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Aspects of romanticism in frankenstein
Romanticism in the frankenstein novel by mary shelley
Elements of romanticism in 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.
The Duality of Nature in Frankenstein: From the dawn of human civilization, man has always been transfixed by the work of the natural world. He has told myths to explain it, and researched it endlessly to understand its power. In a way, human progress from small enclaves to powerful civilizations can be marked by the expansion of natural bounds. We have created vaccines to ward off disease, electricity to light the dark, and even genetically engineered new organisms to feed a massive and growing population. In the 19th century, the literary Romantic period seems to be a reaction to such progress.
Their perspectives of nature, however, are vastly different due to their circumstances regarding companionship and affection from companions. Victor Frankenstein describes nature as calming and it brings him great happiness when he is surrounded by nature because he himself is happy and adored by friends who surround him. Frankenstein has friends whom he holds strong bonds with where “harmony was the soul of [their] companionship, and the diversity and contrast that subsided [their] characters drew [them] nearer together” (29, Chapter 2). He is surrounded by companions that give him plenty of love and affection that in turn, bring him happiness and a favoring outlook on nature. Victor takes pleasure in wandering through various scenes of nature, feeling accepted by it, therefore, he can portray it as full of life and “awful and majestic” (82, Chapter 10).
Duality is shown in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, a gothic tale of a scientist whom looks to advance the life-giving qualities of mother nature. Through this novel, Shelley proves that good and evil in human nature is not always simple to define, and that everyone has both of these qualities within them. The duality of human nature is shown through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, who are both heroes in the novel while simultaneously displaying anti-hero qualities. Shelley forces the reader to sympathize with them both but also creates gruesome ideas of the two. Frankenstein’s creature places himself in a submissive position when he begs his creator to have mercy on him and asking the creator to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.”
Every living creature has a start point which can be called as the start of their existence. Are every living creatures’ process of existence the same?Of course not.like (4)Johann Wolfgang von Goethe says ‘’Certain defects are necessary for the existence of individuality. ’’In the case of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley,his existence has some unique features. For example;he has human creator who creates him by collecting human body parts from the graves. In the chapter 4,the protagonist whose name is Victor Frankenstein and his creator tells the process of the creation of the body of the monster which is called as devil and monster in the chapter 10 for the first time in the novel.
In Mary Shelley’s Romantic novel, Frankenstein, an over-ambitious young scientist, infatuated with the creation of life without a female and the source of generation, breaks the limits of science and nature by conjuring life into a lifeless form constructed from stolen body parts. The young experimenter confesses his monstrous tale that defies nature to a captain who shares his desire for glory and the pursuit of knowledge. Though a Romantic novel itself, Frankenstein serves as a critique of part of the philosophy behind Romanticism, that is, the promotion of radical self-involvement that celebrates the individual’s pursuit of glory and knowledge. Both the lone captain and the young scientist seek glory from their quest for knowledge but ultimately their pursuits end disastrously. Throughout the novel, Shelley warns against excessive self-confidence, the ambitious overreaching in the acquirement of scientific knowledge, and the arrogant pursuit of glory, using the young scientist as a forewarning to the lone captain against his
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, nature and the natural world play key roles in the development of both the story and the characters. Because the story revolves around the dangers of advancing science, Shelley employs nature as a powerful instrument that has the ability to restore humanity when man has become too reliant on the capability of technology and science. Victor Frankenstein’s fascination and dedication in the sciences lead him to violate the natural law and disregard his morals when he decided to create life in the most unnatural form. The destruction that resulted from his actions caused pain and despair on both parties, leaving Victor and the Monster to frequently visit the natural world in order to clear their minds and gain serenity.
Numerous research has concluded that several emotional bonds exist between humanity and nature that can impact everything from attitude to anxiety. Novels of the romanticism period, a significant literary era that encompassed most European works written in the early 1800’s, are most known for describing the impacts that nature has on people and implying that unexpected consequences can arise out of this relationship; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of such a novel. The prime conflict of this 1818 science-fiction story occurs between the titular character, Victor Frankenstein, and a monster he creates through his own scientific innovations. Because of Victor’s abandonment of the monster, it becomes intent on destroying the scientist’s
As the book progresses, Shelley’s view of nature slowly comes out; she seems to think nature can be explained by natural examples. The author’s view of nature does not go with the Bible view of it, clearly showing where Shelley’s worldview lies. While Frankenstein may seem like an ordinary mystery novel, the author’s meaning behind it goes much deeper. The book raises questions concerning the power of God, the characteristics of mankind, and man’s view of nature.
There is a romanticization of nature that stands in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, whether it be regarding its beauty or the way in which humans rationalize it to be considered a sort of adopted Mother. Either way Shelley sets nature up as something we can escape to and seek comfort in. Nature as salvation, a mother-figure, and beautiful are interconnected in this novel, all are aspects of romantic humanism, which Timothy Clark speaks on in his chapter “Nature, Post Nature” in The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Environment. I find Shelley’s representation of nature as something that we should feel moved by and find an understanding of ourselves more compelling to Clark’s thoughts on how romanticizing nature places it in danger.
Mary Shelley uses romanticism and gothic literature to exemplify major parts in the book. Firstly she uses romanticism to describe nature she says "I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self... I find it arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources; but, swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys". This quote explains the romantic figures found in this period, the swell of the mountain river represents the loss of happiness and chaos in Victor 's life. Through emotion, she says "I desire the company of a man who would sympathize with me; whose eyes would reply to mine.
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 in the novel. 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.
George Saintsbury explained Supernatural as “...Of the terror and mystery novel (the ‘novel of suspense’, as some call it, adopting from Scott a label doubtfully intended as such) the chief writers – almost the only ones now known, except to special students – were Mrs. Radcliff and ‘Monk’ Lewis. But in the eighteenth century it enjoyed an enormous popularity, secretly registered and irremediably ridiculed in Miss Austen’s Northanger Abbey. In Lewis’s hands (as it had done in those of the Germans) it admitted real diablerie and permitted great license of situation and action; in Mrs. Radcliffe’s and in most, through not quite at all, of her minor followers, it was strictly ‘proper’, and employed a curious, ingenious, and at the time highly
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the idea of the natural world is recurring and helps relate many characters with nature. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist in the novel, has a very close and unique relationship with the natural world. In Victor’s life, the idea of the sublime or the natural world comes up in emotional and significant moments. Nature changes Victor’s mood, forms his character, and shows his growth through poetic devices. In Frankenstein, nature directly affects what Victor sees and feels.
As Frankenstein’s monster shows, man’s disregard for nature can have terrible repercussions. Victor Frankenstein starts a chain of events that ends in tragedy when he decides to create life without thinking about the repercussions of his decision. The creature says he should be Adam but is just the fallen angel (Shelley, 92). In this quotation, the creature acknowledges the effects of man’s efforts to play god and influence nature. The creature exemplifies what can happen when man tries to manipulate nature.
