Discuss the significance of the different settings within Frankenstein.
Shelley is very good at using the settings in this novel to evoke emotions from the reader. Whilst some of these settings are named areas, there are also some which include mere words that create a depiction of Frankenstein’s emotions and the seriousness of the current happenings. The significance of a setting is very important in a novel because, ‘Setting is the time and place where a scene occurs. It can help set the mood, influence the way characters behave, affect the dialog, foreshadow events, invoke an emotional response, reflect the society in which the characters live, and sometimes even plays a part in the story. It can also be a critical element in nonfiction
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as the setting provides the framework for what is being discussed.’ (Benedict, 2010) The first setting that Shelley mentions in the novel is Geneva. ‘I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic.’ Geneva is where Shelly was visiting at the time she thought of the novel, this shows that the significance of the setting was rather high, which is why she bases the family home there and gives it a high degree of togetherness. The name Frankenstein, which Shelley used to create the monster’s name, was actually formed from a trip that she and her travel companions had made to Frankenstein Castle in Gernsheim, Germany. This is where the idea of experimentation had come from, due to an alchemist, two centuries before, whom had been engaging in experimentation. This shows that although Shelley had created her own ideas of the said settings in Geneva in her novel, she was basing them on where she had initiated the first ideology of the novel together. Another idea of significant settings includes the descriptive words that Shelley uses in her writing. Whilst using the setting of the Artic in the novel, Shelley uses the words ‘irregular’ and ‘vast flat land.’ These are essentially portraying the ‘monster’ and how it is so against nature to produce life without the hand of God. The connotations of these words also give the reader a false sense of peace, almost as if they are actually not alone, which causes the Gothic sense of the unknown to become involved. The Arctic was a particularly significant setting, due to the fact that it is used at the very end of the book. ‘Oh! How unlike it was to the blue seasons of the south! Covered with ice, it was only to be distinguished from land by its superior wildness and ruggedness.’ The word superior gives the reader an idea of power, how the force of nature (as the natural ice has not been touched by mankind yet) is much more superior to that of man and his reign of the land. As well as this, Shelley used the words ‘wildness’ and ‘ruggedness’ to show how unchartered this new territory is and that civilisation would be useless here. It makes the reader feel as though they are only surviving in this setting, not living. Whilst the Artic may be more significant, there are other settings that all play their own role in the novel. Shelley has used Geneva as the family home again to create this idea of collectiveness. This we see whilst Frankenstein is in Lausanne. ‘I contemplated the lake: the waters were placid: all around was calm; and the snowy mountains, ‘the palaces of nature’, were not changed.’ It seems here that Shelley is contemplating what life is and whether she pities the ‘monster’, indeed whether it be a ‘monster’ or not. She has used the ‘palaces of nature’ as an excerpt from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. This is showing that she is using the setting as almost a pilgrimage of going home. ‘Home is where the heart is,’ is a common cliché and it describes Frankenstein perfectly. At home, he was happy and content with family around him and love from other people. However, whilst he is away, he is companionless and this is what caused him to create his ‘monster.’ He wanted a companion to have whilst he was away from home. The emotions Shelley provides are in the area around him, ‘placid’, ‘calm’, the fact that Shelley even provides ‘the palaces of nature were not changed,’ shows that he became more collected as he travelled closer to Geneva. Prison cells are always a significance in a novel.
