Romanticism in Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, depicts some of the central concerns not only of the Romantic movement and its epoch but also of modernity in general. Discuss these Romantic concerns and consider the reasons for its continuing relevance.

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, is considered to be the greatest Gothic novel of its Era and many to follow. Written when she was just 19, many of her life experiences and a very powerful imagination resulted in this literary piece of work. Published in 1818, at a time when society was embracing romanticism in its emerging, it was a beloved experience for the reader and still is today. During the 17th and 18th century Romanticism “has crossed all social boundaries” (Lowy, 1998. 76) and it was during this time that it found Itself in many niches of the literary world.

Romantic writers are typically concerned with compassion for mankind, feelings, nature, freedom for the individual and rebellion from society. Frankenstein is a thoroughly accurate portrayal and proof of the importance of English Romanticism, there are very few other works as accurate. During the period of Romanticism portrayal of feeling and emotion was paramount and this was certainly also true of Shelley’s novel. Her own experiences with the death of her mother during childbirth and suicide of her half-sister Fanny are all reflected within the novel making for emotionally charged reading. Emotion is a highly featured theme throughout the book. The monster himself is driven by emotion.

During the romantic movement people freely vented their worries thoughts and concerns in their writing and autobiographical work was also highly popular during this time.

Similar to modernity another vital underpinning of romanticism was the innocence and exultation of the common man. Whilst the Enlightenment project sought to show that man was capable of saviour and improvement, Frankenstein did just that.

A passage in the book, “cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live?…….;despair had not yet taken possession of me ; my feelings were those of rage and revenge.” (Shelley 1818: 746) is one of the finest examples of romanticism in the novel.. The monster has startled the occupants and runs from the cottage. This demonstrates that during the Romanticist movement feelings were a common theme. The monsters feelings were hurt and therefore he cursed the day he was born. The monster cannot help what happens to him and we cannot blame him for it. His response is to overcompensate for his lack of knowledge and then to shun all humans unless necessary.

The reflection of real life in the novel was essential to romantic works during this period was crucial and some may question how a monster and real life can possibly be a relection of one another but if you look at the general undercurrent of the book it becomes clear that the creation of Frankenstein is symbolic of her own life.

When Frankenstein’s creator turns his back on him and turns him out in the cold this is symbolic of Shelley’s life. After her mothers death as she was a baby she was used to the typical home security babies know. She was thrown out into the world and this is similar to the monster. Whilst a clear difference in age mentally he was much like a child he knew only the security of the inside of the cottage. Imagery, an important element of Romanticism, and autobiographical experiences are here combined to reveal an exceptional piece of writing from the Romantic movement.

When the monster is thrown out to deal with life in the outside world he is initially a simple and mindless creature who when facing the unknown is quite simply lost. His means of survival bring him to observe other peoples actions closely and work hard to overcome the language difficulties he had, he even manages to teach himself to read. This plotline touched many peoples hearts as he was much like the simple man striving to survive. People were unable to see past his physical attributes to see his emotional capabilities and this too is very true of modern life experiences still in today’s society. Many people are judgmental about appearance and many are scared by things they don’t understand. As Frankenstein’s appearance was non-conforming many people in the novel fail to see