Nature and specifically the countryside have been used as places with magical effects in many novels with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein being no exception. Mary Shelley’s depiction of the countryside as a place of rejuvenation and tranquility illustrates the corrosive effects technology has on the soul and mind. Shelley unveils the healing effects of nature through her magical tone and vivid imagery of the countryside. Shelley paints the countryside of Ingolstadt as a whimsical place with a “serene sky and verdant fields” (76). Shelley’s vibrant imagery coupled with an almost dreamlike tone portrays Ingolstadt as an almost heaven like place untouched by any form of civilization. Shelley expresses the countryside of Ingolstadt as a dramatization …show more content…
Shelley’s emphasis on the purity of nature and its beneficial effects on Frankenstein contrast the effects of technology on Frankenstein. While spending time in the countryside reinvigorated Frankenstein, spending time in his lab drove him into a deep emotional slump. So much so that just “the sight of a chemical instrument would renew all the agony of [his] nervous symptoms” (72). The stark difference in Frankenstein’s overall health and state of mind while in his lab compared to in nature alludes to the caustic effect technology has on the human conscious. Technology is portrayed as the opposite of nature; where nature is pure and regenerative technology is corrupt and mentally taxing. Shelley characterizes anything dealing with scientific advancement as technology and, as a result, corrosive. Immediately after returning to college from his invigorating trip to the countryside, Frankenstein receives a horrid letter from his father detailing Victors brother William’s death. Shelley heavily juxtaposes nature and technology in through this event. Victor goes from “feelings of unbridled joy and hilarity” (76) while in the countryside of Ingolstadt to feelings of “grief and fear” (82) once he reenters the college. Shelley exposes technology as the dark, grimy underside of humanity that weighs on the consciousness and soul of humanity the more it is utilized and as the opposite of nature. While technology is damaging to humanity in all doses nature also has a