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Romantic Themes In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.
The first expression of nature and its effect on the mood of characters is portrayed with Robert Walton and the many letters that he sends to his sister. Walton claims that the northern breeze braces his nerves and fills him with delight and excitement …show more content…

Petersburg is what urges him to keep his course going north. Continuously, Walton expresses his pleasure with the beauty of the mountains and lakes he encounters on his journey, overwhelming him with a joyful, gay mood. (Academic Help) On the other hand, Walton’s crew views the wind as a cold and unwelcoming host, and are rather melancholy towards the end of Frankenstein. Rather than letting nature and mood dwell on Walton and his crew, the novel progresses towards Frankenstein and his monster.
The influencing power of nature is somewhat withdrawn at major points in the book, mainly due to its connection with the Byronic hero, Victor Frankenstein. Towards the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein is shown to be both an intellectual and nature loving person at the same time, having both Romanticism and Enlightenment traits. (Academic Help) As the book progresses, Frankenstein

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he natural imagery in "Frankenstein" is comparable to the best in the Romantic literature. Mary Shelley paints Nature and its divine grandeur with some rare strokes of a masterful hand. She deliberately juxtaposes the exalted vision of Mother Nature with the horrendous spectacle of a man-made monster and his ghastly deeds. This steep contrast sets reader thinking about the wisdom of departing away from the set norms of Nature. Mary's message to mankind is loud and clear; do not mess with Nature for your own good.

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that tells the story of scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his obsession with creating human life. This leads him to creating a gruesome monster made of body-parts stolen from grave yards, whom upon discovering his hideousness, the monster seeks revenge against his creator, causing Victor to regret the creation of his monster for the rest of his life. Shelley uses the literary elements of personification, imagery, and similes to give a vivid sense and visualization of Victor Frankenstein’s thoughts and feelings as well as to allow us to delve deeper into the monster’s actions and emotions. Throughout the novel, Shelley uses personification of various forces and objects to reflect the effect in Victor’s actions.

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