Romanticism In Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Romantic Era novel, Frankenstein, is a multi layered frame story that consists of various characters and plot lines. Stitched together around the writings of a dream, Shelley’s novel is at it's core a horror novel, and, on it’s outside, a social commentary. Using Frankenstein as a medium of expression through which she critiques the role of man with respect to nature, Shelley reveals her true inner thoughts about mankind. As a general push away from the Enlightenment Era, the Romantic Era sought to stress a different set of values. Literary works of this time period were often written with an over encompassing theme of nature, stressing that each individual must develop a personal understanding of the universe. Throughout poems and novels alike, this theme ran rampant, dominating entire plot lines and dictating the messages conceived from them. In this aspect, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is no different from many of the other works of her time period, as it embodies all of the core values of Romanticism.
Victor’s relentless ploy to push the boundaries of science and to do what no man has done before represents Shelley's thoughts on the Industrial Revolution. The Romanticists stressed that to be at one with one’s self, one must be at peace with nature. So, when Victor tries to create life, he demonstrates a blatant disregard for nature, throwing himself out of balance with the world. This is depicted when Victor becomes deathly ill for months on end, representing a call from god that he should halt his experiments with nature. Likewise, Shelley believed that the Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of a dangerous path for mankind. With the pursuit of this dangerous knowledge resulting in the death of Victor and his loved ones, Shelley warns society about the perils of pushing the boundaries of