Mary Shelley`s Monstrous Sublime

The monstrosity of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has been interpreted in many ways since its publication in 1818. The significance of this is that demonstrates that the ambiguous characterisation of the monster in Frankenstein has offered representation for a vast number of marginalised in society. It is my aim to establish that Mary Shelley developed a monstrous sublimity to engage with the characters that embody ideals of Edmund Burke's A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. Chris Baldick has suggested that '[t]he monster image is a powerful means of organising, understanding, and at the same time preserving the chaotic and confused nature of the revolutionary events in Burke's account'. The political link that Baldick makes here demonstrates that there are clear grounds for considering Shelley's treatment of the Burkean sublime. Further to this point, I will demonstrate that certain strands from Edmund Burke's essay on the sublime appear throughout Frankenstein and it will be beneficial to consider the reasons for this.

It is submitted that in a wider scope, the monster serves as a representation of many social disharmonies relevant at the time of the novel's conception. However, it is my argument that Victor's creation develops a binary opposition between the masculine sublime of Edmund Burke and a monstrous sublime of the marginalised. This essay will focus on three key areas in which this opposition is most notable. Firstly, it will be important to consider the sublime landscapes that the various characters traverse and identify the ways in which Shelley's monstrous sublime operates independently from the natural sublime prevalent in the text.

Secondly, having defined Shelley's monstrous sublime, it will be beneficial to develop the traits of the Burkean sublime that are to be found in the masculine characters of Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. It is interesting that Frankenstein delivers a narrative within a narrative, and that both these narratives are dominated by the masculine. It is difficult to avoid connecting the egocentric, patriarchal voices of Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein with the same masculine voice of conviction that drives Burke's essay on the sublime. It will be important to consider the aforementioned forms of sublimity in the text in order to discuss the final subject of this essay. Finally, I wish to consider the the instances of Burke's essay that consider the psychological effects that sublime creates. In doing this, I wish to highlight specific instances of Frankenstein that demonstrate Shelley's use of a monstrous sublime to prevent these effects from occurring.

There are several remote landscapes in Shelley's novel that could be argued as having sublime qualities. Walton's outer narrative begins with a journey that leads him further from society and closer to the isolated arctic region. Victor traverses Mont Blanc, with some truly sublime descri ption inserted by Shelley, among many other points of Europe including the isolated deserts of Scotland. Nancy Fredericks' work on the sublime and beautiful in Frankenstein has already considered the geographical importance of the text, Fredericks argues that 'the sublime appears as a type of place, represented by the Alps, the Arctic, and the stormy and rugged shores of Scotland. The sublime represents the frontier of human society. The sublime setting is the home of the monster.' Fredericks' view is beneficial to any consideration of the natural sublime, but I would argue that the final sentence of this citation could be taken further. It is my argument that the monster not only exists in these extreme environments, the monster dominates them.

Walton's letters provide an excellent example of this as he witnesses 'a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge, and guided the dogs. We watched the rapid progress of the traveller . until he was lost among the distant inequalities of ice' . This impressive descri ption of the monster is delivered after an interesting use of the natural elements as Shelley writes, 'the mist cleared away, and we beheld . vast and irregular plains of ice, which seemed to have no end' (Frankenstein, P.34). As if unveiling the grand monster, Shelley does not disregard the natural sublime but uses it to aggrandize her monstrous sublime. The power of the ship's natural surroundings, which holds Walton's vessel, is viewed as secondary. This initial fantastical descri ption of the monster effortlessly travelling along the same harsh terrain that renders Walton's expedition momentarily impotent. Furthermore, this momentary glimpse of the monster dissipates when it uses the northern terrain to fade out of sight. It is my argument that this first example demonstrates an opposition between what is naturally sublime and what is monstrously sublime in Frankenstein.

This first instance is certainly a subtle suggestion of the relation between a natural and monstrous sublime. However, if Victor's ascension of Montanvert is considered in closer detail, a greater instance of this parallel is revealed:

The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier overhung me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial Nature was broken only by brawling waves . which, through the silent working of immutable laws, was ever and anon rent and torn, as if it had been a plaything in their hands. (Frankenstein, P.90).

One is reminded of Burke's sentiment that 'we are affected by strength, which is natural power' (Enquiry, p. 116). The natural power that Victor experiences in this descri ption certainly affects him. Much like Walton, Victor sees this fantastic, yet desolate, environment as a power from which he can profit. In the aforementioned descri ption Victor acknowledges nature's behaviour toward itself, 'the solemn silence . was broken only by the brawling waves'. This, in turn, creates a sublime feeling within Victor as he recalls that '[t]hese sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving' (Frankenstein, P.90/91). The significance of these passages can be found in the diminishment that both Victor and the sublime scene suffer by the monster's reappearance.

