yThroughout the exploration of the module “Texts in Time”, we observe the connections between texts and their reflections of the constancy in human nature, whilst shifting contextual perspectives are maintained. Such a connection is demonstrated in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein” (F/stein) and Scott Ridley’s 1991 film “Bladerunner”, where both composers present a cautionary tale, warning us of the implications of science and technological advances on humanity and thus reflecting their own fears in their respective contextual eras. It is through the analysis of such values and implications that we can see the constancy of human nature throughout time. Frankenstein is a gothic inspired, fragmented epistolary, reflecting the rebellion of the Romantic Movement, which advocated the power of imagination, and ones relationship to nature. The gothic convention of sublime nature is represented thematically, through forces of good and evil leading to vengeance and murder, as well as macabre settings of graveyards and charnel houses.
Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey: a Gothic Parody The Gothic fiction is a literary genre that combines elements of both horror and romance. It flourished in England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as a “reaction against the rigidity and formality of other forms of Romantic literature. [1]” It has often been said that the first true Gothic romance was The Castle of Otranto, written by Horace Walpole and first published in 1764. Although during this period many of the highly regarded Gothic novelists published their writings and much of the novel’s form was defined, this genre is not limited to this time whatsoever. Indeed, the Gothic can still be found nowadays in the
Throughout most literature, there are commonalities. These commonalities, often called literary elements are used to describe the different parts that make up a story. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein intricately weaves these different elements together to create the story as we know it. The different elements that make up Frankenstein, or any story really, are setting, character, plot, conflict, resolution, point of view, tone, and theme. The setting, probably the most subtle, but also most profound, of the different elements in Frankenstein, actually plays a very important role in setting the mood.
The Beauty of Nature in Shelley’s Frankenstein The awe of nature plays a huge role in the development of the romantic period. Shelley captures the essence of this theme in her gothic novel, Frankenstein. Even though Shelley emphasizes the role of science in the novel, it is portrayed negatively. For example, when the monster was finally created, Victor exclaims, “ Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance.
Fred V. Randel’s text elaborates upon Mary Shelley’s underlying intention for each choice of location for every specific plot point or event in Frankenstein. He relates places with significant value with real life historical events and happenings from the past. Randel explains that Shelley strategically placed each homicide and murder committed in an explicit locale to illustrate its historical importance. He argues that it is through these settings and the significance they possess in the past, that she is able to further deepen and expand Frankenstein’s gothic theme. Randel develops meaning behind the places of Ingolstadt and the Northern Lights, Geneva, England and Scotland, Ireland and Evian to prove his thesis of the importance of political geography.
Shaped by their distinctly different contexts, Shelley and Scott strive to convey this notion, through bold cinematic and literary techniques, characterisation and themes, of the fatal path humanity has placed itself on. Mary Shelley’s seminal novel, Frankenstein 1818, is a moral fable combining conflicting paradigms of Romantic idealism and Enlightenment rationalism. Shelley delves into these ideologies in a classic gothic horror story that presents the unequivocal issues concerning the ethics and consequences of the pursuit of knowledge and scientific experimentation. Influenced by the increasing popularity of galvanism, Shelley effectively illustrates her apprehensions through the character development of Victor Frankenstein and his juxtaposition against nature. Victor admits his deep desire for ‘immortally and power’ through ‘penetrating the secrets of nature’, which is manifested in his technological innovation of the creature, highlighting the extreme yet realistic potential for technology to create human life.
The late-eighteenth century Romantic Period in Europe comprised a literary movement where humanity favoured imagination, emotions, and intuition over logic and reason. A theme associated with this period is the sublime. The sublime is an aesthetic theory developed by Edmund Burke in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. It is a literary concept that is best described as a mixture of intense emotion arising from terror and pleasure, which is brought forth by nature (Burke, 1756). The concept of the sublime is heavily displayed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the use of extreme environmental imagery.
Both have a significant impact on her and her respected society. Firstly the medium in which Shelley constructed her ideas was through novel. This was the most common medium of the time. Shelley created a hybrid text combining gothic literature and science fiction into one to create an allegory to her society, warning the people not to stray into the science field and retain a constant connection to god. It is through Romanticism that we see Shelley convey the importance of nature.
Though there is the dark side of nature, the rain, it has already been discussed. The monster reflects on the strength of nature saying, “I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and pleasure.” Nature’s “good side” is acting as the mother of all and carries out divine actions. Every time Victor is embracing the beauty of a mountain or lake, his anxiety is relieved. Victor points out that, “The very winds whispered in soothing accents, and maternal Nature bade me weep no more.” Shelley uses Victor to associate nature as a caring mother. The monster receives Nature’s aid when he is first out on his own, as objects sheltered him and streams provided him with drink.
Sublime Nature in Frankenstein Mary Shelley uses nature several ways in this novel: as an omnipotent force of foreshadowing, the natural surroundings of this novel are shown to have therapeutic powers, do not harm nature for your own advantage, and as a restorative agent for Victor. In my opinion, Mary is trying to tell us that nature should not be altered. Shelley’s link between nature and the influential feelings of man is very evident throughout this book. Nature offers Victor and the monster the marvel of spiritual renewal. She purposely lay the elevated vision of Mother Nature with the frightening phenomenon of an artificial monster and his alarming exploits.