ipl-logo

Frankenstein Romanticism Essay

1065 Words5 Pages

The Romantic Era in literature sought the attention of many aspiring readers and writers from 1820 to 1865. The idea of Romanticism even captured the hit novel "Frankenstein," by Mary Shelly. The elements of Romanticism in Frankenstein include the moments when Victor was in the mountains seeking tranquility, science being harmful in the wrong hands, and Victor living a somewhat solitary life. The characters reacted by changing the way they act, and understanding the main goal in their life. In Frankenstein, Victor went out to the mountains to seek peace and tranquility in himself by immersing himself with nature. Throughout this moment, he feels at peace with himself, and understands the importance of not tempering with nature itself. The …show more content…

This idea has been suggested throughout Frankenstein. Victor attempted to make the world a better place by finding a way to create life, but it ended up doing more harm than good. For example, the novel included, “Wealth was an inferior object, but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!” (Shelley, 31). The intention to create something great was expressed here, but the monster he creates would end up being extremely destructive. It suggests that that humans can have a high intellect to invent things, but without serious virtuosity, it can lead to devastating impacts. Victors’ arrogance would eventually lead him to disregard the creation and completely ignores the consequences many people are susceptible to. The novel included, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep.” (Shelly, …show more content…

Victor’s mostly solitary life allowed him to avoid society and become completely entrained in his work that he hoped would make a serious change in the world. Shelley wrote, “More, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." Victor devoted himself into inventing something revolutionary by shutting out all of those around him and society, which correlates with Romantic beliefs. But Victor wasn’t the only one who showed individualism throughout the novel, the creature also depicted a solitary lifestyle. The creature

Show More
Related
431 Words | 2 Pages

Shelley's genius is presenting the idea that human beings are capable of accomplishing extraordinary feats. However, there are natural limitations and in ignoring them, bad things tend to happen. Victor exceeded these parameters in creating life. Sure enough, when he realized the folly of his action, it was too late.

Read More
1200 Words | 5 Pages

Victor's relentless pursuit of knowledge and his aspiration to conquer the secrets of life propels him into a destructive spiral. As his ambitions consume him, his mental state progressively deteriorates, leading to profound consequences. "In a fit of enthusiastic madness, I created a rational creature and was bound towards him, to assure, as far as was in my power, his happiness and well-being" (Shelley, 56). Victor's admission of his "enthusiastic madness" underscores the toll his ambitions have taken on his mental well-being. The weight of his creation becomes an unbearable burden that torments his psyche.

Read More
1244 Words | 5 Pages

While Victor is at college he makes the decision that the best and only way for him to gain glory is to be the first man to create life. After Victor “had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body” (45) in order to gain glory and fame he claims that “[he] imagined that the monster seized [him]; [he] struggled furiously, and fell down in a fit” (48). Victor remains mentally ill for a long period of time while his creation dangerously goes out into the world with minimal knowledge to fulfill his own needs. Victor believes that he falls ill because of his fear of the creature making it out to be a monstrosity when it is actually his own ambition that scares him the most. Virginia Brackett comments on the way Victor continues to shift blame and makes the creature out to be a monster because he begins to regret the decisions that his ambition lead him to

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

As Adam Philips once said, “Tragic heroes are failed pragmatists, their ends are unrealistic and their means are impractical.” In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, the obsessed scientist Victor Frankenstein becomes fascinated with natural philosophy and undergoes a journey trying to manipulate the laws of nature. Victor is a great demonstration of a tragic hero and displays all the characteristics necessary throughout the novel. To begin with, Victor had excessive pride at the beginning of the novel, a characteristic of a tragic hero. Victor was obsessed with science and reading textbooks from the young age of 13 and as he ages, he becomes fascinated with alchemy and the decay of life, concerning his father.

Read More
1246 Words | 5 Pages

In Frankenstein, the character Victor is responsible for his and the creature's actions that ultimately led to all his family perishing. Victor’s obsession with the mystery of creation of life began to occupy his life at an early age. He isolated

Read More
3614 Words | 15 Pages

( Shelley 45 ) This moment marks the beginning of his emotional turmoil, as the reality of his creation clashes with the idealized vision he once held. His guilt intensifies when he witnesses the devastation caused by the monster he brought to life. The creature's actions, driven by loneliness and rejection, become a mirror reflecting Victor's own moral shortcomings. One of the most poignant moments illustrating Victor's guilt occurs when he meets the monster in the mountains.

