Sublime Nature
Source: Sparknotes
The sublime natural world, embraced by Romanticism (late eighteenth century to mid-nineteenth century) as a source of unrestrained emotional experience for the individual, initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Mired in depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which he feels responsible, Victor heads to the mountains to lift his spirits. Likewise, after a hellish winter of cold and abandonment, the monster feels his heart lighten as spring arrives. The influence of nature on mood is evident throughout the novel, but for Victor, the natural world’s power to console him wanes when he realizes that the monster will haunt him no matter where he goes. By the end, as Victor chases the monster obsessively, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, functions simply as the symbolic backdrop for his primal struggle against the monster.
The sublime natural world, embraced by Romanticism (late eighteenth century to mid-nineteenth century) as a source of unrestrained emotional experience for the individual, initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Mired in depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which he feels responsible, Victor heads to the mountains to lift his spirits. Likewise, after a hellish winter of cold and abandonment, the monster feels his heart lighten as spring arrives. The influence of nature on mood is evident throughout the novel, but for Victor, the natural world’s power to console him wanes when he realizes that the monster will haunt him no matter where he goes. By the end, as Victor chases the monster obsessively, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, functions simply as the symbolic backdrop for his primal struggle against the monster.
MOUNTAINS
Source: A Cultural History of MS's Frankenstein What was it that drew scientists to the mountains in the 18th Century? Similarly, what was it that kept them from making the ascent? Was it the sublime? Was it to search for the origin of the earth or to discover within the mountains an explanation for their world, notions of which were previously set by religious preconceptions? Prior to the 18th Century, it was common thought that the earth and its elements were formed under God's Creation. But as curiosity about the mountains grew, there was a shift from theological thought to physico-theological thought, and later, purely geologic thought. By the 19th Century, most geologists had abandoned the theological reasoning behind the creation of the earth, and turned mostly to scientific experimentation and theory. |
THE ARCTIC
Source: Crossref-it It is empty, unexplored, virgin country and Walton regards it as ripe for exploration; like Frankenstein in his work in creating the monster, he hopes to penetrate the mysteries of the Arctic and to open it up for trade |