Consider the Romantics view of the following:
Man, Nature, God and Society
If you don't know these views, do some investigating. How do you see these views presented in the novel? What patterns are clearly beginning to emerge?
Views on Man VS God: From Chapter 15 onward, allusions to John Milton's Paradise Lost are evident. Milton's delineation of the Garden Of Eden/Adam/God/Satan are perceived as historical fact by the creature, who esteems Milton's work as a relevant to his own life - he even exclaims that Victor Frankenstein is his God and that he, the Creature, is Adam. The connection between the Creature and Adam is fathomable yet when properly juxtaposed, God served as a benign parent to his creation while Victor Frankenstein behaved as an irresponsible parent who gave no thought to what he was bringing into the world. This revelation discovered by the Creature engenders a puissant loathing toward his creator and the human race.
Society plays a significant role in contributing to the contempt exalted on the Creature whilst also providing an enviously pleasant perspective for him. The family - consisting of Felix, Agatha, De Lacey and eventually Safri- the creature watches for months and soon begins esteeming as his 'friends', both delineated scorn and courtesy - though the courtesy was not given consciously. The Creature receives a cathartic sense of solace from viewing the quotidian lives of his 'friends'. He envies their situation and sympathizes with them in times of hardship. Their interactions with one another, as well as their topics of discussion intrigue and console the Creature who longs for the same interactions. Nevertheless, the Creature's chimerical perception of his friends shatters utterly once they finally encounter him face-to-face and severely detriment her perspective on humanity.
Nature plays a pivotal role in the course of the story - from both Victor's perspective and the Creatures. Nature conveys a relation between Creature and Creator by the effects the seasons have on their moods. Victor appreciates the icy darkness of the winter season for he seeks to hide within the frigid winter nights in order to 'freeze out' those around him by isolating himself as well as conceal the immense guilt he feels for creating/abandoning his creature and the shame that accompanies the failure in his pursuit of knowledge. Unlike Victor, the Creature revels in the warmth and brightness of spring - which alludes to his desperateness in pursuing the warmth and comfort of humanity as well as his utter desire to be exposed to the world as an equal, rather than hiding away as a monster.
adding unto what Eriel said... Maybe the creature would appeal to the warmness of spring because in spring flowers bloom, buds are newly opened up to the world around them, and many baby animals are born during this time. This could relate to the creatures new existence in the world and the audience's perception of the creature analogous to a newborn baby. In spring, God's creations (flowers, trees, animals) all come to life, just as Victor's creation has.
The Romantic writers (especially Shelley's husband, Percy) felt that one could connect to God through nature. Victor, seeing himself as God, connects to nature.
Last year, Mrs. Phillips talked with us a lot about romantics and similarly, transcendentalists. She told us that romantics, as Sarah said, believe that they can connect with God through being in nature, thus they believe that wonderful things happen in nature. One example of this is in the Scarlet Letter, when Hester and Dimmesdale are in the forest together, they are free to express their love for each other, without being judged by society. The same notion can be seen in Frankenstein. The monster is spurned and judged by society, however in nature, he is free of judgement and scorn.
In the book Frankenstein, Nature performs the roles of a comforter, and a source of joy, refuge, and discomfort. The mountains provided the creature a source of refuge from cruel humanity. No one lived in the mountains so he could live freely in solitude, without anyone screaming in horror of his appearance, or someone shooting at him or attacking him out of defense because he appeared to be a killer or a monster.
The night provided a source of concealment from the creature's appearance. He used the night's darkness to avoid revealing his ugly physique and mien to humans who despised him for his ugliness, which they found terrifying.
The summer brought a sense of warm happiness to the creature despite the troubling life that he led. The winter's cold and whiteness brought the creature some discomfort notwithstanding his ability to endure adverse cold.
Romantic thought had to do a lot with the union of all 4; society (aka man only multiplied), God, nature, and man. Through nature, man was able to connect to the divine, and society would then be united in divine harmony and spiritual bliss. The thing is, in order to unite with nature, or to fully 'experience' it, in the romantic point of view, one had to observe, appreciate, and finally admire and treasure the beauty, grace, and order nature demonstrated. Only then God was able to enter the pure mind of man that only saw the positives of nature and 'enlighten' ones life with spiritual ecstasy. In Frankenstein, Shelly writes of a man who appreciates nature enough to imitate it; however imitating nature is not as easy as it pans out; it is very, very complex. (Since nature usually creates itself in its orderly cycles of creation and destruction : similar to seasons of weather). Interrupting this cycle and trying to achieve greatness when one is too immature in the full understanding of the behavior of nature goes completely wrong in this instance. We see Victor's conscience constantly mulling over how he has done a regrettable act towards God and his will as well as nature; it is also interesting that he does not recognize the severity of it. ((quote, chapter 9, pg. 80, "Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description and horrible, and more, much more (persuaded myself), was yet behind. " another quote on same page "I was seized by remorse and a sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe." ))
I definitely agree with Motun - Nature does serve as a protecting force throughout the book. However, rarely does the author, or Victor, associate Nature with a connection to the traditional of God. If anything, it seems that Shelley's take on Nature is that of a presiding power, embodying its energy through its emotional and physical influence on man, specifically, in Victor and the creature. Forests and mountains are as powerful to a Romanticist like Shelley as a church service could be to a fastidious priest.
