Humanity And Romanticism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

“What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We all are formed by frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly- that is the first law of nature.” This quote by Voltaire evinces that humanity, other than possessing the ability to feel emotions, to have compassion, and to be able to feel pain, is being able to tolerate and look past one another’s flaws. Throughout Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, humanity was one of the main themes expressed in the novel. The concept of Romanticism also played an important role in Frankenstein, for its characteristics of interest in the common man, strong emotions, awe of nature, celebration of the individual, and the importance of imagination was distinguished throughout the numerous events. In this novel, humanity and Romanticism repeatedly crossed one another as Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the Monster, expressed their feelings and the decisions they made

After Victor Frankenstein created the Monster, Frankenstein was “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created, [and] rushed out of the room…” (35). Frightened of his very own creation due to its hideous appearance, Frankenstein took flight and didn’t think of the consequences that would eventually follow. Being terror-stricken by the Monster and fleeing shows Frankenstein’s strong sense of fear. Though it was cruel that Frankenstein would run away from the very creation he put together with his very own two hands, his reaction of fear and panic proves that he does contain a sense of humanity within him. Indeed, it is also true that Frankenstein has failed to tolerate or look past the Monster’s flawed appearance; however, because he himself was the creator of the Monster, he felt a sense of pressure and fear of being the one to have to take responsibility for creating something so