Frankenstein and "Tintern Abbey"

I thought that the allusion to “Tintern Abbey” in Frankenstein is actually very significant. Shelley makes this reference to Wordsworth’s poem after the monster meets Victor and tells him his story. Alienated and lonely, the monster demands that Victor create him a female companion otherwise he will wreak havoc and destruction upon the world. Fearing the worst, Victor sets to work on the monster and goes to London with his dear friend Clerval. Shelley seeks to highlight the contrasting attitudes of the two friends in London with the inclusion of “Tintern Abbey.”

In “Tintern Abbey,” the speaker has almost three selves, each respectively representing the past, the present, or the future. When the speaker is younger, nature is “all in all” for him, and, as a boy, the speaker finds great pleasure and joy in being with nature. In fact, the speaker ponders memories in which he needed nothing but nature and could genuinely and fully appreciate nature. While he no longer has that same boyish love, he sees some new young appreciation in his sister, his friend. The two people in ‘Tintern Abbey” are significant in Frankenstein because they parallel Victor and Clerval.

First of all, both works show the main element of Romanticism, the love of nature. Clerval is actually very representative of the speaker when he is younger. Clerval, like the speaker, almost has an appetite for nature and simply revels in the joy of being with nature. Thus, the poem highlights Clerval’s passion for nature. By including a poem, the emotions of the speaker become reflected in Clerval. But then, just as the older speaker differs from his younger self, Victor differs from Clerval. Although Victor isn’t physically older than Clerval, Victor is mentally older because he has gone to college and has definitely experienced the darker aspects of life. While Victor does appreciate nature, he doesn’t love it with the same passion that Clerval does. By making the parallels and connections between the two poems, I see how Victor’s burdens make him so different from the inexperienced Clerval. Victor actually can understand the “still, sad music of humanity.” Perhaps then, Shelley is criticizing experience and the darker aspects associate with it. I also thought that Clerval could then be a parallel to the younger sister. Victor actually finds delight in his Clerval’s joy in the same way that he old speaker that his sister has a passion for nature in its beauty. Then, the poem also acts as a way to characterize both Victor and Clerval and show some of the evils of age and knowledge.

I also had a few questions about Frankenstein—Is the monster evil? Or is he just a product of Victor’s own evil? What really is the significance of the blind man? Is the blind man, in fact, the only own that’s not blind to the monster’s goodness? In addition, how then does the misery of the De Lacey family affect the monster? This book really makes me think about the responsibility of own’s actions and the meaning of a higher being.