However, Shelley considered “that the sublime is little more than a culturally (or perhaps intellectually) constructed way of looking at the world” (Smith, 2007, p. For the Romantics, nature is sublime since it stimulates the imagination and enables them to transcend everyday life. However, Mary Shelley's approach comes from addressing a key element in Romanticism: nature. Dark corners, gruesome deaths, or ghost apparitions are the most common elements used by a Gothic writer for such purpose. Gothic fiction, like The Castle of Otranto, combined feelings of intense fear and amazement to drive the reader (and the characters in the stories) to the sublime. He defined the sublime as "the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling” (Burke, 1757), meaning that only through very intense and extreme emotions one can transcend to the sublime. Regarding the sublime and how it is manifested in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s perspective deviates from the concept introduced by Edmund Burke. In the same manner, Victor kills the female monster and, in return, the Monster kills Victor's female companion: his fiancé. This is a premonitory element since the Monster kills all those close to him. He seems to wish to cut ties with them and focus on his science. Since Victor started his studies at university, he has never visited his family. However, it can also be interpreted as an instance where Victor’s rejection of domesticity is shown. This becomes the basis for many feminist readings of the novel, Mary Shelley implies that creating life without women comes with devastating consequences a world without women is therefore condemned. Without knowing, Victor has doomed his fiancé to death because the Monster, enraged by the loss of a possible partner, murders her. Later in the novel, the Monster asks for a female companion and the doctor reluctantly agrees, but Victor changes his mind last minute and destroys the female monster. By eliminating the female part in the creation of life, he has condemned himself and everyone that surrounds him. Therefore, he failed as a father.įurthermore, not only are Victor’s actions a sin in Catholic eyes, since only God can be the giver of life, but they are also a crime against nature: he created life without a female body. While Prometheus acted as a father and protector of the humans, Victor abandoned his creation at the mere sight of it. 45) but as Antonio Ballesteros argues in Narciso y el doble en la literatura fantástica victoriana, it does not matter if every element is beautiful, if once it is together the whole does not work. He shows shock and confusion because “his limbs were in proportion, and had selected his features as beautiful” (Shelley, 1831, p. At the mere sight of it, horror and disgust filled Victor, who could only think of running away of the monstrosity he had created.
45) when the creature first opened its eyes. In a true Gothic manner, “It was on a dreary night of November, it was already one in the morning the rain pattered dismally against the panes” (Shelley, 1831, p. In the scene where the Monster comes to life, Victor’s selfish and egotistical motivation becomes apparent. The reasoning behind Victor Frankenstein’s wish to create life falls under two main aspects: his pursuit of scientific glory and his rejection of domesticity. The connection between Prometheus and Victor Frankenstein lies in several aspects as they both created life, defied a god, and were punished for it however, there are few key deviations in Victor’s case. Zeus responded by punishing the humans with Pandora’s Box and sentenced the titan to be chained to a rock for an eagle to eat his liver for all eternity. In an attempt to improve their living conditions, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the humans. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was the titan in charge of creating human beings and therefore acted as their father and protector. In Frankenstein, this concept is first brought up with its very title: Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. Lewis, where those who fell to temptation are severely punished. It is very clear in The Castle of Otranto, where the castle rebels against his usurper, as well as in the controversial novel The Monk by M. The concept of a higher power that judges and punishes evil is a constant in Gothic fiction.
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