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.
Victor Frankenstein proves to posses an uncanny passion for the dark and paranormal. He describes his curiosity through observations of nature and his surroundings, such as the “darkness had no effect upon my fancy; and a church-yard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life and a supernatural enthusiasm” (Shelly, 79). Frankenstein’s interest in such matters sparks his curiosity in more advanced
To the reader, it seems that Shelly consistently reminds us of the lack of responsibility on the part of Frankenstein, and the monster’s inherent innocence, who is only made evil by his circumstances. But like the reader, Shelley too, is unclear about whose behaviour is most unjustifiable and unpardonable. With reference to David Punter’s essay “Gothic and Romanticism”, Victor Frankenstein can be compared to the ‘Wanderer’, the Wanderer’s essential characteristics being that he is hero and victim both, who defies God by crossing the laws of mortality and dares to touch the untouchable. The Wanderer is never satisfied with the restrictions placed on him by an ordered society, and he ultimately suffers for his disobedience. Victor clearly fits the description of the Wanderer, as his obsessive need to create life and be its sole creator has a hint of an unnatural desperation to satisfy his ego and attain gratitude.
Shelley’s use of Galvanism and Genesis, with the support of biblical allusion to criticise humanity’s disregard for nature during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century is used to exemplify the detrimental consequences of science on individuals. The struggles face by the Creature in an attempt to live peacefully, supported by the Creature stating: ‘You gave me life…but left me to die’, emphasises on Victor’s lack of responsibility for his own actions, the repetition of first person narration ‘I’ and ‘me’ and the use of oxymoron capture the responders’ sympathy and leads to the conclusion that the Creature is possibly more human than Victor. The Creature also struggles to gain companionship from his creator and other individuals due to his grotesque physical appearance: ‘When I became fully convinced that I am the monster that I am’, this is supported by his statement: ‘My heart yearns to be known…’, the use of personification emphasise on the Creature’s desire to be ‘loved’ by
Most importantly, human society is a unified body of individuals. These individuals have the potential to isolate, alienate, reject or include. The people outside this ‘society’ get the brute end of all these judgments and are forced to face whatever conclusion is made about them. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein addresses this issue thoroughly as we see this mainly through Frankenstein’s creature. Abandoned by his maker from birth, the creature was cast
By shutting out the rest of the world, the glass menagerie becomes her reality. Her reality is a world without prejudices and oppression is a world where she can be herself without being different. Through the whole play, the glass menagerie and the glass unicorn in particular serve Laura as a protective world, but at the same time her world turns to be frozen in a
The Gothic genre allows the purpose to reach the audience. In Chapter two, Victor meets his creation in the presence of nature, contrasting the scientifically created monster. The sublime gothic technique emphasises the power of nature to adjust Victor's mood, giving perspective of its relative importance. The novel's epistolary structure, as an example of realism, contains the personal accounts of Frankenstein and his monster. Their downfall due to technology gives credibility to the warning.
The monster receives Nature’s aid when he is first out on his own, as objects sheltered him and streams provided him with drink. This connection on a deeper level ties into the battle between ‘good and evil’; with science as the enemy to Nature, since Nature is divine and more powerful than a mortal. Victor goes against nature by playing God. He admits it when he says, “It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage, but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature.” This blindness towards Nature’s divine will foreshadows the chaos that were caused from his
Addiction to Chaos: The Monster that Lay Dormant Inside Chaos is a term used to describes situations that are erratic and lack order. This lack of order is something everyone to a certain degree has in common. All the people in the world have some form of chaos in their lives, but with authors like Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) and Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). A common motif that both of these books share is romanticism. By expressing a sense of rebellion against norms in society.
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.