Robby Gavora Gavora 1
2-26-10
Frankenstein vs. Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey: More Similar Than We Thought?
While many readers have tended to view Frankenstein as a gruesome, horror story that involves battle, fighting, and a bloody ending, an understanding of the short passage from William Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” shows a more complex plot as it examines the importance of nature in life, and how nature can be a great way to let one reminisce into their past expenditures. We see this complication particularly in the end of chapter ten, as Victor goes on a family vacation and climbs the summit of Montavert, to get a scenic view to take his mind off his troubles. Although some may see this scene as minimal and minute, I believe there is great depth to it, depth that will help our understanding of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Wordsworth’s passage in the novel hits spot on with the feelings Victor is having earlier in the novel when he escapes the tortures of his every day life to view a pleasant natural scene, and clear his mind. Wordsworth speaks of nature, but also hints at a clouded minded individual, which sounds like Victor, whose thoughts and ideas are scarred every day when he thinks of the “monster” he created. “ The sounding cataract, Haunted him like a passion…” (Shelley 137) Here Wordsworth alludes to a person whose mind and soul are haunted, troubled by something very severe, which Victor is experiencing, with the anguish his creation brings him every day.
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In the scene where Victor is gazing out into the forest on top of the summit, the monster appears moments after Victor is finally calmed and clear-headed, causing him much distress. Victor has feared for quite some time that the monster may be the culprit who has been murdering members of his family spontaneously. A line in Wordsworth’s poem describes the feelings Victor is having at this moment beautifully, “ For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth: but often hearing the still, sad music of humanity…” (Wordsworth 90-94) Looking into the abyss Victor knows his thoughts may be forever scarred because of the creation he has set on mankind, and when he sees the beast coming towards him, his fears and shames are suddenly coming at him at full force.
Another important part towards the end of chapter ten is a section in which Victor reveals a sort of inner sensitivity towards the creature, therefore showing a sign that even though he believes the creature has caused him harm, he still feels obligated to listen to his creation speak. “ I felt the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness.” (Shelley 95) This shows Victor as a multi-dimensional character, one who hates his creation for what it has done to him but also one who understands the sorrows of the life the creature has and he is willing to listen to its troubles. This eerily sounds similar to a passage in “Tintern Abbey”, “ Therefore I am still a lover of the meadows and woods…of all the mighty world…both what they half create and what perceive…the anchor of my purest thoughts… of my moral being.” (Wordsworth 120-127) This passage from “Tintern Abbey” echoes a part of Victor’s
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emotional make up, and shows the depth of thought and character he has.
William Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” speaks of a troubled individual who uses nature as a get away in life, as a place to go to think about whatever one wants and desires. Victor tries to go to a scenic place to escape his troubled thoughts, but ironically a place where he goes to have freedom, he is enclosed by the presence of his creation. Victor shows great maturity and courage by listening to the victim and showing that Frankenstein is not just a gruesome horror story, but one of emotional growth, and the ability of a protagonist to ultimately come to terms with his mistakes and repent to an innocent “creature.”
Works Cited
Blupete Poetry. Web.
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Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan, 2000. Print.
