The Role Of Mental Health In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Through Shelleys novel she is bringing to light mental health in the Romantic period. By bringing to light these issues of depression and behavioral disorders she presents how these issues are remedied. As stated in my first paragraph the romantic period used the elements of nature in their works. Nature has a huge role on this time period and Shelley uses nature as a way to reveal Victors and Frankenstein’s mental health. As well Shelley is depicting nature to help remedy these psychological issues. According to Oosthoek, “the romantics, the solution was “back to nature” because nature was seen as pure and a spiritual source of renewal” (Oosthoek 1). Shelley uses this concept that nature can help with mental illness since it a source of renewal

Victor is suffering from depression when he is burden with the guilt of creating Frankenstein who killed his brother. He escapes to the mountains when he is overwhelmed by these emotions. Victors comment on his journey thst “their icy and glittering peaks shone in the sunlight over the clouds. My heart, which was before sorrowful, now swelled with something like joy; I exclaimed, ‘Wandering spirits, if indeed ye wander, and do not rest in your narrow beds, allow me this faint happiness, or take me, as your companion, away from the joys of life’ (Shelley 89)”. This quote exemplifies how he was just suffering but when he is in the elements of nature he feels joy. He actually feels happy and better when he is in nature. Shelley is directing the readers to connect happiness with nature. This occurs again in the beginning of the novel when Victor was “ill” after his creation of Frankenstein and is being taken care by a friend. Victor retells his recovering in this quote, “I recovered. I remember the first time I became capable of observing outward objects with any kind of pleasure, I perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared and that the young buds were shooting forth from the