Two hundred years ago, Romantic and Gothic themes were popular in literature. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein artistically displays both of those qualities in her book. With emphasis on nature, the idea of the noble savage, and the darkness of the corrupt human mind, Shelly masterfully ties this timeless book together.
One characterstic of the Romantic Period is the concept of the noble savage, the idea that man is essentially good and the evil that he learns is because of actions in society. The once carefree creature in Frankenstein is warped into becoming hateful because of how society treated him. The transition from the innocent creature to the un-dead monster that seeks total revenge is rough. Upon creation, the creature says "the gentle manners and beauty" (79) of the humans "greatly endeared to me" (79). Having the mindset of a child, the creature automaticelly assumes that he is equal to other men and that their acceptance of him should be natural. His interaction with the man in the hut quickly teaches him rejection: "He turned on seeing the noise, and percieving me, shriekd loudly, and quitting the hut, ran acruss the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly capable" (73). He later states that "I longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures" (80), but he still doesn't understand that his appearance keeps him from doing so. As thec reature's interactions with man continue, he soon realizes that he is an outcast in human society and is destined to be alone. When he sees that drowning girl, his instincts take over and he saves her. The girl's father, upon seeing the creature "aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired" (101). The crature's feelings then turn from being caring and curious about other humans to a "hellish rage and gnashing of teeth" (101). At this point, he "[vowes] enternal rage and vengeance to all mankind" (101).
