Frankenstein
Prompt #17 · Frankenstein
Prompt Type: Character Arc
Trace Victor's shifting attitudes toward nature throughout the novel, from his early scientific studies to his encounters with sublime landscapes to his final pursuit across the Arctic. Analyze how Shelley uses Victor's changing relationship with the natural world to reflect his moral and psychological deterioration. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“The immense mountains and precipices that overhung me on every side, the sound of the river raging among the rocks, and the dashing of the waterfalls around spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotence—and I ceased to fear or to bend before any being less almighty than that which had created and ruled the elements, here displayed in their most terrific guise.”
Chapter 9
Argument
Early in Victor's arc, this quote establishes his baseline relationship with nature as sublime and restorative, where natural grandeur elevates him spiritually and provides solace. The personification of nature as 'Omnipotence' reveals Victor's initial reverence for forces greater than himself, contrasting sharply with his later attempts to usurp nature's creative power.
Quote 2
“Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.”
Chapter 4
Argument
At the turning point of Victor's arc, this quote captures his hubristic transformation as he shifts from respecting nature to attempting to dominate it through scientific manipulation. The metaphor of pouring 'a torrent of light into our dark world' reveals his delusion that he can improve upon nature, marking his moral corruption as he replaces natural creation with artificial ambition.
Quote 3
Letters, Walton, _in continuation._
Argument
In Victor's final state during his Arctic pursuit, this quote demonstrates his complete psychological and moral deterioration as he recognizes himself as fallen and damned. The allusion to Paradise Lost's fallen archangel shows how Victor's relationship with nature has inverted—from finding transcendence in sublime landscapes to being 'chained in an eternal hell' within the barren Arctic, nature now serving as the setting for his punishment rather than his restoration.
Quote 4
“They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.”
Chapter 3
Argument
Early in Victor's arc, this quote reveals his initial fascination with nature as something to be penetrated and commanded through science. The metaphor of scientists who 'command the thunders of heaven' and 'mock the invisible world' foreshadows his hubristic attempt to dominate natural processes, establishing the baseline ambition that will corrupt his reverence for nature's sublime power.
Quote 5
“By the sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades that wander near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear; and by thee, O Night, and the spirits that preside over thee, to pursue the dæmon who caused this misery, until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict.”
Chapter 24
Argument
In Victor's final Arctic pursuit, this quote demonstrates his complete alienation from nature as he invokes natural elements ('sacred earth,' 'Night,' 'spirits') not for restoration but as witnesses to his vengeful oath. The personification of nature as complicit in his revenge reveals how his relationship with the natural world has deteriorated from spiritual communion to desperate, obsessive exploitation in service of destruction.