Chapter 4: Horror and childbirth.

Close focus on the end of chapter 4. How does Shelley create an atmosphere of horror and dread around Victor’s experiments? Note also words from the semantic field of birth (‘conceive’, ‘labour’, ‘bore’) – why might Shelley use them?


Shelley creates an atmosphere of dread and horror around Victor's experiment by providing a very descriptive, detailed insight to his experiments. 'Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as ... the grave, ... tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?' shows the horrific methods in which Victor undertook to obtain different 'parts' for his monster. Her vivid description of the organs 'my eye balls were starting from their sockets in attending to the details of my employment' is also a technique to instill horror. The names she created for Victor's various rooms, such as 'dissecting room' and 'slaughterhouse' have the ability to send chills down one's bones by itself. This has a visual impact on readers and as it registers in readers' mind, readers feel disgusted and horrified at Victor's methods of obtaining 'parts' for his monster.


Besides that, Shelley made Victor into a character who is intently obsessed about his experiments. Words like 'unremitting ardour' and 'lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit' shows that Victor's obsession in his work is very intent to the extent that 'my cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement'. It is hinted that Shelley thinks that Victor's obsession is unhealthy. Shelley describes Victor into a character that is trapped with his experiments. Besides the fact that Victor could not 'tear my thought from my employment ... swallowed up every habit of my nature', his passion and nature was so intense that he 'pursued nature to her hiding-places'. He shuts himself away in his 'cell' and alienates himself from his family and friends.

Shelley also uses words from the semantic field of birth because she likens the creation of Frankenstein's monster like a nine-month gestation period. 'Winter, spring, and summer' passes, Victor's 'enthusiasm was checked by my anxiety' and he was rather anxious for his creation to be finally completed. Perhaps Shelley wanted to pen down the anxiety and apprehension that soon-to-be mothers go through as she herself, though at a young age of 18, has already been through two pregnancies. She wanted to tell her readers the fear that women go through during the gestation period.