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The Relationship With The Natural World In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

672 Words3 Pages

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. Victor returns home after receiving a letter that his younger brother William was killed. When home in Geneva, he walks around the woods where William was killed. In the middle of a terrible storm, Victor says, “A flash of lightning …show more content…

While Victor is creating the monster and enjoying the summer weather, Mary Shelley says, “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage, but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature” (Shelley 32-33 ). Shelley describes the time as beautiful and luxuriant to show how magnificent the summer is. The “plentiful harvest” has a double meaning, saying that not only did the flowers grow, but Victor has grown and has made progress on his creation. The growth of the harvest is accompanying all that Victor has done with his creation. Victor has created this monster with parts and things as plants grow with water and sunlight.

Nature has many different effects on Victor throughout the novel. In dark times it has helped Victor see the truth, it has fascinated him to a degree where he is in awe, and it has shown many different aspects of his growth. The natural world plays a big role in emotional moments as well as in other significant times in the book. The role of nature has helped change Victor for the

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