In what ways does Frankenstein complicate the Romanticist conceptions of creativity and individualism? Make reference to Frankenstein and at least one other Romanticist text.
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, complies with all the fundamental principles associated with Romanticism; use of the supernatural and sublime, especially with regards for nature, thus leading to pantheism, compassion and a sense of morality towards humankind, individual freedom and rebellion against contextual societal constraints. Shelley, however, defies the Romantic principle of individual creativity, evident from the constant references to authentic Romantic works such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (which will be referred to
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(1818). Frankenstein. United States of America: Norton). This passage depicts the sublime landscapes surrounding the valley of Chamounix. Shelley had been there previously and as such, was able to call upon memories for creative inspiration. This type of creativity is also upheld by Wordsworth, ‘For our continued influxes of feeling are modified and directed by our thoughts, which are indeed the representatives of all our past feelings.’ (Wordsworth, W. (1800). Preface to Lyrical Ballads (2nd ed.)). It would appear therefore, that Shelley is keeping Romantic conceptions of creativity quite uncomplicated by adopting a creative process with which people were familiar. However, the above quoted passage contains a lot of negative description with regards to the appearance of the valley. Words like ‘closed in,’ ‘raging’ and ‘dashing’ give rise to an image unlike the usual perceptions when the word ‘nature’ is considered. Interestingly, this idea is also adopted by Coleridge in The Rime, ‘Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs/Upon the slimy sea./About, about, in reel and rout/The death-fires danced at night ;/The water, like a witch 's oils,/Burnt green, and blue and white.’ (Coleridge, S. T.
Frankenstein, a novel first published in the year 1818, stands as the most talked about work of Mary Shelley’s literary career. She was just nineteen years old when she penned this novel, and throughout her lifetime she could not produce any other work that surpasses this novel in terms of creativity and vision. In this novel, Shelley found an outlet for her own intense sense of victimization, and her desperate struggle for love. Traumatized by her failed childbirth incidents, troubled childhood, and scandalous courtship, many of Shelley’s life experiences can be seen reflected in the novel. When discussing the character and development of the monster, Shelley launches an extensive discussion on the
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein explores the concepts of knowledge and science and the dangers involved with the pursuit and investigation of these ideas. The novel conveys Shelley’s attitudes towards science by portraying it as having the capability to exceed the bounds of human restraint. Through the development of her protagonist Victor Frankenstein, the romantic and gothic aspects of her novel, the period of 1818 and the influences of the world she was living in that
The fictitious novel, Frankenstein, embodies a majority of the characteristics that compose Romanticism. Frankenstein epitomizes the nature
The Romantic element of frequent personification communicates the theme of failure to preserve nature can result in the decomposition of humanity in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This attribute of Romanticism can be noted in Chapter 9 when Victor Frankenstein spends time in nature after the untimely, and unjust death of Justine Moritz, his cousin. “A tingling long-lost sense of pleasure often came across me during this journey. Some turn in the road, some new object suddenly perceived and recognized, reminded me of the days gone by, and were associated with the lighthearted gaiety of boyhood. The winds whispered in soothing accents, and maternal nature bade me weep no more,”(Shelley, 82).
Mary Shelley, with her brilliant tale of mankind's obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankenstein's many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fiction novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literary movement of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a colleague of many Romantic poets such as her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, even though the themes within Frankenstein are darker
Shelley depicts the romantic’s love for nature and the desire to understand and acquire nature’s power. Frankenstein finds comfort when he is at his lowest, but at the same time, he is horrified by his creation and its quest for revenge.
“But Sorrow Only Increased with Knowledge:” A Critique on Romantic Ideals in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Extracts derived from Letter IV of ‘Frankenstein’ foreshadows the elementary ideas that transpire during the course of the novel. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) influenced by many, such as husband P.B Shelley, her father, William Goodwin and his friend the Scientist Erasmus Darwin. Considering these people and the context at the time, which influenced Shelley. It’s no surprise theories on Galvanism, Romantic literal movement and its resulting opposition to the industrial revolution, occur through the novel. These events clearly have influenced on the key themes such as dangerous knowledge, abandonment and isolation and monstrosity that are so permeate throughout the novel. The extracts provides a glimpse of these themes that are so
The Romantic Period had a gigantic impact on Marry Shelly's composition of the novel, Frankenstein. The Industrial Revolution in England in the late 1700's was a period of extraordinary change. The masses was moving into urban areas, and individuals were baffled by the awe of nature and the living conditions in the urban communities. In light of this bafflement, individuals began to imagine the world uniquely in contrast to they had, some time recently. They considered nature to be all wonderful, capable, and great.
