Frankenstein and the Sublime - Essay Example

Frankenstein and the Sublime Ideas concerning aesthetics and the nature of art remain contentious subjects today, having already been debated for centuries among some of the most learned men, and women, who ever lived. One of the individuals who contributed significantly to the discussion was Edmund Burke, who wrote Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful in 1757. In this treatise, Burke examined the nature of the sublime, arguing that it encompassed more than just a positive greatness that transcended definition, but also included the opposite end of the spectrum. He said, “the passion caused by the great and sublime in nature is astonishment, and astonishment is that state of the soul in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror.” In other words, rather than being exclusively something that can be considered beautiful beyond description, Burke suggests that it is instead that element that fills the mind so compellingly with the object under consideration that the mind cannot consider any other ideas or thoughts, nor can it come to any adequate conclusions regarding the object that it the main subject of consideration. Working on Burke’s concepts of the sublime, one can quickly recognize it within Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, particularly in Chapter 10 where Shelley explores both the Romantic conception of the sublime as overwhelming beauty as seen in nature and Burke’s idea of the sublime as something so overwhelming to the mind that it results in a horror that cannot be overcome by rational thought. The chapter begins with Victor’s escape into nature as a means of attempting to overcome his depression and guilt regarding Justine’s death. In this escape, Shelley uses the Romantic conceptions of the sublime as an overwhelming sense of beauty and universal connection through the forces of nature. While this is still imbued with a sense of greatness beyond the understanding of the human mind, this is not necessarily the direct and immediate experience of horror depicted by Burke. Shelley describes the scene thus: “The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier overhung me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial Nature was broken only by the brawling waves, or the fall of some vast fragment, the thunder sound of the avalanche, or the cracking reverberated along the mountains of the accumulated ice, which, through the silent working of immutable laws, was ever and anon rent and torn, as if it had been but a plaything in their hands” (Ch. 10). This image of the sublime, which is afterward explicitly named so, thus illustrates the awesome powers of nature as they work in often violent ways in the greater world outside the realm of the well-ordered human construction of civilization. However, it is only within this world that the character is able to find the peace and harmony within himself. “These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving. They elevated me from all littleness of feeling; and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquilized it.” Far from the traditional conceptions of horror, in which the mind is frozen in place through an inability to contemplate the surroundings, Shelley demonstrates how the Romantic conception of the sublime is grounded instead in a sense of providing room for thought and in-depth contemplation. This is placed in direct contrast with Burke’s concept of the sublime as something so horrifying that the mind is made incapable of thought. As Victor makes his way through the desolate but beautiful landscape of the mountain glaciers, he observes a man moving behind him, quickly catching up to him despite the difficulty of the terrain. “I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had created. I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach, and then close with him in mortal combat” (Ch. 10). In this statement, the idea of the sublime is expressed in terms of unthinking rage and terror. Although Victor knows he has created the monster to be stronger, more agile and more suited to the type of extreme environment in which he then found himself, he nevertheless is capable only of thinking only of violence and removal. Although the creature does not approach with evil, instead expressing what even Victor recognizes as bitter anguish, it is nevertheless with thoughtless horror in Burke’s definition of the sublime that Victor meets the monster. “its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But I scarcely observed this; rage and hatred has at first deprived me of utterance, and I recovered only to overwhelm him with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt” (Ch. 10). The monster himself thus represents Burke’s concept of the sublime as he reinforces the idea that this is the effect he has upon everyone who sees him. “All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” (Ch. 10). As the monster talks with Victor, the reader begins to focus not as much upon the appearance of the monster as upon the character of the monster, thus being forced to consider the sublime element in the horrific treatment that the monster has received as a result of this appearance. Throughout this chapter, Shelley explores the horrific elements of her story. The scientist is aware only of the concepts of the sublime as they were explored within the Romantic tradition. As Shelley introduces the monster into the scene, his appearance alone induces a stronger sense of the sublime, proving the argument of Burke. This is reinforced through the revelation of the monster’s intelligence and sentience. The pitiful nature of his request, simply that he might be provided with another living creature to share the rest of his lonely existence with, introduces yet another element of the sublime as something sufficiently horrific as to render the mind incapable of thought or conception. The horror only continues to increase as the reader becomes more familiar with the story. Because of his appearance, the monster inspires sublime horror in everyone he meets. They are so terrified by him that they can never overcome their mental revulsion long enough to conceive of the monster’s story or even to understand that he does not approach with violent intentions. The monster’s loneliness as a result of this becomes horrifically sublime, which is made more so as his rejection by Victor, his creator, is made manifest within this chapter. Victor’s choices are also horrifically sublime. He is given the option to create another monster, a female counterpart to the original, or to doom his family and possibly all of humanity to the anger and revenge of the monster. If Victor creates a female for the monster, he introduces the possibility of these two procreating and introducing a stronger, more adaptable race to supplant humans, but if he doesn’t, he will lose everything he loves and dooms the creature to an unknown duration of existence still utterly alone. Works Cited Burke, Edmund. A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. New York: Bartleby, 2001. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004. Read More