Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is one of the most important novels of the 19th century. It displays several key themes that relate to both the private and the public world. Within the first volume of the novel, however, it can be argued that the most important theme that is present within the first volume of the novel is that of the relationship between people and nature. If one is to consider this theme, it is necessary to see both the way in which nature is presented, and also the way in which this presentation is related to the motivations and the experiences of the Shelley’s characters.
The power of nature is shown from opening pages of the novel with regard to the Walton’s voyage. At this point it is made clear that nature throughout the novel will be viewed from the perspective of those who seek to conquer it. This desire for conquest is made explicit by Walton when he writes to his sister of the manner in which he has forced himself to suffer in order to attain glory. This has included exposing himself to immense hardship in order to allow him to endure extreme cold, and it has also involved him learning numerous skills and sailing techniques. While this clearly brings Walton into contact with nature, this contact is always mediated by his desire to attain glory by conquering and dominating it. As such, Walton does not respond to the desolate beauty of his Arctic surroundings, and neither is he able to understand the danger that he is placed when the ship becomes trapped in ice. It is this refusal to try to understand nature on its own terms that leads him to refuse to turn his ship around and that, ultimately forces Victor to begin to tell his cautionary tale.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Questions from Podcast".
This tale is again one in which the power of nature is presented. However, again this power is presented in relation to the male characters’ attempts to dominate it and to take control of it. Arguably the most blatant display of the indiscriminate power of nature occurs when Victor witnesses the lightning storm. However, this incident does not inspire him with humility of reverence towards nature. Rather, he becomes obsessed with the idea that there must be one animating principle that is responsible for all life, and that it is his destiny to discover principle and use it to make himself remembered as a scientist. Alongside representing his desire for dominance, natural metaphors within the text can also be argued to present a situation in which a male idealizes a female character by making them more a part of a beautiful nature than an actual thinking, acting person. This is especially the case with Elizabeth, who is described as a baby with especially beautiful natural qualities, as if she was a perfect natural specimen. This natural metaphor, however, also results in her being given directly over to Victor as if she were a flower that had been picked especially for him. As such, not only does the the power of nature stand in opposition to the main characters’ arrogance, but it can also be used to supplement through the way it is used to describe female characters in the novel.
It is also the case that nature is represented in two ways in the novel, and that this relates to the way in which an individual approaches society and social contact. Both Walton and Victor are individualistic and, as such, for them nature is something that there to be conquered, and that does present itself as having any particular qualities. It is this ability to ignore the particular features of a natural situation that enables Victor to ignore the disgusting aspects of what he is doing when he creates the monster. As he does this, he thinks about himself and relates to the material him and simply dead-nature. As such, his relationship to nature is directly related to his own view of his mission. This can be contrasted with the way in which his mother and Elizabeth approach nature as something that are placed within and that they are capable of respecting. It is the former’s love and care for her adopted daughter that results in her own death, but also in Elizabeth’s recovery. In this sense, nature is conquered or, at least, cured, by a communal sense of selflessness and by love. It is these feelings that compose the family and communal relations within the family, and that result in Victor and Elizabeth’s proposal. As such, it is not enough to simply argue that nature is treated as if it should be dominated, but rather one should also argue that this desire for dominance is directly related to the way in which a character approaches their own self-view and capacity for communal feeling.
In conclusion, if one considers the power of nature in “Frankenstein” it is clear that this power is frequently presented by arrogant and egotistical male characters as something that must be tamed and made to serve their own will. However, this is not the only relationship to nature that is presented in the novel, and it is therefore necessary to understand the way in which a character’s feelings towards nature relate to their feelings towards community and shared emotion. If one does this, then it is possible to see that alongside criticizing the need to dominate nature, the novel suggests that a more fulfilled and less individualist relationship to nature may come into being through community and love.
