Chapter 5 begins the expression of the fears of the Romantics concerning:
- what is natural and unnatural, as well as their fascination with the supernatural. The use of weather and night and day reflect this concern.
- Find two excerpts that exemplify their fascination. Do not use examples used by other students - in other words, read the postings of others then find distinct examples.
Due: Wednesday, October 28
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"...although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky."(Shelley 50)
Victor feels that the worldis against him for what he has done, even the sky will not comfort him, it does quite the opposite bymaking it rain down on him.
"A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch." (Shelley 49)
Victor is expressing remorse for creating such a hideous and unatural creature, by claiming that not even and undead creature like a mummy is as hideous as the "man" he has created.
The night and rain is used to portray the concern of Romantics’ fears. It is used to portray the darkness of the moment in which Victor’s creature was finished and to portray Victor’s worries about what he had created. He is afraid of his own creation and even suffers from a psychological illness.“It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils … It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes…”(Shelley 48) “I passed the night wretchedly. Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly that I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others, I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness.“ (Shelley 50)
In these two chapters, Victor expresses his concerns and worries and his own creation. He apprehends the results and consequences it will have on his life and future. "Morning, dismal, and wet, at length dawned and discovered to my sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt, its white steeple and clock, which indicated the sixth hour" (Shelley 50). Victor's uncertainty and doubt troubled his days and nights. However, his fascination is not always negative, and by the description of weather Victor's character becomes more lively and healthy: "I remember the first time I became capable of observing outward objects with any kind of pleasure, I perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared and that the young buds were shooting forth from the trees that shaded my window. It was a divine spring, and the season contributed greatly to my convalescence." (Shelley 54)
"... by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters" (shelly,49) The eerie light of the moon when Frankenstein's monster enters, creates a supernatural setting that reflects the monster.
"...but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought I held the corpse of my dead mother..." (shelly, 49)
Victor acknowledges the fact that bringing people back from the dead is unnatural and horrifying.
"Their melancholy is soothing, and their joy elevating...When you read their writings, life appears to consist in a warm sun and a garden of roses, in the smiles and frowns of a fair enemy, and the fire that consumes your own heart." (Shelley 61)
"When happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensations. A serene sky and verdant fields filled me with ecstasy. The present season was indeed divine; the flowers of spirng bloomed in the hedges,while thos of summer already did." (Shelley 62)
Night and rain were used by Mary Shelley to create an ambience of fright and terror and fascination... Victor's feelings while creatingi his monster.
"I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life." (Shelley 51) Frankenstein is feeling scared about what he created, and this feeling presents itself in the night, to make a more dramatic setting. Terror is usually felt in dark places.
"I did not dare return to the apartment which I inhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky."(Shelley 52) Frankenstein alse feels terror while it is raining, making a more scary ambiance and creating fright in the reader too.
The use of time and weather by the Romantics portrays a sense of guilt and mystery. The use of night and day is magnified to make us remember the night that Frankenstein created the monster. It's a way of making us keep track of how long ago that day was. "I trembled excessively; I could not endure to think of, and far less to allude to, the occurrences of the preceding night (Shelley 52)." He mentions the night to let us know that only a few ours ago he had created a monster. Weather is used to add a sense of mystery and blurriness. When Frankenstein mentions that it starts to rain or winter comes it is often when something bad has happened or is about o happen. "... but being delayed by several accidents, winter and snow arrived, the roads were deemed impassable, and my journey was retarded until the ensuing spring (Shelley 62)." When Viktor wants to go see his family he can't go because of the bad weather. When something bad happens it usually happens when there is bad weather.
The use of weather in the book is to transmit whatever feeling the main character(Frankenstein) is experiencing at the moment. For example, when he creates the monster it is on a cold, lonesome, and dark November evening. The weather here is used to transmit the fear, uncertainty and sense of danger Victor is feeling. He also gets extremely ill with a nervous fever that kept him in bed for several months(wintertime):"This was the commencement of a nervous fever which confined me for several months..."(Shelley 53) Clerval takes care of Victor, and when he gets better, the weather also changes. Winter ends, and spring arrives. The weather changes for the better, as does Victor, creating a happier ambient. Victor also describes a “serene sky and verdant fields…the flowers of spring bloomed in the hedges, while those of summer were already in bud.” This uplifts both Clerval’s and Victor’s spirits while they wait to go visit their families in Geneva.
After his accomplishment Frankenstein was filled with horror and fear of what he had created. His work had had taken away his love for the natural sciences and cause him to undergo a horrifying illness. It is clear that what he had done was unnatural; from the moment the creature opens its eyes he realizes this. “The beauty of my dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelly 49) This clearly showed us that he repents giving this creature life. His dream had vanished and he is filled with disgust instead of joy. “It was not joy only that possessed me; I felt my flesh tingle with excess sensitiveness, and my pulse beat rapidly” (Shelly 52) It was not until after he had found that the creature had gone did Frankenstein feel joy and relief. Thus, showing us that he felt that what he had done was wrong and brought him nothing but disgust. “The porter opened the gates of the court, which had that night been my asylum, and issued into the street…” (Shelly 50) Here we can see how Frankenstein described us his night. He describes this night as his asylum; which was the same night that he had brought the creature to life. He brought the monster to life during the night, under the moonlight, which creates a certain mood to it, as if it were unnatural.
