Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Frankenstein is a pure example of the sublime. Sublimity is a fascinating concept - The sublime inspires awe, usually because of beauty, nobility, grandeur or transcendent excellence. Mary Shelly said that"If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!" How is this story sublime? What specifically inspires awe for you? Why?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This novel was written in 1818. Mary Shelley with her very creative and unique imagination came up with the story of Frankenstein almost two hundred years ago. Reading it today with the luxury of modern science, technology, and imagination makes the idea of a Frankenstein easy to imagine. However, the readers of 1818 may have had a harder time wrapping their minds around the concept of making a man because it was completely implausible and somewhat frightening. Shelley writes about innovative science that is used today, organ implantation. Similar to using “spare parts” to create Frankenstein, doctors around the world use various organs from donors to help save the lives of patients. Therefore, we can say in 2016 that Mary Shelley was not that far off with science and technology incorporated in her story from 1818 which inspires awe for me.
ReplyDeleteSublime?
DeleteThe novel is sublime because of the way that the monster treats Victor. Victor brought him into the world and he should be thankful for that, however he resents him for it. The monster is unable to fit in with society and people hate him. The monster decides to kill all of Victor's love ones until he is given a companion. This is what awes me. How can a monster be so lonely that he will kill in order to find a companion? This proves the power that loneliness has on people and how the human race is constantly striving to be apart of something.
ReplyDeleteWhy should the monster be grateful?
DeleteHonestly, while reading Frankenstein, there were a number of moments in which I was completely captivated and in awe, as I imagined how I would react in certain situations. This novel has such a great impact, partly, because it can be viewed in various ways and is impactful as a sad story, horror tale, or tragedy. The fact that Victor Frankenstein can successfully create a living being from inanimate materials in itself is fascinating, as it shows the great power which man holds in the palm of his hand. He states, “… I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself…” (58) As a result, he is quite devoted, and the event inspires me, as it proves that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to. In Frankenstein’s case, he is determined to create a living being and devotes all of his time and energy, isolating himself from family, friends, and his studies to do so. The idea that a human being can create something which has the power to destroy, ultimately, all that he cherishes in life, is a strongly horrific and frightening idea. The monster’s great height, strength, and speed are all greater than those of humanity, and the beast can be considered immortal. The being only dies when he decides the time is right, or when his master, whom he hopes to drive to pity and revenge. As a result, the thought of man conquering nature is quite sublime. By creating a beast, Frankenstein proves to be able to conquer nature, although he faces severe consequences, when his creation drives him to misery. The “greatness” of Victor’s ability to create man and his monster’s ability to destroy what the world has to offer both leave the reader in awe.
ReplyDeleteThe sublime references the union of terror and beauty, inspiring awe. Frankenstein is a prime example of this concept because the exceptional union of creating life and terror. The creation of life is generally hailed as a beautiful thing. It is why babies are exciting, and why Gods are worshipped as creators. However, when Frankenstein achieves this incredible feat, it precedes power, violence, and murder. The association between these two intense concepts is awe-inspiring and created a lasting impact on literature forever. In this story, I was awed that not one single person allowed the monster to reason with them. It was the fault of society that the monster turned to murder and violence.
