out what it means to be human, touching on the idea of life after
death. In ‘Frankenstein’ Victor is faced with the decision to free Justine from
death. In order to do this he must confess that the creature he created in
actual fact was the murderer of poor little William and risk his dignity and pride
throughout the town ‘…horror would be looked upon as madness by the
vulgar’ or remain a trusted and honoured member of the community and let an
innocent human die for his own dignity. This question that he was forced to
ask him self is also another way to ask the question of ‘what it means to be
human?’. Victor chooses to keep this valuable information to himself and lets
Justine die. This shows that Victor does not hold the human quality of
honesty. Character Foils are used by Shelly to convey and highlight good and
bad qualities of Victor. This is how the audience realises Victor is seen as a
respected member of the community but is really a mentally unstable and
untrustworthy person.
In the film ‘Interview with the Vampire’ humanity is explored on many different
levels and looks at the idea of life after death. Claudia longs to be a full-grown
woman like all other girls her age, like the naked prostitute ‘Trust Claudia to
find her What, don’t you want her?’(Lestat) ‘I want to be her’ (Claudia) but will
never experience this feeling because she is a vampire. Even though her
mental state matures she is still seen as a young girl and still receives teddies
every birthday. ‘You see that old women? That will never be you, you will
never grow old, you will never die’ (Louis) ‘and it means something else too,
doesn’t it? I shall never grow up’ (Claudia). This is Claudia and Louis
observing an old woman who is alone and struggling to live, Louis believes
this is a good thing that Claudia will never experience this but Claudia thinks
different and wants to change. Symbolism of the old lady is used to portray
what Claudia will never be, what is means to be human is aging to Claudia.
Jordan uses this to create an atmosphere of guilt and makes the audience
feel sorrow and understand for Claudia.
Gothic/horror texts readily captivate the audience with the subject of isolation
and the need for companionship, which embrace the need of taking
responsibility for your actions and consequences and the reoccurring idea that
women are often shown as in distress and prejudice against the different.
Victor from ‘Frankenstein’ does not take responsibility of his own actions in
the making of the creature. ‘Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had
created, I rushed out of the room’ He abandons the creature in a prejudice
world that would not accept him because of his distinct abnormalities. He is
isolated from the real world by his appearance and his inability to
communicate with humans. In turn to Victor not taking responsibility of his
actions, the consequences are that the creature begins to attack Victor’s
family and friends. Foreshadowing in the form of dreams such as Elizabeth
dieing a brutal death show and create suspense for the audience and give an
insight to events of the future and the workings of Victors mind.
In ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Lestat does not take responsibility for the
creation of his 2 vampire children, Louis and Claudia, therefore Louis always
feels isolated from the vampire world because Lestat never explained and
taught Louis the ways and doings of a vampire. ‘I’ll give you the chance I
never had’, this is Lestat acting on resentment of his creation only, and not
how the victims feel. Jordan repeats this phrase to emphasise Lestat’s inner
anger towards his creator and makes the audience have sympathy toward
Lestat. Lestat finally realises Louis loneliness and desire for a companion this
is why Lestat creates Claudia. This also plays on the subject of the females in
distress. Claudia is helpless because she was born to a vampire at such a
young age and never taught correctly. Claudia longs for a companion to fill the
space of her mother. ‘Don’t make me do this, I cannot’ (Louis) ‘yet you could
do it to me. Snatch me from my mother’s hands, like two monsters in a fairy
tale. And now you weep. I haven’t tears enough for what you’ve done to me’
(Claudia), this is Claudia getting Louis to create a mother for her because
once again she is the women in distress and is not strong enough to create
her own vampire. Jordan uses a simile ‘like two monsters in a fairy tale’ to
accentuate that she fells like she is living in a fairytale something that is far
from real and scary. This makes the audience feel compassion and
consideration towards Claudia’s situation.
In Conclusion, it is clear that texts of the Gothic/horror Genre can contain
many different issues and themes including the constant search for
knowledge, and in the wrong hands can be dangerous and lead to
supernatural or unexplainable events occurring and omen or visions
appearing, humanity and what is means to be human exploring the concept of
life after death and isolation and the need for companionship which link with
the need to take responsibility for your actions and the idea that women are
often shown in distress. It is also evident that ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
and ‘Interview with the Vampire’ by Neil Jordan are both situated under the
category of the gothic/horror genre.