Frankenstein and Mont Blanc
The poem Mont Blanc by Percy Shelly and the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly have many similarities, one of these being the major theme of the sublime. In Mont Blanc the speaker talks about how awesome the sight of Mont Blanc is. The sight of it inspires him, just as the sight of the lightning striking the oak tree inspired Victor to take an interest in science.
Both of these works have examples of using the sublime as an escape from reality. In Frankenstein Victor takes a vacation to go and visit the Alps (conveniently where Mont Blanc is also located) when he feels life is getting overwhelming. The same applies to the speaker in Percy Shelly’s poem. The speaker talks about how “Power dwells apart in its tranquility, remote, serene, and inaccessible” (P. Shelley 4. 96-97). This shows that the speaker feels a welcomed sense of isolation when observing Mont Blanc, which seems to calm him. The speaker also explains that he uses the awesome sight of the mountain “to muse on my own separate fantasy, my own, my human mind” (2. 36-37). This shows that the speaker also sees Mont Blanc as way to boost creativity, and to retreat within his own mind.
These two works are also connected in a straightforward way. Mont Blanc is in the Alps, where Victor visits. This means that both Victor and the speaker in Percy Shelly’s poem are seeing the same sublime sight. The poem Mont Blanc could be a description of Victor’s thoughts as he observes the Alps.
Both of these works have examples of using the sublime as an escape from reality. In Frankenstein Victor takes a vacation to go and visit the Alps (conveniently where Mont Blanc is also located) when he feels life is getting overwhelming. The same applies to the speaker in Percy Shelly’s poem. The speaker talks about how “Power dwells apart in its tranquility, remote, serene, and inaccessible” (P. Shelley 4. 96-97). This shows that the speaker feels a welcomed sense of isolation when observing Mont Blanc, which seems to calm him. The speaker also explains that he uses the awesome sight of the mountain “to muse on my own separate fantasy, my own, my human mind” (2. 36-37). This shows that the speaker also sees Mont Blanc as way to boost creativity, and to retreat within his own mind.
These two works are also connected in a straightforward way. Mont Blanc is in the Alps, where Victor visits. This means that both Victor and the speaker in Percy Shelly’s poem are seeing the same sublime sight. The poem Mont Blanc could be a description of Victor’s thoughts as he observes the Alps.