ReplyDeleteFrom the story, I took a lot of message that apply to modern life, despite the book being written in 1818. The beginning of the story really is inspiring to many younger people that one person can do whatever they set their mind to. Victor set his mind to studying chemistry and anatomy, and was able to, after years and years of endless work, create a living being. It shows that anything is possible if enough effort is put in. Frankenstein also highlights regrets. Victor lives his entire life wth regrets. He regrets creating the monster, he regrets agreeing to marry Elizabeth, he regrets not speaking up earlier when he knew Justine was innocent. This is very inspiring not to live life with any regrets, not to live life saying “I wish I had done this” or “I wish I hadn’t done that.” The story is also about being driven by emotion. The monster spends most of the book being driven by his anger and his desire for vengeance, He lets his anger cloud his judgment, and goes off killing Victor’s family and friends. The average reader would feel for Victor, and would see that the monster is being driven by emotion. It serves as a testament of what can happen when a person lets emotion take over their mind, and becomes an inspiration for me not to allow myself to do that.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Frankenstein is sublime due to its ability to portray mundane human feelings or circumstances in a fantastic, larger-than-life way. For instance, it isn’t uncommon for a person to feel like an outsider or feel rejected, whether it be by a crowd of friends, a potential love interest, or even a parent. Many have differences, physical or internal, that they perceive to set them apart from the rest in a negative way, preventing them from accomplishing what they would like to. However, most people aren’t hideously deformed, enormous monsters hand-constructed and genuinely unconnected to any other being, though someone might feel that their flaws are that glaring. Though the plight of Frankenstein’s monster is fictional and extraordinary, readers may still be able to reflect and see their own feelings, even those of resentment, mirrored in his experience. It is a fantastical look at a simple, real-life dilemma. A reader who has become a bit too ambitious, self-absorbed, or overly devoted to their studies and made a mistake which has harmed others may find that the predicament of Victor Frankenstein resonates with them, as well – their relation to the problem will likely just be more symbolic rather than involving an actual physical manifestation in the form of a murderous creature. Additionally, I find it particularly amazing that Victor had the brilliance to essentially create life “from scratch”, not only assembling the likeness of a human in appearance but a creature who would grow to harbor complex thoughts and feelings, and an identity of its own. Victor would have lived long ago according to the novel’s publish date of 1818, and nearly two centuries later his feat is still unimaginable. His sheer undeterred devotion to the project, to the point of the outside world becoming virtually invisible to him, impressed me as well. In particular, the scene in which Victor’s task is finally completed and he beholds the finished product (the monster) was particularly horrifying to me. The sudden and drastic change in Victor’s feelings toward the undertaking – a complete swap from it being the biggest source of inspiration in his life to the very thing that would pervade the rest of his existence with the utmost disgust and misery – struck me as surreal and unsettling, as did the description of the monster’s skin and eyes. Victor had created the utmost horror with his own hands.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that abandonment, lonliness are mundane human feelings. I think this is what is sublime. The horror that is created by abandonment goes beyond what is expected. But, I get what you mean. It is dramatized.
DeleteVictor's initial creation of the monster is a strong example of the sublime. At first, Victor is in awe at his "capacity of bestowing animation" (Shelley 47). He then shows fear and disgust towards the monster. Victor's study allowed him to solve the mystery of creation. However, the appearance of the monster inspires a greater fear that stems from Victor's pursuit of knowledge. What most inspired awe for me is the monster's description of helping the cottagers gather wood; "The trait of kindness moved me sensibly... I remember the first time that I did this the young woman, when she opened the door in the morning, appeared greatly astonished on seeing a great pile of wood on the outside" (Shelley 100). Since we never discover the exact appearance of the monster, Shelley leads the reader to the same position as the blind man in the cottage. We read about the monster's kind actions without fear until he is prejudiced for his appearance and is outcasted by society. This concept inspires awe and profound thought throughout the story while simultaneously reiterating fear of the monster.
ReplyDeleteIn Frankenstein, the very creation of the monster epitomizes the sublime. Life in itself is considered to be beautiful and valuable. In the novel, Frankenstein, a man, has learned to create life. He learns the secret to life and makes his creation in a lab. However, his creation does not look like man and its grotesque visage is more fitting of a monster. When relating the story of viewing his living creation for the first time, Victor states, “…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 lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes…” (Shelley 58). Frankenstein has created life, but the beauty of life is not represented in the monster’s form, and he can only stare at his creation in “…breathless horror…” (Shelley 59). The awe is shown simply in Victor’s reaction. He has the incredible power to create life, but he comes to a terrifying realization that he should have never tried to gain that power in the first place. The sublime in the novel to me rests in Frankenstein’s creation of life. It is amazing that Frankenstein is even able to find a way to create life, but horrifying to think that a person could hold so much power over nature.
ReplyDeleteYes! You captured it in the first sentence. Life is supposed to be beautiful, yet here is it hideous.
DeleteFrankenstein is an example of the sublime because he possesses the capability to create a human being through science. This concept inspires awe to me as it is strangely fascinating yet terrifying at the same time. It is fascinating in the way that all unknown is. The unknown has the ability to attract large audiences as it has a power that they lack, and it is simply human nature to want what we cannot have. However, it is also terrifying that the combination of science with technology could theoretically create this result. This inconceivable topic inspires awe as it breaks down the established rules of mankind and instills the possibility of massive change in the minds of her readers.
