Romanticism
This literary movement, emphasizing emotion, nature, and individualism, influenced Mary Shelley's novel and shaped its themes.
What is Romanticism?
After being abandoned by Victor Frankenstein, the creature flees into the wilderness and learns to survive on his own.
What is the forest?
This scientist is the protagonist of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, known for creating life from dead matter.
Who is Victor Frankenstein?
This natural element symbolizes both knowledge and destruction, as seen when the creature discovers its warmth and danger.
What is fire?
"Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful." This character declares his fearlessness after experiencing rejection and isolation.
Who is the creature?
Victor Frankenstein frequently retreats to nature to soothe his troubled mind. This Romantic concept describes the awe-inspiring beauty and power of the natural world.
What is the sublime?
The creature secretly observes this impoverished family, learning language and human emotions from them.
Who are the De Laceys?
Victor Frankenstein attends this university, where he becomes obsessed with uncovering the secrets of life.
What is the University of Ingolstadt?
Throughout the novel, this recurring motif represents isolation, as both Victor and the creature find themselves cut off from society.
What is loneliness?
"I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel." In this passage, the creature compares himself to a figure from this religious text.
What is the Bible?
Rather than logic, this overwhelming feeling drives both Victor and his creature throughout the novel, reflecting a key Romantic theme.
What is passion?
After realizing his terrifying appearance prevents acceptance, the creature pleads with Victor to create this for him.
What is a companion (or female creature)?
Victor's obsession with this scientific pursuit leads him to create the creature, ultimately causing his downfall.
What is reanimation (or creating life)?
Victor's fascination with this powerful force, which he first observes during a thunderstorm, foreshadows his dangerous pursuit of scientific discovery.
What is lightning?
"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did." Victor Frankenstein warns this character about the dangers of unchecked ambition.
Who is Robert Walton?
Named after a famous poet, this type of brooding, flawed protagonist—seen in Victor Frankenstein—exemplifies Romantic ideals of individual struggle.
What is a Byronic Hero?
Feeling rejected and enraged, the creature vows revenge and begins his pursuit of Victor Frankenstein, leading him across this frozen landscape.
What is the Arctic?
Victor Frankenstein is often described as this type of Romantic hero, characterized by his brooding nature and tragic flaws.
What is a Byronic Hero?
This vast and desolate setting represents emotional emptiness and rejection, serving as the final battleground between Victor and the creature.
What is the Arctic?
"I am malicious because I am miserable." In this passage, the creature expresses how his suffering has led him to commit terrible actions, reinforcing this major theme in the novel.
What is isolation?
Romanticism often critiques the dangers of unchecked ambition. In Frankenstein, Victor's pursuit of this ideal ultimately leads to tragedy.
What is knowledge?
The creature finds Victor dead aboard Robert Walton’s ship and makes this final decision before disappearing into the icy wilderness.
What is to end his own life?
Victor's relentless pursuit of the creature leads him to this desolate and frozen region, where he meets his tragic end.
What is the Arctic (or the North Pole)?
In Frankenstein, light symbolizes enlightenment and discovery, while this opposing force represents secrecy, ignorance, and destruction.
What is darkness?
"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through." Victor Frankenstein’s ambition symbolizes this philosophical idea about human progress and its consequences.
What is the pursuit of knowledge?