When we discussed the sublime earlier in the semester, I
remember someone describing it as something so beautiful that it frightens you
and that’s what the sublime in Frankenstein does. When I think about those
massive, majestic snow-covered mountains I am in awe. It is something so
awesome, and man took no part in creating it. This novel is partly about Man
not having limits on what he wants to create with all this new scientific
knowledge. I think the mountains serve as a reminder of the limitations of Man.
Frankenstein’s fascination in natural philosophy is spurred
by a sublime scene, when he witnesses a “Most violent and terrible” storm that
he watches with “curiosity and delight.” He learns about electricity when a
lightning bolt destroys a tree. In that moment, the power of nature is
displayed. Perhaps, Frankenstein’s
creation can be seen as his attempt to mimic nature, to harness the power of
nature. He tries to recreate the beauty, but when the monster comes alive, “the
beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.”
There is no terrifying beauty, just terror.
I think it this situation it's important to separate terror, which is a deep, heart-shaking fear, from horror, which is more along the lines of intense disgust. Terror is essential to the sublime, but by Frankenstein saying that horror and disgust filled his heart, he's rejecting any association of the sublime with the creature, which I think is wrong on his part.
ReplyDeleteIf Frankenstein had given him half a chance, he might have found an element of the sublime in the Creature. It is his own fixation on the aesthetic that leads to his and the Creature's downfall. If others had been able to look past his exterior, the Creature would have had a much better life.
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