What does the reader think of when they think of prison cells? The words trapped, separated, solitary and despair come to mind straight away. ‘In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and a staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation. My eyeballs were starting from their sockets in attending to the details of employment.’ Shelley has used this quote as a depiction of Frankenstein’s laboratory. Why would a laboratory be a space of confinement? Surely, it should be a happier place as futuristic science is developed in places such as these. However, Frankenstein’s laboratory is portrayed as a ‘cell’ and ‘solitary chamber’ because he is lonely. Again, the significance of this setting is referencing the emotions surrounding the character. Shelley uses the setting to enable the reader to feel the way the character is feeling without actually telling us. She wanted a reason for Frankenstein to be enabled to create a companion, and what would be better than a laboratory? This is the central point for research and experimentation, but also a key focal point of separation and despair when something goes
wrong. Sometimes Shelley provides a symbolic setting, ‘the cold stars shone in mockery and the bare trees waved their branches above me: now and then the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amid the universal stillness.’ This setting is giving the idea that God is mocking Frankenstein. This is due to the fact that the stars and the branches seem to be metaphorical. They are supposed to just be stars and branches, but yet they are managing to become humanised towards Frankenstein in the universal stillness that he has become trapped in. This is showing Frankenstein that he should not have recreated life, as that is God’s provision, not mankind’s and that he is mocking Frankenstein for having dared to instigate human life. Overall, the reader is almost being tricked by Shelley, due to the fact that she never actually makes the feelings a subject, but moreover creates them using the settings. The Artic is representing the feeling of unknown and lack of closure, whereas the prison cell is subject to despair and the Genevian home is subject to togetherness and homeliness. Shelley provides a significance for each setting by tailoring them to provide emotion, not just a time and place to be. The emotions that the characters are feeling are in the settings around them, which causes these settings to have meaning and importance, both of which come hand in hand with the undoubtable significance of the scenes in this novel. Bibliography Benedict, C. (2010, April 13). Story Elements: Importance of the Setting. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from The Writing Place: https://thewritingplace.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/story-elements-importance-of-the-setting/
The Significance of Chapter 5 in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Works Cited Not Included This essay will consider the significance of Chapter five to the rest of the novel, and look at how Mary Shelley's life has influenced her writing. I am going to focus mainly on Chapter five, but first I am going to consider some important aspects of the preceding chapters. In Chapter one Victor describes how his mother and father met and how he and Elizabeth where brought together. When he first describes her, it contrasts greatly with his primary depiction of the creature "Her brow was clear and ample, her blue eyes cloudless, and her Lips and the moulding of her face so expressive of sensibility and Sweetness" (chapter 1, pg 36). Whereas Frankenstein's description of his creation is "His watery eyes his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips" (chapter 5, pg 58).
Second, the authors use of setting and weather helps to realize why the creation has preformed the horrid actions he has. For example, when Victor Frankenstein, the creator, returns to the scene of his younger brother's murder he sees his creation for the first time since he had deserted him. Instead of simply writing this, which would have most likely sufficed, she also describes the weather by including this: "While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step." By writing this scene Mary Shelly draws the reader to believe that the creation is the murderer.
What people do privately, when they are acting alone, can and will effect others’ lives in ways they do not expect. The effects may very well not be their intended purpose, but innocents always suffer from others’ actions. This is most clearly defined in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor, by keeping his sins to himself, destroyed the lives of those he loved; by keeping quiet time and time again, he sealed the fate of his and their horrible endings.
Using gothic conventions Frankenstein explores Mary Shelley’s personal views on the scientific developments, moral and economical issues that occurred during the 19th century and Shelley’s personal emotions and questions regarding her life. As an educated person, Mary Shelley had an interest in the development of the world such as political and moral issues and she challenged these issues in the novel.
In chapters 4 and 5 Frankenstein is at Ingolstadt University studying ‘natural philosophy’. At university Frankenstein is too wrapped up in his studies to go and see his family, “Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva.” Frankenstein warns Walton that too much knowledge is dangerous, yet he perseveres on his pursuit for knowledge of creation. At the beginning of chapter five Frankenstein brings the monster to life on a ‘dreary November night’. Frankenstein abandons the monster and wanders the streets of Ingolstadt feeling sick. He returns to his apartment where he hallucinates that there is a monster with him “I thought I saw the dreaded spectre glide into the room” Both chapters use many gothic elements to build suspense and engage the reader.
Emotional isolation in Frankenstein is the most pertinent and prevailing theme throughout the novel. This theme is so important because everything the monster does or feels directly relates to his poignant seclusion. The effects of this terrible burden have progressively damaging results upon the monster, and indirectly cause him to act out his frustrations on the innocent. The monster's emotional isolation makes him gradually turn worse and worse until evil fully prevails. This theme perpetuates from Mary Shelley's personal life and problems with her father and husband, which carry on into the work and make it more realistic.(Mellor 32) During the time she was writing this novel, she was experiencing the emotional pangs of her newborn's death and her half-sister's suicide. These events undoubtedly affected the novel's course, and perhaps Shelley intended the monster's deformed body to stand as a symbol for one or both of her losses. There are numerous other parallels to the story and to her real life that further explain why the novel is so desolate and depressing. Emotional isolation is the prime theme of the novel due to the parallels shared with the novel and Shelley's life, the monster's gradual descent into evil, and the insinuations of what is to come of the novel and of Shelley's life.
