How Does Mary Shelley Use Nature In Frankenstein

Nature: rejecting it is like rejecting our humanity

Oxford languages defines nature as the following: the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations. In Frankenstein, a book written by Mary Shelley, the main character, Victor Frankenstein, goes against the laws of nature by creating life with his own hands, over the course of the book readers are able to see how the monster torments Victor for shunning him and in the end they both die. Nature is the most prominent symbol that is used in a variety of different ways, including hope, spite, and regret.

To begin, at the start of the book we see Victor dedicate years

After the loss of Victor’s younger brother he spends many nights out on the lake near his house in a small boat and wallows in his misery. Victor says, “ Often, I say, I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever.” Even at the very end of the book when the monster says that he can’t bear his misery anymore and will burn himself away he says, “ The light that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds” (259) Even in the end of the book nature is used as a means of solace to the misery that each character experiences; however, in this situation it’s used as a final escape from the cruel beautiful world that never gave the monster a chance. Many times throughout the story both Victor and the monster feel as if nature is mocking them in their sorrows. Victor states, “Dear mountains! My own beautiful lake! How do you welcome your wanderer? Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness” (75). We can see that nature connects both victor and the monster to their humanity but when they turn away from nature is when they start to lose themselves. Furthermore, it's odd that everyone else around the monster sees him as less than human; however, as the book progresses the monster only becomes more human. He learns

At the start of the book when the monster is first created Victor describes him as having proportional limbs and Victor having selected his features as beautiful. He has pearly white teeth and lustrous black hair. However as soon as the creature wakes up Victor regrets creating it in the first place and feels animosity towards his creation. However, as soon as Victor realizes that making this creature was a mistake the description of the monster does a complete turn when Robert describes him as “gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions…. His face was concealed by long locks of ragged hair; but one vast hand was extended, in color and apparent texture like that of a mummy” (253). After having murdered all of Victor's close relatives he has lost the little humanity he was described as having in the beginning of the book. It's only fitting that he should meet his end in a place cold and desolate where there is no lush nature. Having the end of the book be set in the Arctic circle is only fitting because we see that Frankenstein has lost his will to live; he should die in a place devoid of all life and nature. On the other hand Victor, at the beginning of the book, is described as having a thirst for knowledge and discovery, and being mostly a loner but having very few close friends who matched his intellect. However,