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Timothy Clark Frankenstein Nature Analysis

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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. Nature as Salvation Frankenstein goes to nature …show more content…

Frankenstein feels repressed by the result of his creation and the creature is inhibited by the immediate judgment of humans. Romantic humanism is something that Clark frowns upon because he feels that to use nature as something to escape to, it is creating it as an “other.” To some degree, I believe it fine to turn to nature in times of need, in moments such as the ones Frankenstein and the creature go through: coming to terms with the death of a loved one and being on the road to self-acceptance. It feels easy to let go of those problems and give them to something much bigger than oneself which is what they attempt to do with nature. Though it is not a permanent solution, it grants enough time and extricates enough of the worry to return to a level of acceptance that is bearable. Though Clark would not agree with this statement, it is very clear that Shelley uses this as a main theme in

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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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