Views on Man VS God: From Chapter 15 onward, allusions to John Milton's Paradise Lost are evident. Milton's delineation of the Garden Of Eden/Adam/God/Satan are perceived as historical fact by the creature, who esteems Milton's work as a relevant to his own life - he even exclaims that Victor Frankenstein is his God and that he, the Creature, is Adam. The connection between the Creature and Adam is fathomable yet when properly juxtaposed, God served as a benign parent to his creation while Victor Frankenstein behaved as an irresponsible parent who gave no thought to what he was bringing into the world. This revelation discovered by the Creature engenders a puissant loathing toward his creator and the human race.
ReplyDeleteSociety plays a significant role in contributing to the contempt exalted on the Creature whilst also providing an enviously pleasant perspective for him. The family - consisting of Felix, Agatha, De Lacey and eventually Safri- the creature watches for months and soon begins esteeming as his 'friends', both delineated scorn and courtesy - though the courtesy was not given consciously. The Creature receives a cathartic sense of solace from viewing the quotidian lives of his 'friends'. He envies their situation and sympathizes with them in times of hardship. Their interactions with one another, as well as their topics of discussion intrigue and console the Creature who longs for the same interactions. Nevertheless, the Creature's chimerical perception of his friends shatters utterly once they finally encounter him face-to-face and severely detriment her perspective on humanity.
Nature plays a pivotal role in the course of the story - from both Victor's perspective and the Creatures. Nature conveys a relation between Creature and Creator by the effects the seasons have on their moods. Victor appreciates the icy darkness of the winter season for he seeks to hide within the frigid winter nights in order to 'freeze out' those around him by isolating himself as well as conceal the immense guilt he feels for creating/abandoning his creature and the shame that accompanies the failure in his pursuit of knowledge. Unlike Victor, the Creature revels in the warmth and brightness of spring - which alludes to his desperateness in pursuing the warmth and comfort of humanity as well as his utter desire to be exposed to the world as an equal, rather than hiding away as a monster.
adding unto what Eriel said...
ReplyDeleteMaybe the creature would appeal to the warmness of spring because in spring flowers bloom, buds are newly opened up to the world around them, and many baby animals are born during this time. This could relate to the creatures new existence in the world and the audience's perception of the creature analogous to a newborn baby. In spring, God's creations (flowers, trees, animals) all come to life, just as Victor's creation has.
The Romantic writers (especially Shelley's husband, Percy) felt that one could connect to God through nature. Victor, seeing himself as God, connects to nature.
ReplyDeleteLast year, Mrs. Phillips talked with us a lot about romantics and similarly, transcendentalists. She told us that romantics, as Sarah said, believe that they can connect with God through being in nature, thus they believe that wonderful things happen in nature. One example of this is in the Scarlet Letter, when Hester and Dimmesdale are in the forest together, they are free to express their love for each other, without being judged by society. The same notion can be seen in Frankenstein. The monster is spurned and judged by society, however in nature, he is free of judgement and scorn.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Frankenstein, Nature performs the roles of a comforter, and a source of joy, refuge, and discomfort. The mountains provided the creature a source of refuge from cruel humanity. No one lived in the mountains so he could live freely in solitude, without anyone screaming in horror of his appearance, or someone shooting at him or attacking him out of defense because he appeared to be a killer or a monster.
ReplyDeleteThe night provided a source of concealment from the creature's appearance. He used the night's darkness to avoid revealing his ugly physique and mien to humans who despised him for his ugliness, which they found terrifying.
The summer brought a sense of warm happiness to the creature despite the troubling life that he led. The winter's cold and whiteness brought the creature some discomfort notwithstanding his ability to endure adverse cold.
Romantic thought had to do a lot with the union of all 4; society (aka man only multiplied), God, nature, and man. Through nature, man was able to connect to the divine, and society would then be united in divine harmony and spiritual bliss. The thing is, in order to unite with nature, or to fully 'experience' it, in the romantic point of view, one had to observe, appreciate, and finally admire and treasure the beauty, grace, and order nature demonstrated. Only then God was able to enter the pure mind of man that only saw the positives of nature and 'enlighten' ones life with spiritual ecstasy. In Frankenstein, Shelly writes of a man who appreciates nature enough to imitate it; however imitating nature is not as easy as it pans out; it is very, very complex. (Since nature usually creates itself in its orderly cycles of creation and destruction : similar to seasons of weather). Interrupting this cycle and trying to achieve greatness when one is too immature in the full understanding of the behavior of nature goes completely wrong in this instance. We see Victor's conscience constantly mulling over how he has done a regrettable act towards God and his will as well as nature; it is also interesting that he does not recognize the severity of it. ((quote, chapter 9, pg. 80, "Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description and horrible, and more, much more (persuaded myself), was yet behind. " another quote on same page "I was seized by remorse and a sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe." ))
ReplyDelete-Sam
I definitely agree with Motun - Nature does serve as a protecting force throughout the book. However, rarely does the author, or Victor, associate Nature with a connection to the traditional of God. If anything, it seems that Shelley's take on Nature is that of a presiding power, embodying its energy through its emotional and physical influence on man, specifically, in Victor and the creature. Forests and mountains are as powerful to a Romanticist like Shelley as a church service could be to a fastidious priest.
ReplyDelete