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein is a sublime story to me because of how Mary Shelley is able to foresee the future, and portray human character. The story was written before cars were even thought about, yet now today humans are actively trying to find ways to make “designer babies”, transplant organs, and cure diseases such as cancer. Her vision at the time may have seemed absurd, but today her vision is actually not far off from reality. That is amazing. The way she shows human character is also amazing, because she shows how we typically base our initial impressions of things and people based off looks, while there is actually so much more underneath. We see this in the book because Victor rejects his very own creation after seeing how horrid the monster looks. The way she is able to foresee the future so accurately and show the many layers of human character and emotions such as fear, rejection, love, anger, revenge, rage, and passion is truly amazing.
ReplyDeleteI think that I found sublime and awe in what I thought was very complex ended up being very simple. Overall, the fact that Victor could create life with his knowledge of science and devotion and determination is amazing and surreal, but the fact that this could turn into a sad and devastating story was what wowed me the most. How could you create something as amazing and incredible as this monster, how could you devote so much time to creating life, and then when you do immediately abandon it? I think I was in awe the most at what the story became as continued to read. In a way the story became that of an abandoned child who had to care for himself in the toughest of times. A story that can be connected to the real world as we wonder why there could be people out there who don’t know how to love or let down their guard like the monster couldn’t do but it is because of abandonment and a devastating upbringing.
ReplyDeleteI think the story is sublime because it displays how one narcissistic act can lead to such extreme outcomes. Frankenstein is narcissistic because he creates his monster for no specific reason and abandons it. A central theme of the story is that scientific discovery is not worth sacrificing human lives over. Portraying this theme, Frankenstein’s act of creating this monster lead to the death of his brother which starts a chain reaction that has Justine, his family’s servant, killed. Likewise, the monster kills Frankenstein’s cousin which causes the death of his father. The monster kills Clerval, Frankenstein’s friend. All of these lives could have been spared if Frankenstein hadn’t decided to create life one day. The sublimity of this story is the extreme effects that can occur just because of one narcissistic act.
ReplyDeleteThe creation of life is usually associated with a mother or a higher power, not necessarily a man in a lab. Frankenstein epitomizes the sublime because he was able to succeed such a feat as creating life. It is awe-inspiring for a number of ways. The fact that a man has the power to create life in a laboratory inspires both awe and fear. It is amazing but very scary that one man can hold all of that power. Frankenstein’s reaction also inspired awe for me. You would think that you would be on top of the world to be able to accomplish something like creating life yet Victor was ashamed. He fled as soon as he saw what he had created. Victor’s response and the way he rejected his creation was the beginning of the end for him. That reaction was what inspired the monster’s murderous rampage that took his closest friends and family from him.
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein is sublime because of Victor Frankenstein's ability to make a living thing, a man with emotion and cognitive function like any other human. Throughout the novel the emotions of the monster inspires awe because just like any other human this creation was hurt by words and actions. It was a tragedy for the monster to turn to its methods of killing people but that is why this novel is an example of sublime. Many murders have a motive and reason for a killing or several killings and so does this monster. The monster was fully aware of what it was doing because it felt remorse and it felt the need or want to exact revenge. The behavior of this creation awes me because it is completely relatable for humans to feel this way and to put these instincts or thoughts into a creature is genius. This creativity inspires awe because the author Mary Shelley had an amazing imagination. I agree with Lauren about how astonishing it is that this book was written in 1818 and yet this author has the imagination to come up with the idea of making a man out of inanimate materials. I agree with her because the technology available and knowledge known now was completely different then in was in this time period.
