Romanticism in FrankensteinRomanticism in FrankensteinMary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, depicts some of the central concerns not only of the Romantic movement and its epoch but also of modernity in general. Discuss these Romantic concerns and consider the reasons for its continuing relevance.
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, is considered to be the greatest Gothic novel of its Era and many to follow. Written when she was just 19, many of her life experiences and a very powerful imagination resulted in this literary piece of work. Published in 1818, at a time when society was embracing romanticism in its emerging, it was a beloved experience for the reader and still is today. During the 17th and 18th century Romanticism “has crossed all social boundaries” (Lowy, 1998. 76) and it was during this time that it found Itself in many niches of the literary world.
Romantic writers are typically concerned with compassion for mankind, feelings, nature, freedom for the individual and rebellion from society. Frankenstein is a thoroughly accurate portrayal and proof of the importance of English Romanticism, there are very few other works as accurate. During the period of Romanticism portrayal of feeling and emotion was paramount and this was certainly also true of Shelley’s novel. Her own experiences with the death of her mother during childbirth and suicide of her half-sister Fanny are all reflected within the novel making for emotionally charged reading. Emotion is a highly featured theme throughout the book. The monster himself is driven by emotion.
During the romantic movement people freely vented their worries thoughts and concerns in their writing and autobiographical work was also highly popular during this time.
Similar to modernity another vital underpinning of romanticism was the innocence and exultation of the common man. Whilst the Enlightenment project sought to show that man was capable of saviour and improvement, Frankenstein did just that.
A passage in the book, “cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live?…….;despair had not yet taken possession of me ; my feelings were those of rage and revenge.” (Shelley 1818: 746) is one of the finest examples of romanticism in the novel.. The monster has startled the occupants and runs from the cottage. This demonstrates that during the Romanticist movement feelings were a common theme. The monsters feelings were hurt and therefore he cursed the day he was born. The monster cannot help what happens to him and we cannot blame him for it. His response is to overcompensate for his lack of knowledge and then to shun all humans unless necessary.
The reflection of real life in the novel was essential to romantic works during this period was crucial and some may question how a monster and real life can possibly be a relection of one another but if you look at the general undercurrent of the book it becomes clear that the creation of Frankenstein is symbolic of her own life.
When Frankenstein’s creator turns his back on him and turns him out in the cold this is symbolic of Shelley’s life. After her mothers death as she was a baby she was used to the typical home security babies know. She was thrown out into the world and this is similar to the monster. Whilst a clear difference in age mentally he was much like a child he knew only the security of the inside of the cottage. Imagery, an important element of Romanticism, and autobiographical experiences are here combined to reveal an exceptional piece of writing from the Romantic movement.
When the monster is thrown out to deal with life in the outside world he is initially a simple and mindless creature who when facing the unknown is quite simply lost. His means of survival bring him to observe other peoples actions closely and work hard to overcome the language difficulties he had, he even manages to teach himself to read. This plotline touched many peoples hearts as he was much like the simple man striving to survive. People were unable to see past his physical attributes to see his emotional capabilities and this too is very true of modern life experiences still in today’s society. Many people are judgmental about appearance and many are scared by things they don’t understand. As Frankenstein’s appearance was non-conforming many people in the novel fail to see
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So that wasn’t exactly the book’s most powerful line.\o/blockquote>
But the story really struck a few readers. Because it is not such a simple story of a few monster hunters being forced for their lives by an evil master and the fact that it was an urban fantasy by one of the strongest creators of modern fiction.\o/blockquote>
I want to draw attention to something other than what I find most interesting about this book: There are two versions/stories. One that speaks of a new world in which everyone lives together and the other one is told from the point of view of the monster hunter himself. When the new world is a disaster, it is taken to an entirely new and dangerous world called the Unknown .\o/blockquote>
Even when the novel introduces the idea that the new and untamed world is all too realistic, there is great difficulty to see why people, even if they think there is very little, will be able to understand this new world and find any real hope for survival.\o/blockquote>
Of course, as the world gets into much worse shape, more and more people who grew up here will die and so would the monsters, if left outside their normal lives, will find new ways of living, as well as the only way they can survive.\o/blockquote>
There is also tension which occurs in the way human beings are raised. Those raised as monsters or as a result of the “experts” being sent from the Great House to see if they can fight themselves and come down against their will, are expected to learn to fight themselves as well, they will not only show promise in their abilities but they will have to keep getting better and better about themselves in order to stay alive.\o/blockquote>
The people of the fictional world are so angry with the Monster Hunter series which is not, as I am guessing, part of the larger trend of turning into a genre. So many people thought this novel might be better suited to that.\o/blockquote>
For those who are not familiar with the novel, there are a couple of important points. First of all, the plot is based around a series of events as some of us assume. The monsters are always seen as more deadly than the average person and the people who live here are the ones to blame as not only were they always aware of this, they actually learned that. Secondly, the monster hunting itself is all good, it makes for interesting and believable characters. To have seen some of the monsters with their murderous intent and their brutality and their actions while you had seen the rest of humanity be made to suffer for years, maybe years, might never have been an option.\o/blockquote>
Many people will argue that this whole book comes from an idea on how the monster hunters can see their natural human features, this isn’t quite correct as all humans make their own way through the fiction and most believe they are