Frankenstein was set in an isolated building in Ingolstadt, Switzerland "on a dreamy night of November" "as the rain pattered dismally against the panes". This creates tension as she is using the horror of the unknown in the isolated building. " Candle was nearly burnt out." Mary Shelley also creates tension in her novel by using the description she does when the creature has just been created, "His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath his hair were of a lustrous black and flowing". The way he describes this creature clearly gives you the impression it is evil.
Essay 2 Psychoanalysis is the method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts (“Psychoanalysis”). This transfers to analyzing writing in order to obtain a meaning behind the text. There are two types of people who read stories and articles. The first type attempts to understand the plot or topic while the second type reads to understand the meaning behind the text. Baldick is the second type who analyzes everything.
The novel “Frankenstein” is almost entirely set in remote and desolate locations. The book starts with Captain Walton meeting Victor Frankenstein in the Arctic Circle, where Frankenstein narrates the strange tale of how he got to where he was. His story includes his boyhood in remote and mountainous Geneva; his secluded studies at the University of Ingolstadt, where he creates the monster; Mont Blanc, where he first speaks to his creation; and the bleak Orkney Island, where he destroys the partner he was making for his original creation. Throughout the novel Victor seems isolated, Even when he is at the busy University of Ingolstadt, the setting still has a remote feel to it. Frankenstein becomes so focused on his work to create life that he shuts himself off from the world for months, without even giving himself time to appreciate nature or contact loved ones, as we can see when Victor Frankenstein imparts, “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the fie...
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
Percy and his friends are in many different settings in the stories, all having their similarities and differences. The one that stands out to me is the Labyrinth. Percy spends the most time in the Labyrinth than any other setting. Also, this one is completely the opposite of the other two settings. In the text it says “We made it a hundred feet before we were hopelessly lost.” (Riordan, 94). This states how they’ve only been walking for a little bit until they were lost. This represents how confusing the labyrinth is. Then, the setting is Camp Half Blood. This is the place where Percy trains for his upcoming battles or events. In Chapter 13, page 226, Percy arrives back at camp, and he is welcomed by familiar faces. This explains how relieving
Analysis of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Analyzing a book can be a killer. Especially when it contains tons of subtle little messages and hints that are not picked up unless one really dissects the material. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a prime example.
Mary Shelley’s text, Frankenstein is a text, which is highly regarded in today’s society for its outstanding literary worth. However, the text as it was seen during the time of Shelley and its appearance and appeal today, most certainly differ. The most significant difference is that over a hundred years ago, the text was seen as a popular text, our modern day Simpsons, if you like. Conversely, today it appeals to the cannon of high culture. Its gradual change over time has been based on a number of deciding factors.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is an old classic that has been enjoyed by many generations. Despite the fact that the novel was written over a hundred years ago, it is not only beautifully written but also enthralling and well composed. At the young age of eighteen, Mary Shelly raises questions about education and knowledge to which are answered through the well written characters in the novel. The Monster, who is a creation of another character, is highlighted as an individual who goes through an intellectual change.
Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” is infused with metaphors, revealing the state of the world during 1818 when the first edition was published. Firstly, through the initial dialog between Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created, an image of a repulsive creature is depicted, revealing the destructive relationship possible between a creator and his offspring. Secondly, it can be observed that the metaphor of the monster reveals Shelley’s criticism of the displacement of religion during the era of the enlightenment. Thirdly, Frankenstein can be seen as a condemnation of the treatment given to those with a visible difference within society. Additionally, Shelley’s creation of the monster in her novel could be seen to reveal the toxic effect of a world without female influences. Finally, Victor Frankenstein’s creation of his monster may have been to reveal the detrimental effects isolation can have on any living being. Thus it is revealed that Mary Shelley’s novel, through the creation of the monster, has many allegories to comment on society’s condition.