Nature imagery
Frankenstein is a novel based on a monster created by a scientist who wished to know much about physical science. This scientist is called victor Frankenstein. Victor works very hard on his creation but falls asleep after he finishes the creation. He does not give the creation a name and thus its lack of identity as it traverses the poles seeking to revenge since it has been rejected by the human race. It blames victor for creating it and not giving it an identity. Nature is a form of reprieve and consolation to the characters in this novel
The novel’s setting is thus in the wild open sea and in the wilderness. Almost every aspect of this novel depicts nature imagery. Imagery involves using vivid description of entities and concepts that are imaginary to represent those that are imaginary. It is creating a mental picture of the concept being described. For instance, the novel begins with a vivid description of the atmosphere in St. Petersburg to represent the good feeling inherent in that city. This is when Robert Walton arrives in St. Petersburg for his pursuit of knowledge “I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves and fills me with delight.” (Shelley, 2009). Robert Walton continues to describe nature to his sister trying to bring out the point that what his sister so vehemently objected to is actually a beauty to behold. This is just to reassure the sister that there is nothing to worry about and that everything would be just fine.
The gladness with which Robert Walton describes the new found lands he has just arrived in depicts his joy in the success of his mission “I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may trend a land never before imprinted by the foot of man.” (Shelley, 2009). The use of nature imagery continues to be evident in this letter. When Robert claims that he lived for one year in a paradise in which he solely created, he just literally describing the beautiful poems he had authored before after he was denied the chance of going for a voyage. The wild expanse of sea ice and snow now rejuvenates the desire he strongly had as a young man.
Nature imagery is used again to depict bad luck “the winter has been dreadfully severe, but the spring promises well” (Shelley, 2009). Here Captain Walton hopes that he will go to the end but this is just but the begging. The letter contains a lot of natural imagery so as to create a desired and next to real manifestation of the actual area. The description of nature in this letter is kind of a prediction of things both good and bad that are to come later.
In the forth letter, Walton describes a danger that is looming also using imagery “our situation was somewhat dangeroushoping that some change would take in the atmosphere and the weather.” (Shelley, 2009). This is actually kind of a prediction that a certain danger was looming and the sailors only had to hope that some refuge or rescue with time.
This proposition of a looming danger is in some way confirmed after the fog clears. The sailors saw in a distance the stature of a big man being pulled by a sledge. Since the sea is covered with ice, the sailors cannot therefore follow track of the humanly figure they had seen in the dark.
In the conversation between Robert and victor, nature imagery is evident to show how victor finds solace in the natural world when he gets depressed. Victor according to Walton derives a lot of consolation and peace from the environment and nature. Victor continues to tell Walton that he wished that Walton’s wishes were not like serpent to sting him as they had victor as they were pursuing the same course, knowledge and wisdom.
Nature imagery is also used to describe the ardent way in which a husband shelters her wife and protects her “ as fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind and to surround her with all” (Shelley, 2009). When Victor’s father’s wife’s frame is weakened, he (Victor’s father) takes her on a tour through the land of wonders where her spirit is revived. This is another example of seeking solace and peace in nature. Nature here is represented as a source of consoling the human soul.
The author also instead of directly writing what the character Victor wanted to learn says “it was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn” (Shelley, 2009). Victor only wants to learn about the metaphysical world of nature, a drive that takes him to distance lands. We are later told that like “a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources would his person to study the physical sciences be established. “But swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys.” (Shelley, 2009). This assertion by victor the creator of the beast or the monster acknowledges his mistake. His pursuit according to the vivid description has in some way brought him misery and suffering as one of his creation is now his boss and his tormenter. This was in an effort to unveil the secret of nature. This is what victor always wanted to do. This included also being one with the natural environment and studying its concepts and its wonders. That is why most of the concepts described by victor have a striking association with nature.
Nature continues to present some bad luck to victor. When he was preparing to live for Germany for his university studies, her long time love is heat with the scarlet fever. His mother nurses her back to health and eventually she herself dies as a result. This natural calamity depicts or was an early warning sign of what awaited Victor ahead. Here imagery has been used to predict a forthcoming misfortune. The physical death is expressed in the most natural and vivid way.
In consoling the family Elizabeth recalled the sunshine of the Victor’s mother smiles and spent them on the entire family members. The sunshine depict here that there was still a glimmer of hope even though the family had lost a loved. That is why the joy that Elizabeth tried to bring back is equated to the sunshine.
Nature’s imagery continues to be evident when Victor was creating his monster. When he set to create his being, he had so much enthusiasm and strongly believed that his would be a sweet success “No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane ” (Shelley, 2009). This describes not just the enthusiasm inherent in Victor, but also the determination that he had in creating a real human form.
Victor continues to narrate how the impossibility of changing the accidents of life. He again compares these with human feelings. Human feelings can be changed at will but not the human accidents like the one he had just committed with his full consciousness “the different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature.” (Shelley, 2009). All of Victor’s two years of hard work had not only gone to the drain but had also put his life and the lives of many others in danger.
It is plausible to claim that the whole of this novel contains nature’s imagery. From the creation of the monster in the laboratory to the wild chase in the open sea and the exploration of Robert. The monster itself is an imagery of a real concept in our everyday world. The author uses the imaginary creature which is unheard of in the normal scene of life to pass a certain message to the audience. Since the novel mostly revolves around this creature, it can be given the status of being the major theme of nature imagery in this novel. The meaning should therefore be unraveled by the audience. The description of the open and frozen sea is also nature imagery. The open sea where the monster and its creator are chasing one another is a kind of platform in the real world where a given war is being fought. It kind of depicts an unfair platform where one opposing side has a greater advantage than the other. In the whole the use of nature imagery in this novel should be further studied to determine its effectiveness and role as it plays a very significant part here.
Reference
Shelley, M. W. (2009). Frankenstein. New York: ReadHow YouWant publishers
