English 12 / Unit 4: Romantic Poets
4.6 Frankenstein: Themes
Notes
- Ambition and forbidden knowledge: Victor's drive to conquer death isolates him and destroys his loved ones.
- Responsibility: Victor abandons his creation, then refuses to help him. The Creature begins good but becomes violent after being rejected.
- Isolation and the need for companionship: both Walton and Victor chase glory at the cost of human ties; the Creature longs for friends.
- Nature and the sublime: Victor finds comfort in mountains and glaciers.
- The Creature tells Victor: "I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed." He feels cast out by his creator.
Practice
The Creature calls himself the "fallen angel" rather than Adam. What does he mean?
He compares himself to a being banished from joy through no fault of his own.
Which theme is shown by Victor running away from the Creature he has made?
Victor's neglect causes the Creature's suffering.
Which Romantic idea does Victor's retreat to the Alps best show?
Romantic writers saw nature as healing and awe-inspiring.
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