Typical Traits of a Gothic Protagonist:
- Extremities in behaviour / Excessive emotions
- A fascination with the past
- A tragic flaw which ultimately leads to their downfall
- A high social ranking
- Links to the supernatural
- An absolute goal or aim
- A large psychological conflict / turmoil.
Macbeth as a Gothic protagonist:
Despite Shakespeare's writings of 'Macbeth' occurring approximately two centuries before the introduction of the first Gothic novel, 'The Castle of Otranto', the focal role of Macbeth most certainly moulds to the role as a Gothic protagonist, as he possesses many of the qualities listed above. It most certainly cannot be denied that Macbeth possesses qualities of madness, and a large psychological conflict as a Gothic protagonist. Throughout the play, Macbeth suffers a series of externalisations of his manifested guilt and turmoils, whether this is shown in the form of the dagger, the three Witches, or even Banquo's ghost.
Arguably, the greatest conflict in which Macbeth faces is whether he should commit the act of murder against King Duncan, which causes him to envision a "dagger of the mind, a false creation" which he recognises as "Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain."It is important to note that instantly after returning from the murder of Duncan, Macbeth appears to be mentally unhinged, as he utterances appear much more abrupt, disjointed and obsessive as he becomes entirely consumed with the fact that he was unable to utter "Amen" in response to Duncan's sons. Macbeth's initial conflict regarding whether or not he should submit to the prophecy of the Witches - "cannot be ill, cannot be good" - forms a catalyst for a vast number of sudden psychological conflicts, which appear to grow more intense and grotesque as the play continues; until Macbeth finally envisions himself "stepped in blood."Thus, affirming Macbeth as a Gothic protagonist due to his suffering at the hands of his own psychology which becomes externalised in many forms throughout the plot.
As a result of this madness, Macbeth also suffers from extremities in behaviour, as he abruptly shifts to display an excessive amount of rage, or even guilt as to what he has committed. For example, a key moment in which we witness Macbeth's extreme behaviour is in Act Five, Scene 3, when he begins to display an excessive anger towards one of his servants: "Go prick thy face and over-red thy fear, Thou lily-livered boy."Throughout this scene, Macbeth's behaviour shifts swiftly, as he suddenly requests his armour - "Give me my armour" - in an outburst of determination to fight, before then suddenly fearing the inevitability of his death and stating: "Pull't off, I say." Immersed in this state of unpredictability, Shakespeare's use of language within this scene is extremely excessive, as Macbeth utilises a vast range of negative lexis, such as: "Pluck, raze, diseased, troubles, oblivious"- thus, further accentuating the excessive nature to Macbeth's entire being by the conclusion of the play.
However, it is not just anger and rage in which Macbeth possesses in his extreme behaviours, but rather guilt, which at sometimes shock him into realising the enormity of the crime in which he has committed. For example, directly after the murder of Duncan Macbeth states: "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!" where he appears to realise the nature of the act he has just committed, he attempts to make a sarcastic joke of it; however, ultimately Macbeth becomes taken aback by the murder he has just committed. Duncan will not be awoken, and Macbeth now can no longer return and redeem his guilt.
Another vital trait in which Macbeth possesses which affirms him as a Gothic protagonist would be his high social ranking as the King of Scotland by the conclusion of the play. Notably, Shakespeare sums up entirely Macbeth's improvement in social standing through Banquo's utterance: "Thou hast it now - King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,/ As the weird women promised, and I fear / Thou played'st most foully for't." Throughout the play, Macbeth progresses in social standing greatly; however, it cannot be so easily suggested that he was of a lower class status to begin with. It is important to note that even in the opening of the play Macbeth possessed a high social ranking as a worthy warrior of King Duncan, whom all, including the King, praised as a "worthy solider" achieving victory through "bloody execution." Although, as the play progresses, Macbeth's swift improvement in social standing most certainly appears to affirm his connection with the role as a Gothic protagonist.
Arguably, Macbeth's absolute goal or aim is essentially his tragic flaw which ultimately leads to his downfall; thus, aligning Macbeth with another two conventional traits as a Gothic protagonist (how perfect!) Macbeth's character flaw is his ambition, and greed to achieve his fatal goal: to secure Kingship within Scotland, and to fulfil the prophecies of the Witches - "All hail Macbeth, King of Scotland." Notably, directly after his first meeting with the Witches in Act One, Scene Three, Macbeth states: "That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap." which instantly highlights his ambitious desires to pursue the prophecies of the Witches, so much so, that he suddenly begins to consider and plot his journey to Kingship. Furthermore, even before this consideration, Macbeth appears "rapt withal" in regards to the Witches speech, thus, further highlighting his passion/ambition in the early stages of the play; which appears to disregard the argument that Lady Macbeth is the main catalyst of Macbeth's ambition, forcing him to commit murder - as in fact he appears enraptured in his ambition even before conversing with his wife.
