Return to Homepage.
Michael Kadish
3/11/95
.6
The descriptive, gothic setting of Frankenstein turned the fantasy story by a female author into an immortal classic. The settings, aboard the ship in the frozen north, in Italy, in the Alps, and in Dr. Frankenstein's university in Germany, create the images and mood of the story. The deserted frozen north, described by Walton in his letters advances his feelings of loneliness. This creates the initial feeling required to understand the need these two men had for knowledge.
Although the beginning contains no essential action, it establishes the loneliness and mystery. Mary Shelley's Arctic waters have a starkness rarely risked by the gothic romanciers even when the vivid picturesqueness with sublimity and her other major landscapes were drawn from first hand information. (Reiger, James 1974- p 3204). The tedious ice makes the discoveries that more important. The ice causes the reader to be less alert to the unexpected evils that awaited them.
The setting of Italy provides a setting of peace for Dr. Frankenstein. Whenever a death of an acquaintance occurred in Italy, the emotional toll was always harder on Frankenstein because such a loss was contrary to the serenity he associated with Italy. It was in Italy where the doctor felt strong enough to protect his sister/wife, and it was also here that he trusted the people he knew. In the third edition, Shelley,'s Italy stands for emotional warmth, and his Italian birthplace is the destination of the aborted wedding trip. (Reiger, James. 1974, p. 3208.) Although the country is used as a setting to suggest harmony, such a positive emotion is heightened when the setting is further defined as Dr. Frankenstein's father's house in Italy. "When my father returned from Milan, he found playing with me in the hall of our villa a child fairer than pictured cherub--a creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks and whose form and motions were lighter than the chamois of the hills."
In sharp contrast to the calm of Italy, the setting and events occurring in the cold and frozen area of the glaciers in the Alps utilize obvious symbolism. The purpose of using such a backdrop is to parallel the outdoor climate with the emotional, frozen climate of the monster's unnatural heart. Here, Frankenstein and his monster, �, meet again, with the intent of this meeting to show the now-coldness of � 's heart. "I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness." � is forced to wander over glaciers and hide in caves of ice because these are the only places "man does not grunge." (Kiely. 1972, p 3211.) It is here that the truth of � is learned, when the full history of � and how he turned into a cold monster is told. Also in the glaciers, the truth is learned about the murder of his friend and the cover up of the murder.
The harshest setting of all was Dr. Frankenstein's university in Ingolstadt, Germany. This can be viewed as a rebellion from his father's home. Everything the doctor had learned at his father's house was discarded and called rubbish. The doctor missed his family and was not happy at that point with either his father or his professor. The peak of his uneasiness was of course the realization of his experiment. As in the Italian segment, the symbolism inherent by the setting is increased when scenes occur in a personal location, such as the doctor's lab and his living quarters. "I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life."
The settings in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are used not only to serve as backdrops for the actions, but also are used as symbols of the emotions and images that occur. This symbolism, largely inferred, forces events to occur in particular settings. Often the purpose is not realized by the reader until tragedy or surprise strikes. For example, it is only somewhat apparent that the voyage to the Arctic Circle will cause the problems that eventually arise. Similarly, whenever a tragedy occurred in Italy, it always brought with it a much greater impact than a similar event elsewhere. In the Italian Alps, it is not realized how dangerous the mountains were before � arrives, but it quickly becomes evident how cold and frightening both he, and the mountains, can be. It is in Germany, symbolism evil, that the doctor creates the monster, an act whose final outcome could certainly never have been predicted beforehand.