Romanticism is a movement in literature unfolding from 1790 to 1850. It is characterized by a celebration of nature, individuality, and isolation. One of the classical representations of Romantic literature is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. In the novel, there are at least two features of Romanticism that are not discussed in the overview: the illustration of grotesque and the theme of individual versus society.
Grotesque in Romanticism is illustrated through monstrous, unethical, and antisocial characteristics of literary characters created essentially by society (Forster and Steiner 54). Grotesque features in Romanticism are more terrible than in medieval times and focus on the sympathetic representation of the characters as victims of social influence (Forster and Steiner 56).
The theme of confrontation between an individual and society lies at the core of Romanticism. The topic explores the social independence and limitations of a person, as well as the positive and negative sides of social isolation (Honor 78).
Surprisingly, grotesque elements are not abundant in Frankenstein and create a profound contrast with its film adaptation. In the novel, Shelly focuses on providing a sense of mysterious and existential fear by illustrating immoral and unnatural events. Grotesque is embedded in the entire premise of the book, which is to insert life into a dead body. At the same time, grotesque is present in the monstrous features of the Creature, which creates contrast with its initially kind and altruistic personality.
Regarding the illustration of the confrontation between an individual and society, the novel provides a picture of the danger of both extreme individualism and social corruption. On the one hand, individualism is shown through Frankenstein himself as an isolated individual that desires to exceed social and moral norms and create life artificially. On the other hand, the theme is represented by social standards and expectations corrupting the altruistic personality of the Creature. The being is too different from the common, and people constantly reject it, which eventually leads to its character becoming what society expected from it.
Works Cited
Forster, Michael and Lina Steiner. Romanticism, Philosophy, and Literature. Springer Nature, 2020.
Honour, Hugh. Romanticism. Routledge, 2018.