Mary Shelley makes use of gothic symbolism in Frankenstein. The most prominent symbols in the novel are light, darkness, Adam, Satan, and fire. They reflect the most important themes and concepts of the book.
What symbolism do we get from nature in Frankenstein?
What does nature symbolize in Frankenstein? Nature symbolizes a neutral but powerful force. It is the opposite of reason and rationality, something which simply exists and can never be fully understood.
The mountain is grand and is a symbol of Victor's home and recent misfortunes. This is just a preview of what the story itself contains and what the reader will experience. It also serves as foreshadowing for the story and significance the mountain has.
Ice frames Frankenstein, representing isolation and alienation. Ice carries with it connotations of emotional coldness, or lacking the warmth of human companionship.
Furthermore, in order to dramatize Victor's inevitable reunion with the creature, the lake becomes a reflection of Victor's emotional feelings when he reunites with the creature. Lake Geneva is described as a “vast sheet of fire” while lightning strikes across the sky (49).
Shelley incorporates this alternate meaning into the book and her message through the process of bringing the creature to life. The bolt of lightning represents a force outside of human control, and this is what truly brings the monster to life.
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the moon is used to help make the creature into a monster. The creature's violence increases whenever the moon is out, and this violence leads to Victor's downfall. Whenever the creature does something evil the moon is described depicting the insanity that is slowly consuming Victor.
As the necklace contains an image of Caroline and passes from Elizabeth to Justine, the necklace can represent the idealized maternal figure who suffers a tragic fate throughout the story. It can also symbolize how the Creature has learned to understand and manipulate human society.
What does Paradise Lost symbolize in Frankenstein?
Shelley suggests that Frankenstein has sinned against his own creator (God) by creating a living monster with raw materials and human body parts, and as punishment, Frankenstein loses his paradise, just as Adam in Paradise Lost is expelled from the Garden of Eden for defying God's word.
Is there religion in Frankenstein? Yes, religion plays an important role in Frankenstein. The creature reads Paradise Lost and identifies heavily with Satan, feeling that God abandoned and mistreated Satan, causing him to become evil.
Mary Shelley's novel carries the message that not all science and knowledge produces progress. The novel also carries the message that criminals are made rather than born. The horrific appearance of the monster generated fear and aggression in people, which is depicted as initially unfair.
The character of Victor Frankenstein subconsciously uses sickness as an escape from his responsibilities and his guilt, both a result of his creation. Victor Frankenstein has the convenient tendency to become ill whenever he feels guilt and has a responsibility to do something.
Familial Responsibility. The most important theme in Frankenstein is the idea of familial responsibility and what people owe to each other. Victor Frankenstein is essentially the creature's father; he created him and has a responsibility to take care of his creation and to teach him about the world.
There are several symbols used in Frankenstein, including Biblical symbols of God and his creation, Adam. One of the key symbols in the book is that of fire, which symbolizes both the light of knowledge and the dangers of knowing too much.
These desolate landscapes mirror the problems of human life. Frankenstein climbs Montanvert as a way to clear his mind and minimize his human sorrows. The monster runs to the mountains and glaciers as refuge from civilization and all its human fallibilities, which cannot accept him for his façade.
Victor later uses electricity to animate dead material. The image of the earthly oak tree, traditionally a symbol of stability and strength, deadened by heavenly electricity feels like a kind of warning against hubristic application of godly power to nature.
Darkness is also a symbol for evil. Elizabeth's letter to Victor recounting the news of William's death speaks of "the dark side of human nature." Finally, darkness symbolizes emptiness and despair, as shown by the descriptions of Victor's dark depressions.
The Swiss Alps represent not only the sublime of the setting, but also, to Frankenstein, the sensation of being home, in the place where he lived during the innocent period of childhood. This fact makes this setting specially capable of elevating Victor and make him forget the horrors lived.
The ship also fits the pervading theme of isolation. The men on the boat are alone, the only living things for hundreds of miles. Like Frankenstein and his monster, they are cut off from the rest of humanity. This sense of loneliness is part of what encourages Walton to bond with Victor.
Frankenstein can be compared with Adam created by God or Victor Frankenstein. The comparison here is that because Victor created “Pieces” from nothing, he is “God” and because Frankenstein is Victor's first creation, he is Adam. Frankenstein, like Adam, felt isolated and alone so he asked for a companion.
The arctic represented isolation and pain in Victor Frankenstein's creation. Mary Shelley used the arctic setting to correlate the monsters internal feeling with its environment that surrounded him. She used the arctic to symbolize Victor's creation as empty, unaided, isolated, and confused.
