Elements Of Romanticism In Frankenstein

The novel Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus cannot be categorized into only one genre because it has various features of different genres. It is certainly a tragedy. Although the core narration starts with a story of how Frankenstein’s father meets and marries the protagonist’s mother, she first has to endure the death of her father called Beaufort. Thus, the novel already begins as a tragic exposition. As a result, the narrative fiction ends with almost everyone including the protagonist and the antagonist as dead.

There is yet a third angle of romanticism Dr. Boeree brings to our attention. This angle is arguably the most popular, feeding meaning to terms such as "romanticize" and "romantic". This is the glorification of concepts such as freedom, courage, virtue, and kindness (12). These are all traits the creature possessed, bringing us to yet another romantic concept. That is the idea that at the core everyone is good, circumstance simply has a way of blinding us to the good causing us to do evil. However at the core the being is still good. Frankenstein's creature is a classic example of this ideal. Wishing for nothing more than acceptance and companionship he instead is plagued with exile and abandonment. In his anguish he seeks vengeance against his maker, however upon gaining such vengeance he finds it did not fulfill his emotional needs and he loathed himself for his deeds. Circumstance, however, would not let him be. When Frankenstein married Elisabeth this vengeance was once again fueled; for it was Frankenstein who, before the creature's very eyes, tore apart the creature's nearly finished mate -- the act that incited the creature's first fit of vengeance.

Mary Shelly transformed the horror genre with her novel Frankenstein, a story focusing on death that was overcome by science and reanimation. Although essentially a horror novel, Shelly discusses the moral consequences of reanimating the dead and sheds light on the question of life and death itself. This focus on life and death, however, is paralleled by Shelly’s warning of how dangerous the desire of knowledge can become. The threat of science was a crucial theme for Romanticism, which did not support science’s connection to the natural world. The story Frankenstein was heavily influenced by Romantic themes, which focused on a connection to nature, an exploration of the imagination and sublime, an individual’s inner world and the exotic. Shelly’s Frankenstein, is consistent with these themes and creates a memorable story about reviving death. Before discussing how Romanticism was portrayed, it is necessary to state the ideological groundwork of this movement.

“During my first experiment, a kind of enthusiastic frenzy had blinded me to the horror of my employment; my mind was intently fixed on the consummation of my labour, and my eyes were shut to the horror of my proceedings. But now I went to it in cold blood, and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands.” (Shelley, 178) The Romantic Movement began in the 1970’s and ended in the 1850’s. One of the key ideas shared by Romantics was that a literal and metaphorical return to nature was necessary. They believed that the individual was the most important part of society. Romantics rejected the Scientific and Industrial Revolution. They believed that cities prevented individuals from discovering the sublime. Mary Shelley’s Romantic and Gothic novel, Frankenstein, opens with a series of letters from Robert Walton, an explorer, to his sister. Throughout these letters, Victor Frankenstein’s story is told. He was born into a wealthy family, and studies at a well-known school, where he develops an interest in biology. Eventually, Frankenstein is able to bring corpse back to life. He is horrified by his creation and abandons the monster. The monster eventually kills everyone that Frankenstein loves and in doing so, he also indirectly kills Victor. The monster then feels guilty and kills himself. Frankenstein reflects the Romantic views of Mary Shelly. There are many Romantic elements in Frankenstein. There is the evident dehumanization of the Industrial Revolution. Shelley also

Mary Shelley, and her impressive story of mankind's obsession on two contradicting powers: creation and science, keeps on drawing readers with Frankenstein's numerous meanings and impact on society. Frankenstein has had a noteworthy impact in literature and popular culture. Frankenstein is well known for being viewed as a sci-fi novel. In Frankenstein, a portion of the primary ideas behind the scholarly development of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a partner to numerous Romantic artists, for example, her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, despite the fact that the subjects inside Frankenstein are darker given that the Industrial Revolution affected society, including how individuals thought, felt, worked, and identified with each other, it is possible that such a change may have been the motivation behind why Romanticism was immediately embraced. Romanticism gave individuals the opportunity to dream once more, and to investigate their dreams. In Frankenstein, Shelley expressed the celebration of nature, the limitations of humans, and imagination.