In further development of this, the final trait of a Gothic protagonist in which Macbeth certainly displays is his relationship with the supernatural, which is shown through his bond with the three Witches, his "horrible imaginings" of the "dagger of the mind" and finally the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth's dominant association with the supernatural in the play appears to affirm him as a weak, passive figure who is controlled by his own manifestations; not only through the theory that the Witches are an externalisation of his psychological turmoils (mention in more detail in my previous blog post - here), but additionally through the way in which he understands the dagger to be a "false creation." In regards to Banquo's ghost, it is important to note that no one else is able to see the "very painting of [his] fear", which appears to further connect the trait of madness and the supernatural in relation to Macbeth being a Gothic protagonist.
Victor as a Gothic protagonist:
Victor Frankenstein most certainly possesses an absolute goal or aim within Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', which is displayed within his "feverent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature" and "renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption." Throughout the novel, Victor appears to possesses no sense of the long term, as he conducts 'science without morals' and subsequently creates a "fiend" whom "snatched from [him] every hope of future happiness."Victor obtains an utter devotion towards his "secret toil"to the extent that he submits himself to total isolation, thus, allowing him to devote himself with "ardour" to his creation of a being composed from body parts from the "dissecting room and the slaughter house." Thus, affirming Victor's obsession with his absolute goal or aim: to transgress the boundaries of life and death through the development of modern science.
Much like Macbeth, Victor's tragic character flaw is his over-reaching ambition, which gradually becomes more powerful than him in the form of the Creature. Notably, Victor's ambition causes him, much like his absolute goal or aim, to blind him to the consideration of any long term consequences, and it is not until the Creature requests a "companion...of the same species" that he suddenly considers the potential for a "race of devils" to pollute the earth. However, as the reader knows this is too little, too late. Victor becomes almost too enraptured with the idea of creating life, that he gradually makes himself mentally unhinged, and almost becomes like the Creature in which he so detests - "I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description horrible."Arguably, Shelley not only appears to affirm Victor as a Gothic protagonist, but additionally, like Shakespeare, warns of the dangers of becoming subservient to our ambition, and attempting to transgress past our roles within humankind to become "more powerful than [our] nature will allow."
Throughout 'Frankenstein', Victor displays strong extremities in his behaviour, with most of his actions/utterances being excessive, extreme or even obsessive in nature. Even within the first chapter, Shelley affirms Victor's dominant sense of obsession (which could also be seen as a character flaw) as he regards Elizabeth as his "more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only." Within this extract, Victor appears to surpass being merely protective of his sibling, but almost worryingly obsessive over her; treating Elizabeth as if she were a "pretty present" in which he owns - making her untouchable to any other being. Notably, throughout the novel, Victor appears to victimise himself, so that it almost appears to become a comical competition between him and the Creature as to who appears the most victimised. For example, Victor's language throughout appears excessively melancholy, as he refers to himself as a "miserable spectre of wrecked humanity", as well as the way in which he "trembl[es] with passion" as he "ardently wished to extinguish the life [he] had so thoughtlessly bestowed." It cannot be denied that throughout 'Frankenstein', Victor most certainly displays extreme behaviours, which compose him to be an entirely melodramatic, excessive Gothic protagonist.
In association with this extremity in behaviour, Victor possesses a range of inner conflicts throughout the novel; for example, his inner turmoil as to whether he should create a new companion for the "wretch" in which he created, or whether or not he truly wants to marry Elizabeth or remain in isolation - "Alas! to me the idea of immediate union with Elizabeth was one of horror and dismay."In addition to this, one of the great inner conflicts Victor faces is whether he should confess his "secret toil[s]" in order to save Justine from being executed as a "murderess", as he fears that he will condemned as a "madman" as a result of this. However, Victor decides to continue in his pursuit of ambition and usurpation as he concludes that he will not admit to the nature of his creation ; thus, allowing his inner conflict to once again cause the death of another innocent being at the hands of the Creature.
Furthermore, Victor appears to possess a strong fascination with the past, as he becomes enraptured with the philosophical works of Agrippa/Paracelsus in which his father regards as "silly trash" due to it's outdated nature. In addition to Victor's obsession with the history of science, he additionally can be argued to be obsessed with the death of his mother, which can be seen as his initial reason for transgressing the boundaries of life and death - "the brightness of a beloved eye can be extinguished, and the sound of a voice...hushed, never more to be heard."Arguably, the death of Victor's mother holds such an impact on him that he decides to attempt to eradicate the bereavement and guilt of death, by allowing "life" to be "renew[ed]" when "death" attempts to "devote...the body to corruption." Thus, accentuating the way in which past events appear to take a strong hold on Victor's state of mind.
Finally, throughout the novel, Shelley intrinsically links Victor to the supernatural through his connection with the Creature - whom could be regarded as his double (shown in previous blog post - here.) Notably, as the novel progresses, Victor appears to become much like the Creature in regards to his physical appearance, as he "gnashe[s] his teeth, and [his] eyes [become] inflammed."Thus, further aligning him with the supernatural - a vital attribute of a Gothic protagonist.
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