Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Johann Goethes The Sorrows of Young Werther - Essay Example

Berenice Mejia English 101 Patricia Estrada M/W 9:30am-10:50am 5/16/15 Final Protagonists of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Johann Goethe’s “The Sorrows of Young Werther” are very deep, interesting, motivated, truly exciting and incredibly dramatic. That is why they deserve attention and accurate analysis. As the main heroes Victor Frankenstein and Werther reflect and embody what authors wanted to say to their reader and ideas which creators of these characters wanted to pronounce for the general public. Both Werther and Victor die in the end however their aims and desires in life differ. In the following composition I will analyze their deepest passions, reveal what connects them and what makes them original. But I can say that the character that disturbs me the most is Victor Frankeinstein because his passions and desires are greater and look magnificently when compared to the unanswerable love of Werther. My opinion on the matter of characters and my sympathy will depend not only on the characters themselves but on the writer’s style, professionalism and the context of the work in the history of the literature. Without details and basing only on the story itself it will be impossible to obtain a complete understanding of the protagonists and the passions which drive them. Another reason for that is the spectacular popularity of these works of art which allowed them to make a great effect not only on the whole art but on the artistic environment, society and literature tradition. Before analyzing the connection between works which I review I feel necessary at first to examine each of them separately for a little bit. Critics, wide public and me personally admired “The Sorrows of Young Werther” very much. Deep passion and the feeling of true sincerity as well as brilliant style with which narrator, Werther himself, expounds his moral and ethical spiritual struggle shocked me and the public. The battle in the heart of Werther concerning his suffering condition in the love triangle is written in a truly fascinating and very touching style. The first appearance of this epistolary novel stated and presented young Goethe with undoubted international glory, fame and reputation. Being only 24 years old young but already graceful and elegant, tender talent of Johann Goethe first exposed itself and by luck received total and uncompromised irrefutable approval by the European public. This first seed of further romanticism was using individual subjective view on the life and world which was seen and reviewed through the prism of a personal sensual exertion. Werther suffers and that is even said in the name of novel. He suffers from his humble and unanswered love to Lotte whom his romantic and young vision worship and adore. In this work romantic feeling becomes an absolute destroying desire, force of annihilation because main hero fall in love but at the same time cannot afford himself this love. Lotte gets engaged and then marries a different man while Werther’s love and suffering become stronger. Though not so serious, philosophical and ground breaking as further works of the greatest German writer this novel about passionate fatal love is written so fabulously that for the long time it was Goethe’s most famous work. Werther symbolizes and personifies fateful and fatal absolute uncontrolling desire and without receiving the answer to his love, even without a slightest glimpse of a kind of a promise or hope he dies alone as he loved alone. The situation is typical and Goethe said that more than enough young people suffered from something very similar but not to the final and complete end. Even taking in consideration that Goethe with years developed a violent and uncompromising hate to this work and tried to abjure it and denied his masterpiece in any possible way still this aspect doesn’t say nothing above the fact that Goethe either was too humble or didn’t like that he became a popular celebrity so fast and in an early age. On the contrary it proves that this novel was criticized and judged fairly because to evaluate something without taking in consideration authors name is a more objective way to appreciate a piece of work. That is why public praise of the novel is true as well as my honest and sincere true delight on the matter of Goethe’s masterpiece. Remembering similar contrast between author’s and public opinion concerning the book I can use as an example Voltaire’s “Candid”. It is regarded as one of the best works of Voltaire while himself he didn’t appreciated it very much and later even denied his authorship. One and only most significant Werther’s aim and agenda which both motivates and destroys him, fills him with passionate and extreme feeling is love. This love disturbs me but not so much as Victor’s Frankeinstein struggle. If you ask me why I will surely answer that while Werther’s story is not so original and more concerns than teaches a smart lesson of Victor’s moral, spiritual and ethical quest troubles me more. Nevertheless it doesn’t mean that Werther’s story doesn’t deserve attention though it tells greatly not a very original story while Mary Shelley’s book makes your humble narrator really interested and astonished. Most simply it is a classical melodramatic story with an unhappy ending but being written by most glorified German poet and true genius it fails to be bad in any kind of a way except the issue itself but that is a classical theme for the youth and for the poets. Above that Werther gives interesting and thoughtful monologues in which criticizes society, people, life itself and a lot of other things. This shows reader rudiments of late, wise and mature Goethe who exactly in and through his displeasure with the universal order of thing was able to present and formulate an attempt to answer eternal question of life