The power is in possession of monster and not even it 'can wholly remove the terror that naturally arises from a force which nothing can withstand' (Enquiry, 119-120). Shelley's articulation of a Burkean sublimity that connects Victor to the Alps is short lived as her monstrous sublime emerges to eclipse it. It is no coincidence that the cathartic properties of this extreme environment are reflected in Victor's experience, '[t]heir icy and glittering peaks shone in the sunlight over the clouds. My heart, which was before sorrowful, now swelled with something like joy' (Frankenstein, P.92). This catharsis is immediately interrupted as Victor details that 'I suddenly beheld a figure of a man . advancing toward me with superhuman speed. He bounded over crevices in the ice, among which I had walked with caution' (Frankenstein, P.92). This passage demonstrates, not only the supremacy of the monster over Victor, but also the ability the monster possesses to diminish the terrain, a terrain that in turn diminishes Victor. I will argue here that the desolate environments that the masculine protagonists find themselves in, what Fredericks referred to as 'the frontier' of society, is not only the home of the socially rejected, but also the power Shelley's monster possesses over both.

I wish to draw a distinction becomes clear between Clerval and Victor during their European journey. Clerval, 'alive to every new scene' (Frankenstein, p.136), is described as experience moments of the Burkean sublime. Victor, on the other hand, can only identify Clerval's experience in opposition to his own as he reflects, '[a]las! How great was the contrast between us!' (Frankenstein, p.136). I wish to suggest here that it is Clerval's ignorance of the monstrously sublime scenes which Victor witnesses in the Alps, that allows this pure experience of his surroundings. Although Victor is 'occupied by gloomy thoughts' (Frankenstein, p.136), he does witness these same scenes and it is my suggestion that it is the presence of the monster among these surroundings, invisible yet present, that denies Victor to profit from this same scenery. Indeed, Victor later reveals to the reader that 'he had followed me in my travels; he had loitered in forests, hid himself in caves, or taken refuge in wide and desert heaths' (Frankenstein, p.145). Victor cannot share the joys that Clerval experiences as Shelley's monstrous sublime has lurked in the landscapes that Victor dare not experience.

However, the episode on the shores of Scotland is perhaps the most revealing of any consideration of the monstrous sublime. I wish to first consider Victor's contemplation of creating a bride for the monster. Victor considers that 'she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate . They might even hate each other . she also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man' (Frankenstein, P.144). This passage possesses several issues that require consideration. Victor has witnessed the monster surmount what is humanly insurmountable in both spirit and physicality. Therefore the notion of a female monster, far greater than the monster already in existence, fills Victor with a greater fear, 'for it is impossible to look on any thing as trifling, or contemptible, that may be dangerous'. That is to say, a further diminishment in the natural order of things could create a feminine monstrous sublime that would inflict a global torment instead of the torment that Victor is privately subjected to. Further to this point, if the creatures warred against one another, the potential damage would be untold. However, the most interesting observation Victor makes is that the overpowered female monster may turn her affection toward man. This narcissistic view demonstrates the patriarchal perspective Victor possesses which will be considered in more detail in the following area of discussion. Consideration must also be given to the lack of any strong feminine voice in the text; Mary Saville has no voice at all; Elizabeth remains passive throughout Victor's actions; Safie, of the De Lacey subplot, only progresses through her use as currency between patriarchal figures. Therefore, the prospect of a feminine, monstrous sublime, though conceivable to Victor is certainly not something he will accomplish for his creation.

The subject of masculinity in Frankenstein is forged through the friendship between Victor and Walton. It appears subtler as it is established in Walton's outer narrative but it is important to consider that relationship. Walton's first letter, to the passive Margaret Saville, is located in Petersburgh and an imagining of the Northern polar region immediately echoes Burke's notion of the sublime and beautiful, 'I try in vain,' Walton writes, ' to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight . These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death' (Frankenstein, p.28). This extract is reminiscent of a passage in Burke's essay which states that 'I think there are reasons in nature why the obscure idea, when properly conveyed, should be more affecting than the clear. It is our ignorance of things that causes all our admiration, and chiefly excites our passions' (Enquiry, p.105). Walton's imagining of 'a land never before imprinted by the foot of man' (Frankenstein, p.28) is what drives him toward the unknown terrain of the north.

I wish to consider the initial meeting between the two men and the comparison Walton draws between Victor and the monster. Walton's first sign of masculine kinship toward Victor comes from a racial familiarity, '[h]e was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European' (Frankenstein, P.35). The 'savage inhabitant' is placed in stark contrast to Victor who is familiar to Walton. One is reminded of Burke's sentiments of the sublime that 'it [the sublime] comes upon us in the gloomy forest, and in the howling wilderness, in the form of the lion, the tiger, the panther, or rhinoceros' (Enquiry, p.114). I would argue that this first interaction with the monster, in the extremes of nature, is Shelley's aggressive form of the sublime that 'comes upon' the explorer in an unknown territory.

