Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, uses gothic literature to portray the fact that there are limits to what mankind should be capable of and their pursuit of knowledge should be restricted. Frankenstein is a gothic novel because of 4 elements that are rendered throughout the novel. Frankenstein’s drive and motivation to grow and his curiosity to learn is what leads him to become his own worst enemy. Shelley uses horror and violence to illustrate the idea of what mankind is capable of when the pursuit of knowledge is not restricted. Sublime nature is used to foreshadow and emphasize the supernatural elements that are used in the novel. Frankenstein ultimately becomes his own worst enemy because there were no limits to what mankind should be capable of knowing.
In gothic literature, man becomes his own worst enemy by inflicting it onto themselves and that is what Frankenstein does. Frankenstein’s drive and curiosity leads to his downfall. When Frankenstein is younger he has a passion for learning and an eagerness to learn new things. When he goes of to England to create a human being from dead parts and materials he is playing the role of God and by doing that he is stretching the limits to what mankind is supposed to know, which is causing himself to become his own worst enemy. Once the creation is alive, he quickly realizes that Frankenstein is not going to be a father-figure to him and abandons him right after he saw the creation. So, the creation kills Frankenstein’s little