Romanticism In Frankenstein Research Paper

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Romanticism and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein

Introduction
The current essay aims to review Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein from the perspective of the characteristics which help classify the writing within the literary movement Romanticism. The paper does not aim to conduct an exhaustive discussion of all Romantic themes, motives, or principles identifiable in the novel, but to only refer to some of them and to explain why these can be read as examples of the Romantic literary movement.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can be described , briefly, as the story of a scientist who is willing to invest his efforts to discover, whatever the cost, the ultimate truth about life, more precisely, about the origin of life. Victor Frankenstein, presented …show more content…

the role of the family, the importance of living within a community and abiding by its rules etc.). Ultimately the story can be read as being that of a scientist who assumes the role of God. His radical action aims to create another life, and he intends to use the “image” of his own kind as model for his creation. This recalls one of the religious myths of creations, that according to which God created the first human according to his image. The creature can, therefore, be looked at as being “the new Adam” one created not through the elusive force of God, but with the support of science. As Levine observed, “When the Monster invokes the analogy between himself and Adam or Satan, we are obviously invited to think of Frankenstein as God” (Levine, 7). The creature is significantly different than other human beings, first of all because it is not born, but made. It is not the child of a mother and father, but the creation of an ambitious man of science who defied the natural order of the world. Harold Bloom refers to Victor Frankenstein as being the real monster of the novel (due to his irresponsibility), and he concludes this after ascertaining that the doctor is a victim of his pathos. Frankenstein is

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