The romantic period was characterized by a marked withdraw from the techniques of the literary period and ideas, that introduced more rational and scientific in nature. Romantic poetry and prose, by contrast, was intended to express a new and visionary relationship to the imagination (Fitch). The romantic poets were always seeking a way to capture and represent the sublime moment and experience (Fitch), the more personal experience, the better. In many romantic poems the authors and their writing are identical. This is one of the ways Shelly embraces the literary period and at the same time matches the specific romantic ideal. She takes Frankenstein and describes him not by her personal experience or in her own voice, but yet she still is still characterizing a single quest to achieve the sublime. Victor Frankenstein’s quest was to make a creature out of raw
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818 and introduced many elements of Romanticism that were presented. Romanticism was a movement that was most popular during the 18th century particularly 1800 to 1850, this movement was an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe that was characterized by many different elements that will be examine throughout. This movement is a rebellion against social rules and conventions. Romanticism was much different from how we partake it today. One may think that is based around love, kissing, and hugging but it is much more than that. This movement fell right into the area when Mary Shelley was creating her novel so it is obvious that she would jump on the bandwagon due to its popularity. The popularity of it would help her novel become more popular as well as allow for more in depth understanding of the principles she presented in her novel. There are many different romanticism elements in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that are presented while going through the novel. The elements that are most prevalent in the book are celebration of nature, juxtaposition of the beautiful and the gross, and valorization of the struggle of the individual against society. By quick note it is obvious that many of these elements are presented in the novel by anyone that has had the chance to read it. The novel emphasized inspiration, subjectivity, and the importance of the individual. Mary Shelley was brilliant enough to incorporate these
Texts are a reflection of human concerns of morality and values which remain universal despite the varying contextual and historical influences in which authors of different periods are subject to. Mary Shelley’s epistolary novel, Frankenstein (1818) explores the irrational behaviours and immoralities of Romantic Prometheanism within the realms of science, ideology, politics, and the dilapidation of humanity brought about by the Industrial Revolution, Romanticism and the period’s technological and scientific innovation in areas such as galvanism and evolution. Shelley utilises the unique narrative form of personal recounts by three characters Victor, the Creature and Walton, to comment upon the overlapping fears of society towards man’s inherent
Mary Shelley’s exemplification of various characters in Frankenstein is a reflection of social norms of the time. This is ever so evident through the character of the creature, as society’s disgust with him reflects society’s aspiration in customs. This rejection of the creature also reflects Shelley’s own society as they start rejecting the Enlightenment’s pursuit of knowledge after the age of Romanticism
In this assessment I will be critically evaluating the use of Romantic forms and themes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). The discussion will focus on a radical interpretation of the text; an interpretation that views the novel as a response to the social injustice and cruel treatment of the masses in this period, and the conservative explanation for the text; where the creature personifies the monstrous consequences for attempting to overthrow the capitalist elite. Romanticism, a period from the late 18th Century to the mid-19th Century, is a contradictory movement; a product of middle class elites who are concerned with the struggles of the lower working class. Terry Eagleton states, “committed to an art as an end to itself yet also an instrument of social regeneration… If the movement contains some of the most fervent advocates of the French Revolution, it also contains some of its most rabid antagonists.” It has been argued that the movement is a response to the Dual Revolution (industrial and political), and artists used this period to remember the past, while simultaneously showcase their frustration at the present. Michael Lowy and Robert Sayre (2001) argue that romanticism is “a vast cultural movement of protest against modern industry and capitalist society in the name of pre-modern values”.
It is arguable that William Wordsworth had a great influence on many of the great writers from the romantic era, and it is evident that his definition of the sublime “mind to grasp at something towards which it can make approaches but which it is incapable of attaining” did in fact influence Mary Shelley’s writing of Frankenstein (Wordsworth, “From Enlightenment” 84) From the picturesque images of Mount Blanc and Lake Genva, to the frozen North Sea, it feels like Wordsworth’s hand is guiding Shelley’s pen as the foundation for the novel is laid down, and it is this presence of the sublime that makes Frankenstein the masterful piece of art it is with adding in the sublime. With adding in the sublime Shelley was able to create a world of