ReplyDeleteMary Shelley's Frankenstein can be thought of as a sublime story for many reasons. The story, although quite complex in terms of plot structure and events, all leads up to a beautifully simple theme and message that is still relevant in today's society. In simple terms, as they say; "don't judge a book by its cover". All of the despairity, both for Vicor and his creation, could have been avoided if others took a moment to simply take a moment to evaluate who this supposed "monster" was,and not just his appearance. One point in the story that specifically inspires awe for me is the idea of the creation of life, the sublime and glorified idea of it, the power of it, falling into the hands of one or those who should not feel entitled to abuse or take that mighty power. Showing a hint of remorse at his quick, thoughtless action he states, "Who shall conceive the horrors of my
ReplyDeletesecret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the
grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless
clay?"( Shelley 55). It astounds and leaves me in great awe that, in the pursuit to use his power to create a life not of his own, Victor seems to lose sight of his own, saying " I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit." (Shelley 55). The way that one man believed that he should have the right to harness a power, however received, to control and create unnatural life with complete disregard to the outcome is astonishing to me, and the many complex layers of the situation crafted by Shelley are quite clever.
I think that this story is sublime for the mere fact that Victor Frankenstein was able to create life, especially considering that the novel was written during a scientific revolution where many people began to optimistically wonder in awe of what humans could achieve, while many others feared that we were tinkering with things that should be left alone. Whether you believe that a man in the sky created all life or that it naturally evolved over millions of years, the curiosity of the mystery behind the origin and mere concept of life is universally shared by nearly everyone. Life is something that most of us take for granted, something that we still don’t truly understand, and yet here is a scientist that just effortlessly creates it by himself with some human remains and “a spark.” This kind of power is certainly sublime, and the story is another example of a man playing god. Mary Shelley’s comment on causing fear rather than love is clearly displayed in the novel. While the grotesque appearance and murderous actions of the monster are rather disturbing, I find the agonizing torture felt by both Victor and the monster to be more unsettling, and rather sad. In this situation, a man possessed power that he never should have had, and a monster entered a world that it never asked to be a part of. Rather than being awestruck by love and its repercussions, a typical theme in novels, Shelley made her readers contemplate what happens when one person gains power that should not be put to use.
ReplyDeleteLike many have said, the monster acts as an example towards how Shelly describes the sublimity in the novel. She also describes the sublime in the nature of the many settings. One example of this is after Victor abandons the monster and is returning home to Elizabeth. On their return, Victor describes the thunderstorm that he witnesses as, “the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific…this noble war in the sky elevated my spirits” (47). Here, Victor describes the storm as something amazing to see, yet filled with enough power as a war, inspiring him. Soon after, the storm also gives Victor an emotion of fear, when it shows the silhouette of the monster: “A flash of light illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the fifthy daemon, to whome I had given life…my teeth chattered, and I was forced to lean against a tree for support” (48). This explains how the storm , previously elevating Victor’s spirits, is now striking fear by illuminating the monster. The storm perfectly describes Shelly’s quote of if she cannot inspire love, she will cause fear.
ReplyDeleteMary Shelley isn’t one of history’s most timeless authors for no reason—she touches upon subjects and issues that never change, even 200 years later. No matter how old the language is, or the references, this book is relatable because it revolves around the concept of outsiders. Victor is an outsider, the monster is an outsider, even characters like the villagers the monster lives near are outsiders. They’re all essentially alone. Victor due to his secrets, the monster due to his appearance, and the villagers because they went against their government. That last bit sounds familiar, doesn’t it? People being ostracized for going against their country is a real issue that’s been happening since the beginning of time, and it’s incredibly relevant today with events such as Syria’s Civil War. Society will always have outsiders, and as everyone has felt like that from time to time, it becomes instantly easy to connect to. How many authors can create empathy with a monster? In fact, even though Victor and his monster both commit awful deeds, many readers sympathize with them. What awes me is Mary Shelley’s foresight to create a work that encompasses her time, and pretty much any other time in history, while still allowing readers to immerse themselves in the novel and connect with the characters and themes. Every action, every sentence, and every single word is carefully planned in a way that evokes emotion, no matter who the reader is or what their view is.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Frankenstein is sublime because of how Victor was able to create life from basically nothing—it is just something completely unimaginable. His love for science and determination led him to do something that was thought only God had the power to do. Victor set his mind to the task and in two years he accomplished his goal, which to me seems like a very short amount of time to discover how to create life. However, this triumph was actually a curse in disguise. Due to his loneliness and the refusal of Victor to give him a companion, the monster murders Victor’s family. It is tragic how Victor spent all those years tirelessly working to create something groundbreaking but in the end it led to the death of all those close to him.