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, with her brilliant tale of mankind's obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankenstein's many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fiction novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literary movement of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a colleague of many Romantic poets such as her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, even though the themes within Frankenstein are darker

Romanticism began to make a great influence on art and literature during the eighteenth to the nineteenth century. Frankenstein was first published in 1818 during that period and the novel is flooded with Mary Shelley’s feelings of extreme good and bad emotions. English literature during the romanticism period is believed to be the most expressive in style, subject, and content. The discrepancy and chaos concerning the essential principles and competing philosophies were believed to be fascinating for several famous novelists along with poets that cited the Romantics as being their most eminent motivational voices. Romanticism in literary context means a movement in art and literature that depicts an emotional matter within an imaginative

On the other extreme of Romanticism, Frankenstein can also be considered a gothic novel,"tales of macabre, fantastic . . . usually set in graveyards, ruins, and wild picturesque

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she exemplifies the idea of and Romantic and Gothic literature movements. Gothic literature is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom. Romantic literature consists of the celebration of nature, beauty, and imagination. Both were originated in the 18th century and were at their peaks between the 1800’s and the 1850’s. This novel is considered Mary Shelley’s most famous work. It was written and published in 1818.

The book Frankenstein is an advance book for readers to understand. It was written during the Romanticism. There are many different themes throughout the entire novel that the reader might notice while reading. There are many lessons that are hidden in this book for readers to learn from. One of the main lessons that the author tried to teach the reader is how society acts towards anything different than what society considers normal. It is almost what the whole story is based on. The monster that Frankenstein created was a victim to the actions that some people do and that is judging someone by the way that they look.

Having lived between 18th and 19th century, author Mary Shelley was greatly influenced by the intellectual movement of Romanticism. Since she was closely associated with many of the great minds of the Romantic Movement such as her husband Percy B. Shelley and Lord Byron, it is natural that her works would reflect the Romantic trends. Many label Shelley¡¯s most famous novel Frankenstein as the first Science Fiction novel in history because its plot contains the process of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein creating a living human being from dead body parts, but that is only a part of the entire novel. At its core, Frankenstein is a product of Romanticism featuring the traits of a Romantic hero on a Romantic quest, the embracement of

Romantic themes may be used in Frankenstein, but it is not the main theme of the novel and may even denounce the Romanticism movement. A key point in Romanticism is the artist and his art, the artist greatly appreciates his art and it is his main passion. But in Frankenstein the artist, which is Victor, does not appreciate his art and is even extremely repulsed by it. This passage shows how much repulsed Victor is by his creation, “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features of beautiful. Beautiful!-Great God!” (Shelley 51) Another key point in Romanticism is how nature is always a free and calming place. In Frankenstein nature sometimes affects characters negatively and storms are often used in a negative context.

Romanticism, the literary movement that began in the late eighteenth century and gained strength during the Industrial revolution, emphasizes emotion, sublimity, and the significance of nature among other things. Writers during this time period wrote literature that was a clear reflection of Romanticism, and one of those authors was Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly. Her novel Frankenstein, which was published in 1818, incorporates different characteristics of Romanticism in many aspects but more directly through the characters. With an analysis of Victor Frankenstein, the monster, and Henry Clerval, it is clear that the characters of Frankenstein epitomize ideologies that were embodied during the Romantic Era including the Byronic hero, and emphasis on nature’s significance.

In this assessment I will be critically evaluating the use of Romantic forms and themes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). The discussion will focus on a radical interpretation of the text; an interpretation that views the novel as a response to the social injustice and cruel treatment of the masses in this period, and the conservative explanation for the text; where the creature personifies the monstrous consequences for attempting to overthrow the capitalist elite. Romanticism, a period from the late 18th Century to the mid-19th Century, is a contradictory movement; a product of middle class elites who are concerned with the struggles of the lower working class. Terry Eagleton states, “committed to an art as an end to itself yet also an instrument of social regeneration… If the movement contains some of the most fervent advocates of the French Revolution, it also contains some of its most rabid antagonists.” It has been argued that the movement is a response to the Dual Revolution (industrial and political), and artists used this period to remember the past, while simultaneously showcase their frustration at the present. Michael Lowy and Robert Sayre (2001) argue that romanticism is “a vast cultural movement of protest against modern industry and capitalist society in the name of pre-modern values”.