The Novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is believed to be one of the greatest pieces of Romantic literature. This essay will explore the themes of science and nature presented in Shelley’s Frankenstein and how these themes are used to question whether the modern philosophy of enlightenment reasoning was as flawlessly superior as it was claimed to be. The essay will also look at the structure of the novel in order to unpack how Shelly has constructed it, reflects a preference to Romantic ideas.
Firstly, there is the use of lightning and fire as a representation of knowledge in the text. Lightning first appears in the book when Victor is fifteen, he states “I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak…so soon as the dazzling light had vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump (Shelly, 39). This is quite a telling quote, for the lightning is performing two tasks. The first being the initial spark of Victor’s curiosity in electricity. Which in turn causes him to abandon his pursuit of natural history or what he calls “would-be science” (39) in favour of “study …show more content…
The way he fervently pursues his studies should indicate a successful replication of how the Romantics of the day unapologetically pursed their passions (6). However, this passion is channelled into the most artificial pursuit of reanimating the dead. This desire to use science to undo the natural process of death by using lifeless parts goes against the grain of Romantic ideals (6). Victor’s endeavours are in a state if contradiction. Even Victor himself admits that “my attention was fixed upon the most insupportable to the delicacy of human feelings” (Shelly, 51). Showing that he was aware that his endeavour of creating life with dead things was
Firstly, there is the use of lightning and fire as a representation of knowledge in the text. Lightning first appears in the book when Victor is fifteen, he states “I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak…so soon as the dazzling light had vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump (Shelly, 39). This is quite a telling quote, for the lightning is performing two tasks. The first being the initial spark of Victor’s curiosity in electricity. Which in turn causes him to abandon his pursuit of natural history or what he calls “would-be science” (39) in favour of “study …show more content…
The way he fervently pursues his studies should indicate a successful replication of how the Romantics of the day unapologetically pursed their passions (6). However, this passion is channelled into the most artificial pursuit of reanimating the dead. This desire to use science to undo the natural process of death by using lifeless parts goes against the grain of Romantic ideals (6). Victor’s endeavours are in a state if contradiction. Even Victor himself admits that “my attention was fixed upon the most insupportable to the delicacy of human feelings” (Shelly, 51). Showing that he was aware that his endeavour of creating life with dead things was