ReplyDeleteThis story is sublime because like how Mary Shelley said “If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear,” similarly, since the monster was unable to fit in and was abandoned by his creator, he decides to kill Victor’s family. Victor also experiences the sublime in a way after he finishes his creation, saying “now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Overall, throughout the novel, I was awed that Victor was actually able to make a creature and bring it to life, but I was also awed that Victor’s creation turned on him just because he was unable to fit in and was lonely, so he thought that murdering Victor’s family would be fair.
ReplyDeleteThis story is sublime because like how Mary Shelley said “If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear,” similarly, since the monster was unable to fit in and was abandoned by his creator, he decides to kill Victor’s family. Victor also experiences the sublime in a way after he finishes his creation, saying “now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Overall, throughout the novel, I was awed that Victor was actually able to make a creature and bring it to life, but I was also awed that Victor’s creation turned on him just because he was unable to fit in and was lonely, so he thought that murdering Victor’s family would be fair.
ReplyDeleteThis novel is sublime in the sense that the people of this time that it was published had no recollection of any thing of the sort being written. A life being created by man must have been a complete unknown concept, thus leaving readers in awe. The part of this story that left me in awe was realizing that no matter what, every life form craves love and acceptance. It was so sad to see such an innocent character be turned down from everything and only knowing hate and rejection in the world. It then makes me sad to realize that it happens in our society today. Knowing the love and care I receive from my family and friends, I would wish for everyone to receive the same. No matter who you are, everyone deserves to feel loved.
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein is definitely an example of the sublime, as it does inspire awe for its many readers. The fact that the main character, Victor, can create a living being with his own two hands truly amazes me. This man combined his love of science and technology with his devotion and created an amazing creature. In the beginning of the novel, Victor has so much affection towards his creation. After all, this was the work of his own two hands. He was bringing an inanimate object to life. He was bringing life into this world. When bringing life into the world, you become responsible for transferring the knowledge of life onto this creature, for every living being knows nothing of the world when he or she is brought into it. What surprised me the most and what instilled the most awe in me was the fact that Victor can spend so much time, devote such hard work, and put his own personal health at risk to create this being when he did nothing but abandon it the moment it came to life. I was in awe to see how Victor just fled from the scene and did not even look back.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Frankenstein is sublime because of how Victor was able to accomplish something so big like creating life. It is inspiring in many ways because of the how victor with his love for science and his determination was able to do something so unimaginable. It led his him to create life which was something that was thought only God could do. This man was able to create life in a laboratory inspires both fear and awe. However this great discovery and creation did not turn out to be something positive in Victor’s life. Due to the monsters loneliness and Victor’s refusal to give him a companion he murders Victor’s family. This story is also sublime because Mary Shelley with a very one of a kind imagination was able to come up with such a concept that was not even being explored in her time. With this story she inspired fear and awe for me especially because with today’s technology it is very easy for something like the monster to be created.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the substance of this story and where it originated both have qualities that inspires awe. Mary Shelley literally put her dreams into action. Though Mary was initially uninspired to formulate a “ghost story” during a writing contest with family and friends, later on she realizes that she is capable of much more. A simple nightmare kick started a tale so ghoulish and evil, that even her listeners cringed at the reveal. The details of her nightmare set fear into every fragment of Mary’s person and left her feeling that if she “cannot inspire love, she will cause fear” for her readers. The very reality that Mary Shelley transformed her glimpse of a nightmare into an elaborate tale of a helpless monster at such a young age is most sublime to me. Also, Victor’s abilities to act as man’s creator and transfer life into a lifeless being, brings me a sense of awe and amazement. With the love and dedication to the sciences and the secrets of nature, he pursued a task that seems daunting and physically impossible to the average person, which is extremely sublime in its own unique way.
ReplyDeleteAlthough written almost 200 years ago, Mary Shelley was able to write a novel based on a time we are living today. To the readers in 1818, Frankenstein was so unimaginable it caused fear to know someone had the imagination to write it. Now in 2016, the fear is that the novel is so close to reality. Through the tremendous advances in science, organ transplants are performed every day across the globe and different medicines allow people to cross death's doorway and live to tell about it. Shelley leaves readers like myself in awe for creating such a modern and chilling plot. The story inspires great admiration by surviving the changes of time and being able to continue to induce fear in the current generation.
