A key feature of the Gothic genre in The Bloody Chamber, Frankenstein and Dr. Faustus is Transgression. Transgression, simply put, is the violation of a particular societal, moral, or natural law. It is about breaking boundaries or breaking the rules of society, which is reflected in all three literary works. Frankenstein's quest to create and his thirst for knowledge lead him to overturn the laws of religion and nature and create artificial life. Faustus is also an arrogant character who, like Frankenstein, has a thirst for knowledge that compels him to transgress religious boundaries in an act of blasphemy that would have shocked Elizabethan audiences. While Frankenstein's transgression is emotional and passionate, Faustus's is a cognitive choice, decided by reason and deliberated over and over again (arguably making Frankenstein a more sympathetic character). The transgression in “The Bloody Chamber” is presented differently, however. While Frankenstein and Faustus are punished for their transgressions (and the reader receives a lesson in morality), the female protagonists of "The Bloody Chamber" collection often subvert societal norms and "transgress" in ways that are liberating and should be celebrated. Patriarchy and male dominance are punished and Carter herself “transgresses” the fairy tale genre by subverting and challenging the stereotypes presented. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe Renaissance setting of Faustus and the 19th century setting of “Frankenstein” are societies going through a period of change. The Renaissance is divided between the return to humanist values ​​of balance, order and study of classical works and the heated debate on religion which characterizes this period. England was divided between Catholic and Protestant loyalties, providing a perfect backdrop for a protagonist with a divided soul to transgress. Frankenstein is also a protagonist who stands between divided societal disciplines. The boundaries between science, philosophy, and religion became more ambiguous in the 19th century, and the moral ambiguity of society allows its imperfect character enough space to make its fatal errors. The context of these two texts creates a societal divide in which the protagonists display transgressive behavior that allows us to question traditional societal norms. “The Bloody Chamber”, on the other hand, is a 20th century novel, written at a time of feminist uprising in the Western world. As a writer, she transcends (and could be seen as transgressing) patriarchal societal norms (as do her female protagonists). Carter herself says that she is the "product of an advanced, industrialized and declining post-imperialist country" and that this gives her "the feeling of unlimited freedom" (Wandor, 1983),1 emphasizing the freedoms enjoyed by individuals in the 20th century. Comparing this context with that of other texts prompts a new reading of Frankenstein and Faustus, in which modern audiences might perhaps commend them for their transgressive spirit, rather than condemn them as their own readers have done. Victor's lust for the power that science offers is triggered by a storm in which a "current of fire" leaves a "beautiful oak tree" in ruins. This “dazzling light” symbolizes a revelation for Frankenstein who watches with “curiosity and pleasure”. Electricity is considered to bea force that can both enlighten and "completely destroy", and the dual forces of this paradoxical power are reflected in human nature and other dualities in the novel. The "current of fire" alludes to Prometheus (who is referenced in the novel's subtitle "The Modern Prometheus") who mistakenly gave fire to humanity and was punished by Zeus. This classical allusion foreshadows Frankenstein's own transgression against nature. He is further motivated by his university speaker's rhetoric that the new philosophers will "penetrate the recesses of nature" and "show how she works in her hiding places." A feminist reading would consider the lexical choice of “penetration” as the symbol of an act of “rape” of nature. Nature is often personified as a feminine aspect and Frankenstein attempts to not only exploit the natural world, but also subvert the role of women as a whole by usurping their role as the creator of life. Scientific developments in the 18th and 19th centuries began to question the nature of life and how science and humans could take on the role of resuscitating life. This posed conflicts for what was once a religious society, and Victor's over-the-top quest could be seen by readers as blasphemous. Victor is overwhelmed by his need to pursue this and the compulsion to do so, and transgressing against nature and God seems overwhelming. He speaks of his “soul grappling with a palpable enemy” and of “feelings that swept me away like a hurricane”. In a psychoanalytic reading, the subconscious force that drives Victor forward is the uncontrollable “id,” the pleasure principle and primordial aspect of the human psyche. A hurricane is a natural, uncontrollable violent force that causes destruction and so this metaphor serves to foreshadow subsequent destruction. Ironically, a hurricane can be described as an "act of God" and so it could be said that what convinced Frankenstein is what he is trying to usurp. Frankenstein's pride is evidenced by his delusions of grandeur and his blasphemous quest for omnipotence. He speaks of pouring "a torrent of light into this dark world" with his creation, an image that reminds us of God's creation of the earth and how "a new species would bless me as its creator." His grandiose speculations are clearly so full of hyperbole that readers of the time would condemn his blasphemy. Similarly to Frankenstein, Dr. Faustus' transgressive nature allows us to question traditional societal norms as he commits the ultimate sin, a rejection of God. seek power as well as pleasure. The chorus, evocative of a Greek tragedy, prefigures the fate of Faustus; "his wax wings rose above his reach", this allusion to Icarus, who, against his father's advice, flew too close to the sun, melting his wax wings. In this case, for Faustus, it foreshadows his arrogance, pride, and greed which leads to his downfall. Wilhelm Wagner (1969)2 argues that “the devil and our lives on earth cannot give us greater satisfaction than God.” However, Faustus believes that "living in all pleasure" is worth more than the rewards he will obtain in heaven if he follows a moral path. The opening monologue of "Marlow's Dr. Faustus" reveals many different characteristics of the protagonist. In addition to establishing the character of Faustus, the monologue is a reflection of the Renaissance world, presenting Faustus as a man of his time since the character is influenced by the societal changes encountered during the Renaissance