“Frankenstein” Final Essay
“What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.” (- Abraham Maslow). The novel “Frankenstein” is a novel written by Mary Shelley. This novel plays around with quite a few concepts and themes. However, I would like to argue that the universal truth in Shelley’s novel is that humans find comfort in self-actualization which is shown through the effective presentation of Romantic elements. You may even say that Romantic elements are involved in this novel because it was written around the Romantic period and the author was greatly affected by Romanticism due to her growing up in that period. The Romantic period was a literary movement which basically focused on the goodness of human beings and celebrated…show more content… The elements of Romanticism centralized on things that promoted an approach to a simpler life (http://www.buzzle.com). This revolution took place mainly in Europe (http://coursesite.uhcl.edu). In France the rich were being ousted which affected the political and social mood of England as well (http://coursesite.uhcl.edu). Some of the romantic elements depicted in the novel would be that emotion and imagination were regarded more highly than reason (http://www.odessa.edu), knowledge, science and similar topics were considered to have a negative effect on the world, love for all things and appreciation for beauty were considered worthwhile (http://www.odessa.edu), and romanticists were attracted to rebellion (http://www.buzzle.com). Shelley integrated these elements into her novel through characters such as Elizabeth, Robert, Caroline, and Felix as you…show more content… Since during the Romantic period emotions and imagination were regarded more highly than reason (http://www.odessa.edu), I assume that people of this period thought of themselves as less of a simple and factual thinker and more of an imaginative and emotional being. This is shown in the novel by Elizabeth regarding the persecution of Justine. When Elizabeth refuses to believe that Justine committed the murder of Victor’s little brother even though others had ‘proof’ that she did, it shows that she relied more on her emotions and intuitions than facts. At this point in the novel Victor goes back home when he receives the terrible news that his little brother had been killed. When he gets home everyone claims Justine committed the murder due to the fact that she was in possession of the locket that was given to Victor’s little brother not too long before he had died. However Elizabeth who had previously shown her love and affection for Justine refused to agree with the others, claiming that Justine is not the kind of person to do such a wretched thing. “ During all that period she appeared to me the most amiable and benevolent of human creatures,”(Shelly, 69) is a quote from the novel that shows that this statement is evident. When Elizabeth says Justine was