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20) “Mad, bad and dangerous” How accurate is this as a description of the gothic villains in the texts
you have studied?
The definition of a gothic villain being “dangerous” can be attributed to Macbeth
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However,
his potential for brutality is soon fulfilled upon receiving multiple prophecies from the witches who
claim he “shalt be king hereafter”
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Macbeth also reveals his madness when he sees a “fatal vision” of a
dagger and attempting to then “clutch thee”
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It is not until Lady
Macbeth calls him a “coward” that he agrees to kill Duncan in order to become king himself
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In Frankenstein, it is Victor who is considered the antagonist of the novel
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Victor Frankenstein may be considered “mad”
in the sense that he is irrational despite his high educational background
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The belief
that he can physically fight the eight foot tall creature is illogical, therefore, mad to an extent
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This
transgression could also be deemed as ‘bad’ as well as ‘mad’
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Upon seeing Clerval’s dead body, Victor claims that “the human
frame could no longer endure the agonies that I endured” and falls ill, revealing his fragility
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When asked to then create a female for the creature to ail his
loneliness, Victor replies “you may torture me, but I will never consent”
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In The Bloody Chamber, it is the Marquis who also aptly fits the description of being “dangerous”
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This could show how he is dangerous as it suggests that his ‘hunger’ for brutally
murdering his previous wives is one that he cannot control, therefore, it is inevitable that the heroin
should find herself almost being decapitated
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And, in turn, it is because of his madness that he is
then dangerous
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Upon
entering his bedchamber, he states “I have acquired a whole harem for myself!” Grammatically, this
starts and ends with self-referential pronouns and the active verb belongs to him, excluding the

heroine from any kind of pleasure
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The Marquis’ characteristics of a ‘Byronic hero’, however, could be attributed to his
loneliness stemmed from the murder of previous wives, rendering him unable to ‘keep’ any wife
long enough for company
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Therefore, the Marquis is indeed “mad, bad and dangerous” all at
once
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It is
worth noting that the majority of the antagonists are not really “villains” as such but rather “antiheroes” therefore, ideas of the Gothic villain can vary

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