Frankenstein: Acclaimed Literary Work - Research Paper Example

Module Frankenstein Frankenstein is one the most acclaimed literal works that was published in the 19th century. Shelley, the author, was thought to have produced the very first sci-fi literal work that did not look at the fantasy aspect of life but gave life to later generations of sci-fi literal works. Her book was as a result of a dream she had. She dreamt of a scientist who had developed a creature that later made him feel awkward about it, and this made him regret his choice. She inspired many to indulge in the same by even giving a chance for other producers to use her piece of work as a lays and even translated it into a film. Frankenstein has since then been used to describe the monster that was created from her imagination and with the help of her dream. The novel is mainly narrated via letters that Captain Walton, the main character in the book, writes to his sister. Even if the whole story line is created aboard Walton’s ship in the frozen waters of the Arctic, the letters take the reader all the way to Geneva, to the Alps and throughout Europe (Freedman 253-4). It consists of different views from which one can tell of romanticism in regards to some of the explanations given to nature’s effects. It has Gothic intonations owing to the supernatural creepy happenings that characterize the text. The existence of a creator has a crippling effect on the creature as he struggles to reconcile with the perception of his existence and the desire to have someone more superior and divine approve of his actions. As an individual, Shelley was a well-known atheist, and this makes it even more interesting when such a theme is reflected in her literal piece. She compares both the secular/humanistic development approaches and the religious ones when describing the creature which adds a twist to the piece of work. She, however, looks at it from another angle where she believes that the best way of attaining morality is by shedding the dogmatic beliefs that people claim to observe as they only limit human beings from attaining self-realization (Freedman 255). She then insinuates that God is not a significant precursor towards that self-realization. She thus uses the creature as a part of her theorem and proves that there are several paths by which one can attain freedom, and in this case, it was through the death of the creator. Though this may be viewed as approving the Christian belief that they got saved and freed from sin by the death of Jesus Christ, it is critical to respect the view that Shelley was looking at it from an atheistic dimension. From this, one can tell that the text is much more than one can read instantly and decipher the hidden meaning, the literal style used, the plot, the genre and the setting of the book’s storyline. However, after careful consideration of every topic and sentence, one understands that there are clashing ideologies that are represented in this literal work. Each individual works according to what they believe is the ideal situation and environment in which life should exist. It is necessary to go back memory lane a little bit to understand from where Shelley got her inspiration. Born in 1797, Mary Godwin pursued her education in Scotland where she was urged by her father to adhere to the liberal political policies that he was akin to. She was a renowned writer and novelist. At 16 years, she ran away with one of his father’s political followers and a renowned romantic poet and philosopher, Percy Bysshe Shelley (Aldiss 12). They sailed to Switzerland then to France and would often go on and on reciting works by Shakespeare and Rousseau. They, however, became homesick and went back to England though, at this time, she was already pregnant with Percy’s child. They got married in the late 1816 after Percy’s first wife committed suicide. Now, Percy was a renowned atheist who was expelled because the Oxford University branded him as a radical agitator and a thinker. At 16, it is easier to see how easy it is to convince her to abandon any claims of God and adopt the atheistic dimension of thinking throughout her life. As such, her husband’s influence cannot be ruled out when such a literal piece is published. Furthermore, women were, at the time, not considered as independent people but having to share in the beliefs of their husbands and families (Aldiss 15). It was crucial for a lady to write this novel because it showed how much liberal they can be when coming up with such literal works that create a stir in the world of literature. Her work was seen as a predecessor to the later works by other sci-fi fiction writers and even for some of the laboratory experiments that took place in the early 20th century. The inclusion of her husband as the writer of the preface section may have been a ploy to have the work endorsed or as a show of faith from the critical husband who was famous for his radical views. The husband may have been acknowledging the fact that his wife had done an impeccable job with this literal piece and needed to receive his blessings (Aldiss 17). Romanticism is one of the themes that were portrayed in this book. However, it is necessary to note that these ideas were not as developed as those of other romantic poets such as her husband’s or other seasoned writers’ such as William Wordsmith. She had deviated from the normal romanticism criterion and used the contemporary ideologies as part of her literal work. She used what many critics term as the romantic rhetoric rather than the prose form of ideologies propagated by other writers (Guyer 77). She is seen to challenge romantic tropes in this book which results in the production of a piece of work that is, albeit complex, compared to other literal works of her time. Gothic elements create facile assumptions of romanticism which is something that many may not be quite familiar with or even find romantic or appealing at all. During this period, it is also essential to note that the type of romanticism that was familiarized through literature had everything to do with relating between the visionary relationship to the imagination as can be contrasted to the romantic poetry that sought to sublimely represent and capture the actual moment and romantic experience. Thus, the creation of the monster was neither a recollection nor a recreation of her past. Instead, it was a new step in a new unexplored world where she moved from the normal romantic aspects into a new form of romanticism. She instead looks at nature as a source of her imagery when talking about feelings a noted when Victor was expressing how he felt when he undertook the lab experiment. She states “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through…. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (Guyer 79). In other contexts, this may have been expressed differently but in her work, this is the design she chose. The film Frankenstein was created with the current audience in mind. The book was published in the early 19th century; the movie still has some significance and relevance to today’s audience. The current technological advancements and the laboratory improvements have made it easier for such creatures to be created and used in every day livelihood. As each individual seeks to attract the audience, many will look for that aspect that captivates and still intrigues the audience. The movie is a key departure from the romantic-center movies that have gained much mention in the world. Further, Nin’s birth may be viewed as a metaphor from which the creature gained its existence from a human being’s actions and has to create its own universe and philosophies based on what it believes and what it views as the most appropriate methods (Freedman 261). Works Cited Aldiss, Brian W. "On the Origin of Species: Mary Shelley". Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction. Eds. James Gunn and Matthew Candelaria. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow, 2005. Print. Freedman, Carl. "Hail Mary: On the Author of Frankenstein and the Origins of Science Fiction". Science Fiction Studies 29.2 (2002): 253–64. Print. Guyer, Sara. “Testimony and Trope in Frankenstein.” Studies in Romanticism, 45 (1) (2006): 77-85. Print. Read More