ISOLATION AND MADNESS IN MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN (1818), EMILY BRONTË’S WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847), AND STEPHEN KING’S THE SHINING (1977)

Abstract

In this paper, the thematic development of the theme of isolation and madness in Gothic literature will be analyzed by comparing three works of literature Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley, Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bront, and The Shining (1977) by Stephen King. Through a reflexive thematic analysis, the study follows the transition of the Romantic Sublime isolationism to the Domestic Gothic and eventually to the Modern Psychological trap. The paper contends that over time the origin of the madness shifted with the development of the genre whereby it was the focus of an external scientific transgression to internal psychological and hereditary corruption. The evidence indicates that the "Gothic Space" has not only declined to the Arctic wastes, but to the lobbies of a hotel, but the severity of the "Internal Monster" has also escalated, as the society began to experience anxiety about the self and the family unit.