The Age Of Enlightenment In Frankenstein

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

“Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch” (Shelley 57). This statement is how Mary Shelley successfully portrayed the overall negative consensus of the industrialization of Europe in the 1800s in her novel Frankenstein. This story parallels the world’s transition from nature and emotion to reason and truth which was the primary cause for the industrial revolution. Though the revolution brought new technology and knowledge, people felt as though they were enslaved by this sudden change. This is clear through Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein and the ‘wretched monster’ that would forever change the world.

Mary Shelley introduces the story of Frankenstein with an exchange of one-way letters from Walton to his sister. In these letters, Shelley introduces the main themes of the novel via the character of Walton and his letters, in that he presents many of the themes later explored in ‘Frankenstein’ such as thirst for knowledge and power, isolation and nature, in his own story. These opening letters thus have an impact on the reader as they will influence their view of the rest of the novel in ways that will bring them to ask themselves important questions valid for any are ad society, and bring them some understanding of what is to come next in the novel.

Mary Shelley’s story of internal turmoil, the cruelty of altering the laws of nature, and the consequences of redefining the laws of nature is a harrowing one, known widely by many audiences, yet it is never the nature of the characters that is discussed, only the outcome. Shelley’s deliberate use of different character foils portrays the deeper connections and themes in her 1818 novel, Frankenstein. The creation and presence of Frankenstein’s monster directly foils the character of Victor Frankenstein himself, illustrating overarching themes of self inflicted isolation and internal conflict, exposing the dangers and consequences of complete and total narcissism, and revealing a truth many still refuse to accept: we, as humans, are capable

Frankenstein acts as a site to also challenge the Enlightenment ideology that promotes logic, reason and rationality of mankind to such an extreme that it blocks the free play of emotions– turning man into a soulless thinking machine. The philosophes glorified human reason and believed it was

Frankenstein, written by author Mary Shelley, was a romantic based story written in Europe during the eighteen hundreds. During this time period, Europe was experiencing many social and economic changes. Many of these changes were a product of the industrial revolution of Europe. This time period can be defined and era of exploration, discovery and industrialization in which ideas were pushed to the limits. Victor’s creation of Frankenstein is a reflection of the industrial revolution and a scientific era in which the borders of the possible are pushed and society is forced to face a monster of their own.

     Romantic writer Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein does indeed do a lot more than simply tell story, and in this case, horrify and frighten the reader. Through her careful and deliberate construction of characters as representations of certain dominant beliefs, Shelley supports a value system and way of life that challenges those that prevailed in the late eighteenth century during the ‘Age of Reason’. Thus the novel can be said to be challenging prevailant ideologies, of which the dominant society was constructed, and endorsing many of the alternative views and thoughts of the society. Shelley can be said to be influenced by her mothers early feminist views, her father’s

In the novel, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein shows the cruel karma that joins in the achievement of attaining knowledge. With countless examples to support this statement, the opinion of this reader holds strong with the opinion of Mary Shelly, that the power of knowledge, though incredibly tempting to grasp hold of tightly, can be a dangerous achievement that can lead to more destruction than it can recover.

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

Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein, can be greatly related to many horror novels, no consideration of morality or thought. Shelly writes her story in a real world perspective showing themes of corruption and downfall making it seem frighteningly realistic. It truly is mind-boggling how research can conflict with religion without a thought or care. During the enlightenment, science began to mask over faith and religion, creating a cultural phenomenon. This is still a factor in today’s world. Although experimenting and research can have poor and great affects, the common question comes to mind, “even though it can be done, should it be done?” While Shelly talks of science and technology, it seems to become more predominate that not all

Egotism is characterized by an inflated appraisal of one’s intellect, ability, importance, and appearance. It is practiced by placing oneself at the center of his or her world. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, Shelley seeks to deliver her idea of the egotistic archetype as it relates to the ideals of The Enlightenment Period, a time period she sees as self-centered. Shelley sees the arrogance in the fact that Enlightenment philosophers test the limits of human understanding and attempt to simplify the ambiguities of nature. She asserts that man is egotistical to believe that he or she can completely dominate a comprehension of the human experience. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein embodies Enlightenment

The Enlightenment age encouraged everyone to use reason and science in order to rid the world of barbarism and superstition. In fact, Kant argued that the "public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among men" (Kant 3). Enlightenment thinking not only influenced philosophy and the sciences, but also literature (especially in Pope's Essay on Man). In reaction to Enlightenment's strict empiricism, Romanticism was born. In Frankenstein, Shelley argues (1) that Victor Frankenstein's role as an Enlightenment hero, not only pulled him out of nature, but made him a slave to his creation; (2) that Frankenstein's role as a revolting romantic failed, because he didn't take responsibility for his

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

"As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein – more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation."

“Here we find nature to be the circumstance which[…] judges like a god all men that come to her.” is one of the first statements by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay “Nature”, referring to nature’s role in romanticism. Nature, as well as science, are one of the main topics depicted in writings of the romantic period. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can be attached to these writings. Her novel implies many natural and scientific characteristics that approach throughout the novel and finally clash by Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the monster. The following essay states the importance of nature and science in Frankenstein and argues that Frankenstein’s monster is a personalization of the danger involved in connecting both nature and science.