Romanticism in Frankenstein • Name: Trivedi Hezal K.

• Roll No: 35• PG Reg. No. PG15101040

• M.A. – English Regular, Semester-2• Year: 2016

• Course No. 5: The Romantic Literature• Unit-4 – Frankenstein (mary-shelley)

• Assignments Topic- Romanticism & Frankenstein• Submitted to: S.B. Gardi Department of English

• Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University • (Gujarat – India)

When you think “Romanticism” DON”T think of “romance”!

• The literary term “Romanticism” is very different from what “romantic” commonly means today.

• Romantics often wrote about sad situations (love or death).

• Or they wrote about nature• Or they wrote fantasy

stories

Some elements of the Romanticism

• Nature• Emotion• Symbolism• The Self/Personal

freedom• Imagination and

Fantasy• The supernatural

• Belief that that science only corrupts, but nature soothes.

• Interest in Past• Rural Life and the

Common Man• Legends & myths• Death• Failed love

• Written by Mary Shelley in 1818 when she was 18 year old.

Nature in Frankenstein

• "I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self...I find it arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources; but, swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys" (Shelley 38).

• This quote exemplifies the natural elements frequently seen in Romantic period literature in the sense that the swell of the mountain river represents the chaos and loss of happiness in Victor's life.

Emotion in Frankenstein

• "I desire the company of a man who would sympathize with me; whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend" (Shelley 18)

• This is an example of Romantic emotion from Walton's point of view. His loneliness reflects the barrenness of the Arctic that he and his seemingly unsympathetic crew members travelled through.

Symbolism in Frankenstein

• " ‘One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it' " (Shelley 99).

• This passage shows the symbolism that Shelley uses to explain how the creature felt when he first discovered fire. The fire represents feelings of joy the creature truly felt throughout the novel when in contact with flames.

Imagination in Frankenstein

• "I thought, therefore, that if in the absence of his children I could gain the good will and mediation of the old De Lacey, I might by his means be tolerated by my younger protectors" (Shelley 126)

• This example of imagination is reflected in the creature's ignorance in De Lacey's family being accepting of his beastly appearance. This goes hand in hand with the Romantic ideals of imagination. The purpose of it was to help the readers with certain parts of reality. This quote does this by showing people that they cannot set their hopes too high.

Conclusion

Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, is a romantic classic. It is based around the romantic principles that science only corrupts, but nature soothes. She is warning us that if we neglect nature, like Victor Frankenstein did, we will end up making a monster out of ourselves and one day look back at how foolish we were in neglecting nature.

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