Pamela Clemit's Essay

In Pamela Clemit’s essay “The Godwinian Novel: the Rational Fictions of Godwin, Brockden Brown, Mary Shelley” she analyzes the novel Frankenstein from a historical perspective. Clemit explains what a Godwinian novel is and explains how Frankenstein fits this form while also differing from it because of the historical context and different generation the novel was written in. She says that Shelley was inspired by Godwin’s work, but in opposition to Godwin’s optimistic views, her view was much more pessimistic and apocalyptic. In the introduction portion of the essay, Clemit develops the idea of a Godwinian novel. The idea comes from the work of William Godwin, an English writer, political philosopher, and novelist. His novels began to create

It is likely that the traumatic events the Shelley’s witnessed influenced the novel’s central themes and tone. On pages 146-147, Clemit talks about how the Shelleys searched for an intelligible explanation of why the ideals of the French Revolution turned into cruel oppression. A trip that took the Shelleys through a land that had been invaded and destroyed by Russian troops inspired the description of the monster’s crimes in Frankenstein. Clemit describes how Mary Shelley’s more pessimistic view of humanity is displayed in her novel Frankenstein. The point made about the novel is that it serves as a warning against unhealthy ambition, egotism, and tyranny. The character Victor Frankenstein is fueled by his ego and is a neglectful and abusive parental figure of the monster. His great ambition is to gain glory in the science world. The quotes “The world was to me a secret, which I desired to discover” (Shelley 26) and “In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder.” (Shelley 35) display his ambitious nature and his ego makes him have a great desire to break the laws of nature and become “Greater than nature will allow.” (Clemit