It appears as if the weather is essential in order to understand Victor Frankenstein’s feelings. The climate that is presented in this book alludes to Victor’s sentiments. It as if through the weather, Victor’s persona is illustrated and his discomforts or even physical condition are presented to the reader. An accurate assertion that can be made of Victor’s health through the weather is when he recounts that he “perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared and that the young buds were shooting forth from the trees… It was divine spring” (Shelley, 54). Through this description, it can be deduced that this relates to Victor’s recovery from his fervent fever that had lasted for several months. The change in weather can be seen as an alteration in Victor’s wellbeing and the beginning of a better quality of life drifting from his previous dim and murky routine.
After recuperating from his ailment, Frankenstein decides to return to Geneva and is delayed by undesirable weather but after a day or so he is able to enter Geneva. Spring commences and it’s described as “a serene sky [full of] verdant fields… [where] flowers of spring bloomed in the hedges.” (Shelley,62) This beautiful and detailed description makes the reader foreshadow that this was a time of great satisfaction and tranquility for Victor Frankenstein. Through this setting the reader can assume that Victor Frankenstein is indeed content with his current condition and has radically altered his lifestyle from his previous dissociated behavior.
"His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! -- Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips."(48) Shelley contrasts what naturally would have been beautifully to how it is horrible when "unnaturally" put together.
"'Like one who, on a lonely road, doth walk in fear and dread, and, having once turned around, walks on, and turns no more his head; because he knows a frightful fiend doth close behind him tread.'"(50) He knows that his creation is unnatural- and the fact that Shelley uses another's work in her novel exacerbates the fascination of the era with the unnatural.
"My candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs" (Shelly 48). This shows the awakening of the supernatural creature that Frankenstein created. The half extinguished candle light (night) highlights the effect of mystery and adds a bizarre ambient to enhance the unnaturalness of the animated corpse. "but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived" (Shelly 50). This excerpt illustrates the horror and fear induced by the monster and it gives allusion to Dante's Divine Comedy to magnify the effects of unnatural grotesque and fear. In addition Victor was horrified he even says"pacing with them with quick steps, as if I sought to avoid the wretch whom I feared every turning of the street would present to my view" (Shelly50).
In Elizabeth's letter she tells how unchanged the town is by comparing to the clear weather and nature. "The blue lake and snow-clad mountains- they never change; and i think out placid home and out contented hearts re regulated by the same immutable laws" (Shelly 56). "The winter, however, was spent cheerfully, and although the spring was uncommonly late, when it came its beauty compensated for its dilatoriness" (Shelly62). This shows how cheerful, normal, and natural Victor feels since he waits with Clerval to return home and also because the monster seemed to have disappeared from his concern.
logn chapter 5 Victor succeeded in finishing his awful creation. After bringing the monster to life he was awed by such horrendous appearance that he was forced to leave his apartment avoiding return. After crossing with Henry Clerval he becomes very ill because “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eye, and I raved incessantly concerning him” ( shelley 53). In These lines Victor is giving us a hint of what had caused his exultation and relapse, he says that he has been constantly obsessed with the monster, when he says, “was forever before my eyes” and had become so attached to it, when he says “concerning him”, that he had created a vision of what he would be that when he saw the final results and compared them to his expectations, he simply couldn’t absorb what he had accomplished and collapsed, and suddenly his dream became his nightmare.
The narrator uses natural aspects of the environment to describe key moments in the story and set the mood of the action or event that is about to occur. In the case of “ when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its ways through the window shutters”( shelley 49) he uses the description of how the light of the moon forces its way through the window shutters as a metaphor to describe how light in this case life was forced into the monsters body by victor and finally give it life.
MANUEL CALVILLO:
"She died on the first approach of cold weather, at the beginning of this last winter." (Shelley 58)
"We returned to our college on a Sunday afternoon; the peasants were dancing, and everyone we met appeared gay and happy." (Shelley 63)
"We returned again, with torches, for I could not rest when I thought that my sweet boy had lost himself and was exposed to all the damps and dews of night; Elizabeth also siffered extreme anguish."(Shelley 65). This was said by Victor's father after William went missing. The dews of the night were used to explain the dangers that were out there for William. The night is also used as a time when bad things are more prone to happen.
"I contemplated the lake; the waters were placid, all around was calm, and the snowy mountains, "the palaces of nature" were not changed." (Shelley 67). Victor says this on his way back home. He uses nature to compare to how he has changed and how he is no longer calm no matter where he is due to the creature that is still out there. He is still haunted by it and this reflects the difference in him.
