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The Omnipotent Nature

HUMA 1910 9.0

Science and the Humanities

In general, nature is considered easy to manipulate and is conceived as docile and

innocent. These characteristics are not reflected in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, where a
scientist Victor Frankenstein is constantly undermined by nature. He is a tragic figure who grows
up in a caring household and is fascinated by the creation of life. Victors fascination leads to an
unthinkable experiment; a creation of a man also known as the Creature. One morning, Victor
decides to embark on a trail to the summit of Montanvert, to clear his head of the havoc and
horror reaped by the Creature. Not only in this moment but also throughout the novel, nature
plays an omnipotent role in foreshadowing, rejuvenating, acting as a parallel to characters
innermost feelings. Frankenstein attempts to alter nature, even though Shelley makes it apparent
that nature should not be manipulated because this parallels playing the role of God, a role once
taken upon by man results in devastation. Nature repeatedly acts as a saviour to Victors life by
displaying multiple warning signs of doom. Unfortunately, its attempts are futile in front of
Victors ambition to unlock the secrets of nature, which consequently results in the destruction of
Victor Frankenstein.
Victor attempts to isolate himself from his family hoping to clear his mind. But before
this attempt the scientist was enjoying his time with his family. The mood was cheery as he
explains I returned in the evening, fatigued, but less unhappy, and conversed with my family
with more cheerfulness than had been my custom (115-116). The mood was bliss for the time
being but after that Victor recalls, The following morning the rain poured down in torrents, and
thick mists hid the summits of the mountains. I rose early, but felt unusually melancholy. The
rain depressed me; my old feelings recurred, and I was miserable (116). This rapid change in
weather not only set the mood, but foreshadowed something evil, possibly the presence of the
Creature. His old feelings of depression are usually present when the Creature is around and the

description of the violent rain and thick mists are all meant to show negative signs of the future,
almost like an unwanted weather report to start off a bad day. Nature has shown signs of
foreshadowing in Victors early years when he was only fifteen. The most prominent example
would be the oak tree he was examining, I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and
beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light
vanished the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump (70). As Victor
was observing a violent thunderstorm, a lightning bolt had struck the oak tree. In this situation,
Victor can represent the tree and the lightning can be comparable to the secrets of nature which
Victor is curious to unlock. After unlocking this secret, Victor later in the novel says But I am a
blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul (169). The two dialogues prove that nature had
warned the scientist to stay away from the danger of knowledge and Victor said himself that he
had never beheld anything so utterly destroyed (70). Before the creation of the Wretched,
Victor was not utterly destroyed but after he altered nature, his life followed the line of
wreckage just like the tree. Frequently nature has tried to inform Victor of the path he was on,
but Victors desire selfishly overlooks all.
Aside from foreshadowing, nature also has the power of rejuvenation. It acts as a safe
haven for Victor and a prime example is when Victor is on the way to the summit of Montanvert
and remembers the previous time he had visited the area. While the scientist is recalling his past
experience on the summit he then remembers, It had then filled me with a sublime ecstasy that
gave wings to the soul, and allowed it to soar from the obscure world to light and joy. The sight
of the awful and majestic in nature had indeed always the effect of solemnizing my mind, and
causing me to forget the passing cares of life (116). Victor explains that whenever he was in a
bad mood he would turn to nature for a prescription of peace. Not only did it allow him to empty

his mind of stress but also to refresh himself to a more placid state. This was not first time where
Victor had escaped his pessimistic feelings. After six years of being away from home and of
being tortured by lack of health and company, Victor left his university in Ingolstadt to go back
home to Geneva. Right before he reaches Geneva he makes a stop. Victor recalls, I remained
two days at Lausanne, in this painful state of mind. I contemplated the lake: the waters were
placid; all around was calm, and the snowy mountains, the palaces of nature, were not changed.
By degrees the calm and heavenly scene restored me (116). Victor again uses the essence of
nature to allow himself to calm down and rejuvenate from the stresses of life and the Creature.
The omniscient force of nature has a clever way of connecting with characters and
expressing their deepest, innermost feelings. Victor has finally secluded himself from everyone
and is on the way to the top of the mountain of Montanvert. Victor describes how everything
seems to be abandoned due to the destruction of the previous avalanches. The scientist observes
the desolate scene, trees lie broken and strewed on the ground; some entirely destroyed, others
bent, leaning upon the jutting rocks of the mountain. Nature here is creating a parallel between
trees and Victors loved ones. Some have passed away and some are left hurt of all the chaos.
Another parallel was made about Victor on the mountain hike, The pines are not tall or
luxuriant, but they are sombre, and add an air of severity to the scenerain poured from the dark
sky, and added to the melancholy impression I received from the objects around me (116). This
heightens the developing tone of the story and sets up the mood of Victor, which is dull and
depressed. It also sets up the mood for the scene following after, where the Creature approaches
his creator.
Nature has taken many forms but it is obvious that if someone tries to open the tight
mysteries of nature one is led to his own termination. Victor Frankenstein simply could not help

himself as he explains, "I have always described myself as always having been imbued with a
fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature (Shelley 68). Victor continually challenges and
ignores the omniscient sublime nature even though it is given clear signs in the mountain of
Montanvert and throughout the novel. Nature is a force not to be tampered with because of its
foreshadowing, rejuvenating, and expressive characteristics. If Victor had attempted to preserve
nature, then nature would have preserved Victor.

Works Cited
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, or 'The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 Text.
Eds. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Toronto: Broadview, 2012.

What a wonderful essay. It is full of insight and intelligence, and very well written. You have
understood the assignment very well, beautifully unpacking the assigned passage and relating it
well to connected themes of the novel. I like your idea that nature undermines Frankenstein;
indeed, the creature could be seen as a symbol of such undermining. Well done. A