How was Frankenstein written as a gothic horror?

Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley on a dare. She
and a few of her other friends were hanging out and they dared each other to write a
good ghost story. The other folks were prominent writers as well, and Mary was the
product of two successful writers. No one else took on the dare. At age 19, Shelley took
this seriously and Frankenstein was born.

The book opens
with a series of letters from a man on an adventure. Up in the Arctic region, he comes
upon a man who tells the story of his upbringing. This story ends up including his
creation of the monster, and then the monster ends up telling his story to his creator
which his creator is re-telling.

Gothic horror is an
off-shoot genre of the romantic era. Romanticism consisted of fantasy that could not
come true. It was impossible. This scenario fits romanticism because man can only
re-create man through one process. Romanticism also uses elements of nature to help
portray mood or tone. This book is no different. In fact, nature most specifically
builds suspense with it's light and dark connotations and the conditions of
weather.

The idea that humans could do such great evil also
contributes to the gothic nature of this piece. Up until the 1700s, much written text
was produced by the church. During this new time, an author's imagination could run wild
and did. Particularly because of what the French were able to accomplish in controlling
other peoples, many had feelings about the ills of what man was capable of. The
supernatural is indicative of this Gothic genre and Frankenstein
certainly possesses that.