Romanticism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

What is Romanticism? Romanticism is the movement which occurred in literature and art within the late 18th and mid 19th century. It emphasised an individual’s creativeness and partiality. The romantics broke this rule of following guidelines and reasoning and went more towards their creativity and imagination. Romantic writers are a rebellion against societies norms as they are more concerned about feelings, nature, freedom and love. Romantics often write about medieval folklore and legends creating this barrier between the rural life in comparison to the modern life. Mary Shelley was one of the authors who lived within these concepts and many of these ideologies are displayed in her novel Frankenstein (Shelley, 1974). Mary Shelley uses The
This shows that Frankenstein has become an education tool to analyse to what extent it links to Romanticism and how the conquest towards gender links into this nation. Mary Shelley’s novel not only focuses on the theme of gothic but also has wide exploration of the romantic genre within it. Victor Frankenstein is characterised with emotions and feelings symbolising him as a romantic. He is also a character who tends not to follow rules as he wants to create life according to his way and the how he images it. Victor Frankenstein wants to create a life with a bigger future rather than looking for one like the Romantics. Victor decisions express that he may be looking to become god “A new species would bless me as its creator and source” (Shelley, 1974, p51). His creation of Frankenstein is so that he has someone who looks up to him, emphasising his egoistic personalities which he has within himself. However, from a Romantics perspective they may say although it is good to look forward into a good future and be self- assured there is a barrier that one must not cross in order to mould it successfully. Although, Victor creates something of his own it backfires as the Monster responds
This is because although she is a female author she characterises each of the women within the novel as a tool function. This is evident through the character of Agatha; Agatha is nothing but an attraction for the male characters within the novel and the events that take place are usually because of an emotional attraction between her and a male character. Agatha “listened with respect, her eyes sometimes filled with tears” (Shelley, 1974, p93) which depicts her as a gentle and sensitive person, something that the monster analyses from seeing her. However, “Critics have argued that Frankenstein is a protest against Romantic titanism, against the masculine aggressiveness that lies concealed beneath the dreams of Romantic idealism” (Fisch, Mellor and Schor, 1993, p89). This is because they characterise Victor Frankenstein as a masculine figure who intends to do things which are a benefit for humanity. However, his egoistic and self-centred personality causes him to destroy not only himself as well as the ones he is affectionate towards. This is shown through the aggressiveness of the monster, a creation produced by Victor himself but used as a tool to destroy him. This masculine aggressiveness is