itself, God and man. Unlike Werther’s Victor’s narrative is greater because he tries to play God. Werther is a lonely soul which lives quietly and dies quietly while Victor’s life journey attracts our attention not only because of its adventurous and religious motives but also because Victor as a person is way more destructive. That is obvious because a lot of people, his closest relatives and loved ones die due to his actions which make Shelley’s protagonist way more interesting from the moral point of view. Before proceeding directly to the character development and evaluating my opinion on the matter of the plot and style I should say a few words referring the greatness of this work reflected by the outside world. I state here that the key which allows to connect “Werther” with “Frankeinstein” is Romaticism. Romantic influence on the Shelley’s work is not so obvious as in “Werther” because it is hidden among the circumstance of the creating “Modern Prometheus”. The idea of the novel was born one quiet stormy night in the company of Mary Shelley and dynamic duo of two greatest English romantic poets and friends (like Goethe and Schiller) Percey Shelley (author’s husband) and Lord Byron. Is is Byron who during the late reading ghost stories suggested his friends to participate in the contest of creating the best ghost story. Byron quickly started but did not end his work which lately became a historical starting point in the Vampire genre while Mary Shelley developed and wrote a story significant for the genre not then existed (science-fiction) and in the same time revised ethical, religious, moral and scientific ideas of her time in the adventurous, romantic in its style and action drama. Sir Walter Scott regarded it as brilliant while among the majority of critics it wasn’t perceived as a masterpiece. Evolution in the views on the work and further industrial progress of technology and science occurred much further but its history is not among the topics of my essay. Victor Frankeinstein is a dreamer and a romantic. He is intelligent and ambitious willing to do anything for his mission. I believe that main character of the “Modern Prometheus” combine in it personal characteristics a lot of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley. First of all because courageous ambition to create life and become a master, creator, God is reminding me of Byron’s theomachist ideas (his Manfred is the best example but his poetic heritage in total seem theomachist which is one of the basic concepts of condition named “Byronism”) as well as the fact that Percey Shelley in the college was obsessed with experiments and scientific explorations in the chemistry and physics. That is enough to make Victor a romantic character in a wider specter than just in a sensual love. In Victor I see someone who not only as Werther has a world in himself but also tries and has an ambition to change the outside world, become master of reality by creating the most precious thing – life. It is exactly such insolent and daring behaviour that attracts me in Victor’s character. Though at the end he dies and I am too as well as he is become sad, nevertheless the whole journey, plot or better call it adventure still seems worth all the pain and such a quest which cost main hero the lives of his close ones and in the final his own. Victor is a seeker, opportunist, perhaps even a venturer and he is intelligent too which makes me sympathize him. He sees only one aim, one passion which drives him, an ultimate ambition. He wants to compete with nature, creation and God himself. Even possibly knowing his eventual fail his path is tempting, seductive. He is like Caesar, Napoleon or Alexander all of whom were admired greatly among romantic poets. Yet at the same time his obsession is excessive and immoderate which makes him crazy, insane and mad. The line between genius and madman is very thin, sometimes it can’t be seen. At this point I can call both Werther and Frankeinstein obsessed to the final point where they become delirious with their vision of what they must do, have or strive to. This fact connects two characters into one archetype of someone like Icarus from the Ancient mythology. Both characters even after reaching the final threshold continue to go further untill they reach the point of no return. Though Victor realises by himself that his ambition was too demanding while Werther dies more ill than he was before. Though sensual love is the theme of “Werther” it is written in a more spiritual and philosophical style while adventurous and eventful “Frankeinstein” has love only on the surface. Nevertheless “Frankeinstein” reminds of neo-romantic adventures of Stevenson or some of the works by Edgar Allan Poe both of whom can be described as the followers of Mary Shelley’s traditions. Victor is a typical romantic individualist who believes only in self-authority and wants to change the world (for better or worth) basing on his ideas and opinions. He sees himself and his vision as an ultimate truth while everybody else is wrong. Such thing is typical for the great minds as well as their madness and obsession with what they create. Both our heroes fail and die. That doesn’t mean that they lose battle absolutely. If not for their destruction they could not understand their situation and only reaching the bottom they became able to see everything clearly. Werther kills himself but he was in a position to ruin Lotte’s life and life of her husband. Here shyness and loneliness help Werther to commit a lesser evil both for his love and because of it. I admire that. Victor realizes that his creation can do even more harm to the world and that makes him to refuse his ambitions in order to keep status-quo in the relationship between nature, God and man, between Creator and creation. After that the storyline and main idea of the two books become clear – an ultimate desire demands an ultimate price. Read More