era. However, Faustus rejects the knowledge of his time, first rejecting "analysis" andlogic of the great philosopher Aristotle by questioning its objective: “is arguing well the main end of logic? spirit" The fricative, twisted final phrase is difficult to say and a Renaissance audience with keen ears would notice and hear the warning in his arrogant statement. He moves on to the study of medicine, rejecting "gold » that she can offer and boasting of having already “achieved this goal” Instead of learning from the world, he chooses “necromantic books” which he paradoxically considers “celestial”. conventional science by being obsessed with the works of Cornelius Agrippa, sorcerer and necromancer. His father's disapproval that his works are all "sad trash" further shows us that society and his immediate family disapprove of his studies. this is not enough to stop him In grandiose claims that resemble those of Frankenstein, Faustus believes that they will lead to "power, honor and omnipotence" and in the same way that Frankenstein wishes. 'a new species "bless" him as creator, Faustus wants "all things that go beyond" the poles to be at (his) command. The difference between Frankenstein and Faustus is that, although Frankenstein is motivated by a subconscious, uncontrollable force that is overturned by grief over his mother's death, Faustus' pursuit of divine power and pleasure is much more deliberate and conscious. and Marlowe's use of soliloquy here helps us see the deliberate and conscious decisions he makes. This makes his transgression even more sinful. Religious Renaissance audiences would view this transgression as sacrilegious and blasphemous, but modern audiences may support Faustus and see him as a revolutionary antihero and a true Renaissance man. Transgression is seen differently in the 20th century text, “The Bloody Chamber.” In the main story, the Marquis breaks moral and societal boundaries by merging erotic love with death. Her Bloody Chamber, a “room designed for dissection,” hides the corpses of her previous lovers. By murdering people, he breaks an important boundary; by combining a sexual element with death, he expands his behavior and transgressive nature to tackle several taboos. Carter says: "My intention was not to make 'versions' or, as the American edition of the book horribly put it, 'adult' fairy tales, but to extract the latent content of traditional stories and use it as the beginning of new stories." (Helen Simpson 1979)3. Carter reworks fairy tales to expose their "latent content" which is inherently violent and sexual. The male protagonists act as pornographers: the Marquis in "The Bloody Chamber" undresses the protagonist while he remains clothed and examines her "limb by limb", the lexical choice here highlights his intentions to defile her then murder her shows how patriarchy objectifies and silences women, expecting them to be “docie bodies”. The Marquis is a connoisseur of sadism and his room is a sanctuary of his work. », alongside a “catafalque”, “funeral urns” and “bowls”. incense' and these death ornaments show his obsession with the theater of sadism and death. The narrator (and perhaps the reader) is shocked when he realizes how "dead lips smile," demonstrating how the victim was complicit and derived pleasure from the sadism that led to his death. Carter seems to imply that women are just ascapable than men of sexual depravity and sadomasochistic tendencies. Even the narrator delights in the depravity of her husband's deviant fantasy. It is her virginity and “her innocence that he coveted” that particularly excite him, as well as the idea of ​​desecrating an innocent person. Disturbingly, the narrator is also aroused by his objectification: “and, as in the opera, when I first saw my flesh in his eyes, I found myself moving.” She feels a “strange impersonal excitement” and a mixture of “love” and “repulsion” during their first sexual encounter. This paradox and unwanted feelings of arousal toward someone who disgusts you could be Carter's appreciation of the role of the Freudian "id" in driving behavior. Below consciousness, she is attracted by the deviance of her practices and these represent the painful experiences of femininity. This is similar to Frankenstein who is also constrained by an “it” under his conscious control. Ozum (nd)4 suggests that "Carter's tales craft new cultural and literary realities in which women's sexuality and agency replace the patriarchal traits of innocence and morality in traditional fairy tales." Carter subverts traditional gender stereotypes by giving female characters the freedom to dominate their own sexuality and revealing the narrator's perverse pleasure in her objectification. Gothic texts often attempt to shock, and the other two texts certainly contain ideas that shocked readers and audiences of the time and Carter's Bloody Chamber does the same. Even modern readers, in a shock-averse media age, may be shocked not only by the Marquis's socially transgressive behavior, but also by the Freudian revelations that desire and disgust are closely linked in the psyche. feminine. Carter reveals female empowerment through sexuality. Although the institution of marriage serves to deprive the protagonist of her power (Carter herself said "what is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many")5 and it highlights the commodification and objectification of women through the protagonist: "my buyer has unpacked his bargain The narrator (who is empowered by the ability to tell her own story, a subversion of the fairy tale tradition) is aware of her objectification and how her husband “conspired to seduce” her. This is perhaps what strengthens her, because she knows that it was "her innocence that captivated him", but also that he, as a connoisseur of sexual deviance, sensed in her "a rare talent for corruption”. Carter illustrates the paradoxical nature of desire in the oxymoronic phrase “And I wanted him.” And he disgusted me” by showing how revulsion and desire are not mutually exclusive concepts that the reader might have thought them to be. Gothic literature is powerful and exciting because readers and audiences can vicariously experience the thrill of transgression and project the desires of Freudian identity onto harmless characters when they are unable to express them themselves due to the societal boundaries. Carter, like Shelley and Marlowe, shocks readers by exposing the darker aspects of human nature and desire. The protagonist's understanding of her own objectification allows her to accept this and use her own sexuality to transgress and gain power. Carter's use of the motif of mirrors shows the emerging sense of subjectivity of Bloody Chamber's protagonist. His heroine's ability to stand outside of herself allows Carter to get rid of the..