Counts of word groups indicating different emotional dispositions in the early novels The Man of Feeling (1771) and Frankenstein (1818). Comparison of instances per thousand words in text.
The early, popular novels The Man of Feeling (1771) and Frankenstein (1818) frequently represent outpourings of emotions. Frankenstein, popularly known as a horror story, in fact is highly emotionally labile. Outpourings of joy and happiness in Frankenstein are more frequent per 1000 words of text than are outpourings of joy and happiness in Man of Feelings.
Comparative Emotional Dispositions: Man of Feeling vs. Frankenstein
| feeling words | Man of Feeling | Frankenstein | Frankstein / Man of Feeling |
|---|---|---|---|
| tear, weep | 1.33 | 0.88 | -34% |
| tremble, shudder, frown | 0.05 | 0.51 | 846% |
| smile, kiss, laugh, laughter, delight | 1.20 | 1.27 | 6% |
| joy, happy | 0.54 | 1.38 | 153% |
| anguish, horror, terror | 0.25 | 1.13 | 360% |
| Notes: The Frankenstein text is the 1818 edition. Absolute figures are counts of related word forms to 1000 words in the text. The text ratio is percent difference is word rates. Underlying counts are available in the dataset. | |||
The structure of symbolic competition affects the representations of emotions likely to exist in successful public works. Differences in representations of emotions in public works in turn affects public accountability for suffering in punishment.
Dataset sheets:
- summary: emotion instances by emotion categories in Man of Feeling and Frankenstein, both simple counts instances per 1000 words of text
- man of feeling tears: text snippets of references to tears in Man of Feeling
Related datasets: