Examples Of Romanticism In Frankenstein

Words: 1205
Pages: 5

Rylee Heiner
Ms. Christensen
English 12B
1 May 2018

Frankenstein was published in 1823. The story was supposed to be written in the gothic genre, but it turned out as a gothic/romantic genre. This story stands more as a romantic story because all that the creature wants this whole story is to have a companion or to be accepted by someone. Frankenstein could be classified both as a gothic and romance genre, but many people would disagree with that. The book has a dark side too it that also makes it a gothic genre. The creature wants to find love. Some people don't think that it falls in both categories. They think that it falls into one or the other.
Throughout the story the reader is exposed to the darker side of the characters. Right
…show more content…
He was devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth and becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. Therefore, he constructed the creature, because he was longing for a companion as well. The romanticists believed that it was an individual and mutual visual imagination that would create a new understanding of the world and lead to a more ideal version of human beings and the communities that they lived in. Victor wanted to create life from nothing; that is the ultimate ideal form of romanticism. He is approached by the monster at Mount Montavert, confronting his creator with a proposition- ”make me a mate of my own.” Victor refuses, but the monster assures him that if he makes the second monster he will then leave Europe. Victor agrees and moves to start his secret work where he goes out to see to dispose of the remains. This is when the monster vows revenge on Victor and kills his wife on their honeymoon. He was an ideal fantasist and guilty of being preoccupied by other shrewd worry and unwinnable ideas, clearly making him highly …show more content…
It is based around the romantic principles that science corrupts, and nature soothes. Romanticism is about nature, human feelings, compassion for mankind, freedom of the individual and Romantic hero and rebellion against society. She gives us a sense of individuality to all the characters. The monster is the Romantic hero because of the rejection that he bears from “normal society”. Wherever he roams, he is consistently rejected because of his hideous appearance and huge size. Justine and William symbolize innocence, they are both blameless and represent a domino effect of innocent lives that fall because of another man’s mistake. Shelley also uses imagination to the fullest extent. Victor’s emotions outweighed any rationality, his will to succeed overpowered his will to maintain his own health. All these elements of Romanticism that are used throughout the story, prove to be that of Romanticism and therefore, makes this book of both Gothic and Romantic nature. I think that Mary Shelley is warning us that if we neglect nature and neglect love, that we will eventually make monsters out of ourselves and look back at what we have neglected and ultimately destroyed. She attempts to show that people in standard society reject the less than average who live on the outskirts of society. The monster tries to fit in, but, he can never be seen or treated as