ReplyDeleteThis story is sublime because at the time Shelley wrote Frankenstein, feats such as creating a living, breathing human being were completely unthinkable. The science of the time was not as advanced as Shelley made it out to be. Frankenstein had knowledge and passion that would not be seen in the real world for a long time. Advanced medical techniques have made it slightly more plausible to bring a nonliving being to life, but for the time, this is an amazing thought process and story overall. I was inspired by the love that the creature originally had for Frankenstein, though he knew nothing of kindness or love. An awe-inspiring concept that I found in this story the fact that the monster Frankenstein created, inevitably ends up destroying him. So the overall message that I got from reading this was to find something you are passionate about and allow it to become a huge part of your life, but never get so caught up in it that it consumes you.
ReplyDeleteIn Frankenstein, the monster itself is an example of the sublime. The ideal man, to Victor, is beautiful, and he designed the monster based upon what he thought was beautiful. However, the monster did not turn out "beautiful" in his eyes, and was horrible and grotesque. Victor says, "His limbs were in
ReplyDeleteproportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!… but
these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast," (Shelley, 58). He is horrible because he symbolizes the power of man, instead of the aesthetic. Power can be ugly, and power is something that can cause war, greed, death, misery, etc, which is some of what the monster symbolizes. Another example of the sublime in Frankenstein is when Victor sees the thunder-storm when he is in Belrive. Frankenstein recalls, "When I was about fifteen years old, we had retired to our house near Belrive, when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunder-storm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura; and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained, while the storm lasted, watching its progress with curiosity and delight," (Shelley 40). While using words that strike fear, such as violent and terrible, he is also intrigued by the storm. He didn't know what was going on, so he feared the unknown, yet he was also intrigued by it. Overall, though, the monster is the greatest example of the sublime, while the storm is just a smaller example.
The Modern Prometheus is a story that for me is sublime because of the way that Mary Shelley fears the life out of me, in the whole literal view point. She shows how a person can get so consumed by ambition and later not be as gratifying as expected. Frankenstein did gain recognition for his work. as M. Waldman said he "has now set himself at the head of the university;and if he is not soon pulled down, [they] shall all be out of countenance" (Shelley 41). For a moment, at this point anyone would forget the horrific creation of his ambition and believe Frankenstein a great scientist. However, Mary Shelley makes you forget about that and show you for the rest of the book that his inhumane ambition left him miserable as it took everything away from him slowly. That's the scary part of all this. The fear she so vividly talks about is the fear of life itself. I personally find it incredibly terrifying how life is. You might give all your soul and handwork to something, just like our miserable Victor, but at the end it would take away your loved ones and with it all your positive emotions. This is the ultimate awe that Shelley gives me, that life can be so lifeless when ambition overcomes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this story is fiction, it still shows sublimity. Frankenstein creating a new life that has the capabilities to learn at a rapid rate, have feelings and the ability to express emotions is amazing. This story also instilled fear of the people of the time, since this story was written in 1818, almost 200 years ago. To elaborate on what I mean, the technology invented by Shelley in the novel was far ahead of her time or the people who first read the book's time. At the time, creating life was not possible since the science wasn't that far advanced, but readers when this book first came out probably read with fear of the future having this capability. These feelings that Shelley offers people is incredible as well, which makes the book even more sublime. Reading this book today and still not having the scientific advancements that Shelley imagined would make current readers fearful too, since creating a life is still impossible. The book being written 200 years ago but still being relevant to my society puts me in awe that Shelley could write something in her time that is nevertheless impressive to the twenty first century human. The writing behind the story and the story itself are completely magnificent.
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein proved to be a sublime novel indeed. What struck me in awe the most about the novel was the spiteful relationship between the monster and his own creator. I must admit, while reading the first few chapters, I was really anxious with excitement to read about how the first encounter between the two characters would be. This creation I thought for sure was to turn out to be something not only amazing, but beautiful. However, this encounter and their relationship turns out to be only dissapointing as they only grow to depise eachother.
ReplyDelete