Read More
964 Words | 4 Pages

Within the heart of Victor Frankenstein, there was an insatiable thirst for scientific fame. His quest for scientific greatness birthed a creature that yearned for connection, only to be met with a chilling void where compassion should have resided. As the novel unfolds, the absence of sympathy becomes a repeating theme. Although the creature was seen as a monster, Victor Frankenstein was the true monster that lacked sympathy for the creature, making Victor less sympathetic than the creature. This was evident when considering Victor was motivated by selfish ambition and pride to create life, Victor abandoned his creation out of disgust and fear, and Victor refused to acknowledge the creature's humanity.

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

Here, nature is shown to sway the creature's mind into believing that he is an ugly being. This leaves the creature with the answer as to why Victor and others are so afraid of him. The natural world has affected the creature in a negative way by showing him his true form in the eyes of others. Shelley uses the theme of alienation and isolation here by developing the creature into believing he is unloved by everyone around him. Another example is when Victor is creating the creature and he starts to analyze the natural world around him when he states “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit.

Read More
1120 Words | 5 Pages

The interaction between Victor and nature help to exemplify the Gothic traits in the novel. Shelley shows that defying nature comes with consequences, such as misery and violence. When Victor is thinking of and planning on how to build the

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

Mary Shelley, an English Romantic author who shared the movement 's appreciation for nature, emotion, individualism, rebellion, imagination and the purity of art. The main thought presented in Romanticism is that "Reason cannot explain everything", and that is what Shelley 's works were based on, imagination. She is best known for "Frankenstein." A novel believed to be a mine of Romantic features. "Frankenstein."

Read More
1245 Words | 5 Pages

Frankenstein Literary Criticism Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, is filled with motifs of Nature and companionship. During the Romantic period or movement, when the novel Frankenstein was written, nature was a huge part of romanticism. Nature was perceived as pure, peaceful, and almost motherly. As we read the novel through Victor Frankenstein 's perspective, we the readers can see how romanticized-nature is perceived as by those who find comfort in nature. This novel also contains, in addition to romantic elements, heavy-filled gothic scenes and descriptions.

Read More
1229 Words | 5 Pages

That is why the production of AI must be done in ethical and moral ways. Both AI and the monster if left unsupervised could cause great misery. Victor Frankenstein is a prime example of the allure and dangers of unrestrained scientific ambition due to his constant pursuit of knowledge and his goal to produce life. Fame and glory through scientific achievements are what initially motivated him to create the monster. He imagines that his creation will bring him this glory and attainment.

Read More
1605 Words | 7 Pages

People today are so concerned with how they can better their life by speeding up the natural process of things. Victor also wishes to see modifications in lifestyle, by creating life himself. He becomes obsessed with the idea of being a human creator of life that it leads to corruption. One of shelley’s arguments goes along with how modifying the natural process of some things can lead to monstrous actions. The life that Victor created was not able to fit into society correctly, but was also too powerful to be destroyed.

Read More
1008 Words | 5 Pages

Romanticism, a movements both in the arts and sciences, peaked in the early 1800s and this was around the same time Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley. As a result many fundamental ideas of romanticism can be witnessed in the novel. Many argue that Frankenstein resembles a much darker and complex ideas, which wanders away from the true values of Romanticism and contrasts with her husband Percy Shelley and Coleridge, both who are well-known Romantic authors. Although Shelley wanders from the core of Romanticism, Shelley was influenced by her contemporaries, and importantly her husband, and this is evident throughout her most remembered novel, Frankenstein. Also, Mary Shelley adds on to the ideas of Romanticism and introduces pieces of

Read More
257 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel "Frankenstein" there are gothic and romantic styles. The style of the novel by Mary Shelley represents romanticism. This is evidenced by the interesting, colorful descriptions and pompous inner monologues and the vivid imagination of the author, which manifests itself in the vivid imagery of the text. “Gothic” in "Frankenstein" is seen in words such as “devil” and “abhorred monster”.

Read More

More about Frankenstein Romanticism Essay

Related Topics

Open Document