"...the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs." In this quote , the feeling of the rain pattering on the panes creates a feeling of suspense and expectaion. This is increasingly relevant in the writting style not only for romantics but for every author because this helps set the mood in the story and also reveal some characters feelings.
"Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned, and discovered to my sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt" In this quote the morning described as dismal and wet transmits a feeling of coldness and gloominess after the events of the previous night. Even though that this acts as a soothing environmnet after the storm, it still acts as a reminicence of the caos of the previous night.
OK class! Remember, the rubric contains 'reflects thought' and 'offers a conclusion', that means, Arianna M. and Manuel, that you can't get full credit by just posting quotations. This time there are several postings that are definitely worth reading because of their insight, including those by: Lara, Roberto, Ariana, Fernando, Andres, Alex, Ah Young and Oscar.
The Romantic concept of fear is interpreted by Shelley since the beginning of Chapter 5. She supports the mood and tone fo the story by using the elements of time and wheather, especially night and winter for the darker feeling. In Chapter 5 when the monster awakens the aura surrounding the room is dark, suspenseful and eerie. Besides descibing the moon and night setting, Shelley also uses description of the creature to enhance the mood. "I beheld the wretc- the misearble monster i had created... his eyes, if eyes may be called, were fixed on me."(Shelley 49). This precise moment has a great impact on the reader because it has been very suspenseful until that point.
Besides creating a sense of fear, Shelley once again uses the elements of nature and day and night to enhance a mood. Once Victor is recovered and feels back to normal, the setting is that of a peaceful spring. "...although the spring was uncommonly late, when it came its beauty compensated for its dilatoriness."(Shelley 62). This reflects how much Victor is appreciating things, such as nature, after going through so much sacrifice and suffering. This helps create a more peaceful mood after a chapter of great suspense and fright.
"Their melancholy is soothing, and their joy elevating...When you read their writings, life appears to consist in a warm sun and a garden of roses, in the smiles and frowns of a fair enemy, and the fire that consumes your own heart." (Shelley 61)
Victor compares the writings of his favorite authors as something heavenly and powerful, capable of creating in him feelings of joy and happiness. We can see the romantic theme in how Victor describes these feelings and compares them to nature.
"When happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensations. A serene sky and verdant fields filled me with ecstasy. The present season was indeed divine; the flowers of spirng bloomed in the hedges,while those of summer already did." (Shelley 62)
Victor uses nature and gay scenery to compare it to his childhood and inocence when he had not been corrupted by ambition and his desire for power. his inocence is sunny and clean but after the monster, it cannot continue to be so.
MANUEL CALVILLO (corrected version):
"She died on the first approach of cold weather, at the beginning of this last winter." (Shelley 58). The cold weather symbolizes the sad and plain mood that there is. But the fact that Victor mentions the weather, is an example of how he relates the natural things like this with the events that happen and the feelings he has.
"We returned to our college on a Sunday afternoon; the peasants were dancing, and everyone we met appeared gay and happy." (Shelley 63). This is another example of how the time of the day is related to the mood that Victor notices and feels. A Sunday afternoon is one of the most pleasant times that one can enjoy and Victor uses this to explain the general feeling and appearance of everyone.
After being terrified and consumed with thoughts regarding his creation, Victor finds solace in nature and his mood noticeably changes when he finds himself out on the road. "I was fond of exercise, and Clerval had always been my favourite companion in the rambles of this nature I had taken among the scenes of my native country (Shelley 62).” In this excerpt it is clear how Victor’s demeanor takes a drastic turn for the better simply at the prospect of going on a trip out through nature. As he had imagined, the trip did indeed prove to be healing and enjoyable for him: “my health and spirits had long been restored, and they gained additional strength from the salubrious air I breathed, the natural incidents of our progress, and the conversation of my friend (Shelley 62).” Nature, as seen by the romantics, possessed certain qualities that could heal and restore ones spirits. This attitude toward the natural world is a recurring theme throughout the book, and clearly demonstrated through these quotes.
Chapter 5 begins with a stormy night and the creation of a creature. This is an unnatural feat since it has mocked Mother Nature in making it possible for a human to also create life from nothing. Victor also thinks about the natural and he unnatural when he says “the different accidents of life are not as changeable as the feelings of human nature” (Shelley 48). He is thinking about nature because of how human nature is I mean, he practically addresses the fact that that you cannot change nature yet he creates a paradox by giving life to this monster, a natural law bound not to be broken. While the unnatural remains on what happens to you unnaturally, or the accidents, which you can correct by learning from them and never committing them again. Romantic weather played an important role on Romantic novels, and can sometimes relate to the feelings of characters inside the stories. For example, after the harsh winter and the long wait Victor had to endure he says he “felt this delay very bitterly, for I longed to see my native town and my beloved friends” (Shelley 62). He has endured a harsh winter and cold, and he feels alone and needing of the company of his family. The winter and wait can be seen in Victor’s reaction of eagerness to feel his family’s warmth and love to soothe both his cold and pain, cold from his solitude, and pain from his mistakes: the creature.
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