The Importance Of Water In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Water is an essential element in life. Life is not possible without water, but it can also bring death. Bodies of water, such as oceans and lakes, can bring peace and joy to people, but many lives are also lost in those waters. Mary Shelley illustrates the goods and evils of water in her novel, Frankenstein. In the Gothic novel, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, creates a being and brings it to life. Abandoned by Victor and feared by those that come across him, the Creature murders the people closest to Victor in anger. In Frankenstein, bodies of water reflect the emphasis on nature in the Romantic movement of the 19th century; these bodies of water are important to the plot of the novel because of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature’s connections to them.
When talking about Romantic era literature, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often brought up because of its numerous incorporations of Romantic elements. One of the main Romantic characteristics found in Frankenstein is nature. Shelley vividly describes the mountains, lakes, and trees of the regions that Victor travels through. “The immense mountains and precipices that overhung me on every side–the sound of the river raging among the rocks, and the dashing of the waterfalls around, spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotence” describes the scenery as Victor travels to Chamounix after the death of his brother, William (Shelley 84). Romantics …show more content…
Bodies of water act as an evil against the Creature and a blessing for Victor Frankenstein. Shelley uses bodies of water to symbolize the goods and evils of nature, contrasting the goods and evils of man. As Mary Shelley said, “There is love in me the likes of which you've never seen. There is rage in me the likes of which should never escape. If I am not satisfied in the one, I will indulge the