There is a distinct sense of masculine superiority that Victor Frankenstein exudes throughout the text. Kestner, through establishing a narcissistic layering of narratives, establishes that 'Mary Shelley's attempt to find a structural corollary for her narcissistic tale exists in her use of three narratives' . This gendered reading assists in relating a masculine interaction with the Burkean sublime. For example, Victor repeatedly fails to overcome his diminishment in the face of whatever is sublime; if he begins to surmount the natural, the monstrous appears to restore his diminishment. Consideration must be given to the lack of any strong feminine voice in the text; Mary Saville has no voice at all; Elizabeth remains passive throughout Victor's actions; Safie, of the De Lacey subplot, only progresses through her use as currency between patriarchal figures. Therefore, the prospect of a feminine, monstrous sublime, though conceivable to Victor is certainly not something he will accomplish for his creation. Further to this point, in his essay, Edmund Burke remarks that '[t]here are two sorts of societies. The first is, the society of sex. The passion belonging to this is called love . its object is the beauty of women' (Enquiry, p.85). By including the feminine in what is beautiful, Burke is omitting the feminine from what is sublime.

It will be beneficial to begin an analysis of the psychology of the sublime in Frankenstein by considering the areas of Burke's essay that suggest that the sublime resides in the mind as well as the natural. An interesting starting point can be found in Burke's suggestion that a 'clear idea is therefore another name for a little idea' (Enquiry, p.108). The greatness of the sublime, for Burke, is certainly the lack of clarity with which the object is perceived. This essay began by stating that Shelley's monster, as a symbol of ambiguity, has conjured several meanings for several critics. This grand ambiguity conjures unclear meanings for the reader but this is also true for Victor Frankenstein. 'The passions belonging to self-preservation are the strongest of all the passions' (Enquiry, p.85). Burke's idea of self-preservation certainly resides in the mind, as the self can surely be viewed as another word for the ego.

Throughout Victor's wanderings in Europe he is shadowed by the monster so it can be argued that Victor was unknowingly being pursued. As he does not know he is being pursued, the passions cannot be stirred that find their source in self-preservation. Shelley, instead of self-preservation, places her sublime terror so close to Victor that he cannot enjoy any safe distance from his sublime creation. The precariousness of Victor's situation can further find elements from Burke's essay as he suggests that '[w]hen danger or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving any delight, and are simply terrible; but at certain distances . they are delightful' (Enquiry, p. 60). It can be argued that Shelley never allows her protagonist the safe distance that Burke is suggesting here.

The backdrop to which the story of Frankenstein is set can be found in the ambitions of both Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein to seek immortality among their fellow man. The suggestion that this also relates to Burke's essay can be found in the lines, '[b]ut let it be considered that hardly any thing can strike the mind with greatness, which does not make some sort of approach towards infinity' (Enquiry, p. 107). For the male characters, this greatness is found in the unknown as Walton's desire is to discover a new land and Victor's desire is to break scientific boundaries. Therefore, it can be argued that the origins of these desires reside in the mind of the protagonists. Much criticism on Frankenstein has greatly detailed the psychoanalytical subtext of the novel but I wish to consider the psychology of Victor Frankenstein within the confines of the sublime. David Collings develops a sound argument for an anticipation, by Shelley, of Lacanian theory. For the purposes of this essay I wish to consider Collings' observation that 'there is the domain of rivalry between Victor and his creature, resembling Lacan's Imaginary order', in more detail.

The action of the text sees both Victor and the monster in perpetual solitude, and there is an interesting link to their relationship here. Upon realising his creation, Victor 'rushed out of the room' (Frankenstein, P.61) and this is the first instance of fleeing that occurs. This behaviour can also be traced to Burke's essay as the lines before Victor's flight describe what he beholds, he says 'the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart' (Frankenstein, P.61). Burke suggests that the strongest passion relating to the sublime 'is Astonishment; and astonishment is that state of the soul, in which all its motion are suspended, with some degree of horror' (Enquiry, p.96). It is clear that the beauty that Victor was anticipating evolves into horror, but astonishment for Victor cannot be experienced because there is no safe distance to behold this sublime creation.

Victor initially flees from his creation, he is then pursued through Europe until there is an interesting transition in chapter twenty. The descri ption from this chapter offers particular insight into the psychological relationship between Victor and his creation. Having refused the monster his bride, Victor resorts to physical violence for the first time, 'I started forward, and exclaimed, "Villain! before you sign my death warrant, be sure that you are yourself safe." I would have seized him; but he eluded me' (Frankenstein, P.146). This extract demonstrates that once Victor has contemplated what he may have inflicted on mankind, and what the world would think of him, his ego turns on that which would diminish it; not unlike the self-preservation that Burke promotes.