Frankenstein

I believe that the supernatural element in a Gothic piece of literature is the most effective element. I believe that the supernatural aspect of Gothic literature is the most effective because it adds a mysterious feeling to the story. The supernatural world has, and I do believe will always, captivate and entertain the bounds of the human imagination. This captivation and entrapment of the human imagination is the exact reason it is the most effective element for a piece of Gothic literature. In the case of Mary Wollstonecraft-Shelley's Frankenstein, the supernatural idea of a monster pieced together from previously deceased pieces of tissue and then reanimated with electricity is no exception to the boundless wonders of mankind. This monster learns to speak and to read and at one point even plots the murder of Victor Frankenstein's younger brother William. This idea that a man can be made from deceased body parts and be a fully functioning person who thinks and can even have the drive to murder is something that could entice even the least interested reader to think twice before passing up a novel of such caliber. This is why the supernatural world is the most important factor in any piece of Gothic writing.