Essay Three

INTRODUCTION

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein scrutinises an ever changing society and its tendency to ignore the beauty of a natural world.¹ Through the journey of the Creature, a product of unchecked ambition and desire, Shelley intimates that society’s creation is a perversion to the natural world.² Thus, she reflects the ugliness she sees amongst a community blinded by a thirst for knowledge to usurp natural order, against the beauty and omnipotence of nature, to deliver a warning against development beyond natural human potential.

1. If you ever have trouble starting your essay, opt for a straightforward sentence like this that articulates the author’s message in relation to the key ideas in the prompt – this is all the assessors are looking for, perfectly presented in a neat, concise opening line!

2. Here, I’ve also signposted the focus of the essay from the beginning.

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Throughout Frankenstein, the complex alterity of the Creature serves as a platform from which Shelley acknowledges the unpleasant nature of human behaviour.³ Prior to providing his Creature with the “spark of life,” Frankenstein believes he has shaped the Creature as “beautiful” with “lustrous” black hair and “pearly white” teeth. Yet the “breathless horror” he experiences upon observing the “demoniacal corpse” forms a great contrast to the “beauty of [his] dream.” Indeed⁴, Frankenstein’s Creature was so aesthetically appalling that “no mortal could support the horror of [his] countenance.” A dichotomy of living and dead, Shelley presents the Creature as an unnatural being, establishing an immediate delineation between the Creature and man as though to suggest⁵ that they cannot coexist and thus the Creature can never participate in the natural human experience. To confirm this idea, Shelley’s poignant epigraph⁶ extracted from Milton’s Paradise Lost invites her readership to consider that whilst God “made man beautiful” after his own image, the Creature was a “filthy” type and a “blot upon the earth.” In this manner, she seeks to present the Creature as a manifestation of the moral wrongdoing carried out by Frankenstein, and a society in general that is unable to see that the true “beauty” of creation lies in nature.⁷

3. Despite being a characterbased topic sentence, this still remains broad enough to allow for explorative analysis.

4. This is a really handy linking word that enables you to further your discussion of an idea in more detail with a related example.

5. Does not merely state what Shelley has done, but elaborates on the effect of this device.

6. Don’t forget that you can incorporate analysis of these intertextual references too!

7. Finally, we expand the scope of the analysis to a worldly scale so that the purpose of Shelley’s writing can be understood within a real-world setting.

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Further, Shelley condemns scientific progress that challenges nature’s immutable laws to instead endorse the natural world as a balancing force. Shelley acknowledges the temptation of knowledge and likens this idea to a “serpent,” to highlight the power that knowledge has to corrupt individuals. Employing the University of Ingolstadt as a representation of the epicentre of “indefatigable modern philosophers” emphasises Shelley’s concern toward obsessive knowledge.⁸ Located remotely and described as “cramped,” Shelley forms a stark juxtaposition between the university and the “citadel” of nature. The positive connotation to describe nature implies it is a space of freedom and healing, in contrast to the place of isolation within which Frankenstein’s seeds of ambition for a species who would “bless him” as a creator were sown. Thus, she condemns this self-induced isolation to pursue nature beyond human parameters and simultaneously presents nature as a means of healing. That Frankenstein was moved to “weep like a child” in the presence of true natural beauty indicates the ability for nature to incite and awaken feelings of emotion and self-reflection in even the most antipathetic of individuals,⁹ therefore revealing the importance of an equilibrium between Romantic and Enlightened ideals. Shelley stresses that this balance and unity between the two often conflicting perspectives is required to counteract the unhealthy rejection of nature that scientific pursuit and technological advancement by society, spurns.

8. This is a clever alternate interpretation of events which therefore provides a very different and fresh approach to the topic. This is a great way to engage assessors and demonstrate your ability to think laterally to show you understand the very minutiae of the text.

9. Here is very clear means of integrating discussion around the social context (Enlightened and Romantic), but ensuring that it still remains relevant to the topic and the overall point of the paragraph.

PARAGRAPH 3

Ultimately, Shelley intends to explore nature’s omnipotence and emphasise the immutable make up of natural law. Her use of pathetic fallacy¹⁰ draws attention to Frankenstein’s acts of betrayal and demonstrate nature’s discomfort toward his actions. The night of the Creature’s birth was described as a “dreary night” in Autumn where rain “pattered dismally” against the windows. The decision to situate the Creature’s birth at the onset of winter, as opposed to Spring, which is considered the season of birth, subtly explores the aversion to nature that the “vile insect” encapsulates.¹¹ That Frankenstein becomes the “only unquiet thing that wonders restless” to the point of physical sickness consequently indicates nature’s decision to shun one who betrayed it. Indeed, he recognises that “happier is the man” who doesn’t “aspire to become greater than his nature allows.” Likewise, Walton who endeavoured to seek “the power that attracts the needle” is caught by a “frightful storm” that wrecks his vessel. As he continues further north his blood “freezes in [his] veins,” and symbolises further refusal by nature to allow man to pursue his “negligent” aspirations. Percy Shelley’s Mutability is provided to reinforce the power of nature contrasted with the volatility and fallibility of human life. Hence, Shelley endorses the natural world and further criticises those within society who seek to usurp its power.

10. Reference to a key narrative device adds depth to the essay and demonstrates a good grasp of authorial intent.

11. Fantastic close analysis of this highly important scene in the narrative. This is achieved through embedding a series of relevant quotes into an explanation and using analytical metalanguage to successfully avoid the trap of re-telling the story!

CONCLUSION

A parallel and thus condemning analysis of her own world, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein employs the Creature and his creator, Frankenstein as devices to explore the conflict between nature and man. The inability of the Creature to exist within a society that classifies him as unnatural consequently develops consideration around the ugliness of scientific endeavour.¹² She presents man’s desire for knowledge beyond human boundaries as a catalyst for downfall. In so doing, Shelley endorses the power and beauty of nature as a healing, balancing and overarching force within our world.