Drawing Connections

Although it may not be noticeable at first, in her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley carefully crafts her novel through the inclusion of excerpts of other literary works in her own. By doing this she successfully creates a connection between the two literary works meanings, and a connection between the reader and comprehension of the novel as well.

One of her most significant displays of intertextuality is seen when she incorporates a part of Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey in her own novel, simply changing it to the third person. This is included towards the close of chapter 18, when Victor is describing his beloved friend Henry Clerval as Clerval accompanies him on a trip to England. The excerpt included reads:

“The sounding cataract

Haunted him like a passion: the tall rock,

The mountain, and the deep gloomy wood,

Their colours and their forms, were then to him

And appetite; a feeling and a love,

That had no need of a remoter charm,

By thought supplied, nor any interest

Unborrow’d from the eye.”

In Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth is essentially in the process of relating two different aspects of himself: his past self and his present self when visiting Tintern Abbey. This process is both internal and external: combining the elements of nature and his personal feelings to speak for the transcendent sense of emotions that consume him. This specific excerpt refers to Wordsworth in the days of his youth, his days of an ardent love for nature, and his days of effusive admiration for the towering mountains, verdant lands, and rushing streams that characterized his visits to Tintern Abbey five years before the present time. This identical excerpt is used in Frankenstein to describe Henry Clerval, longtime companion of the severely conflicted Victor Frankenstein.

My theory for why Shelley included this particular passage from the poem lies within the idea that Shelley desired to portray the sharp contrast between Victor and Clerval, although their basic seeds of thought were essentially the same. Even as Victor begins to expand upon Henry he exclaims, “Alas, how great was the contrast between us” (Shelley 138). As Clerval, similar to Wordsworth in his youth, observes nature and the scenery with interest and delight, Victor is too preoccupied with the haunting thoughts of the creature’s request to appreciate what Clerval can fully take in. The contrast is so apparent – although both Clerval and Victor had started with a passion for ingenious thought and discovery they turned in two opposite directions. Henry represents something alive and lively, similar to the deafening sound of a cataract. Similar to various colors, feelings, and forms just like the excerpt in Wordsworth’s essay. On the opposite spectrum, Victor was, in essence, lost and gone, troubled by a curse that barred any opportunities of pleasure.

This excerpt immediately draws a parallel between Henry and Victor, and makes Henry a foil character. Henry sees nature as an appetite, a feeling and a love – he respects natural beauty in a way Victor does not. Victor represents the sharp contrast in his obvious attempts to manipulate nature through the application of science. When Victor uses these words to describe Henry, he is essentially commenting on Henry’s ability to appreciate what Victor felt the need to tamper with. Perhaps Victor, because he is actually telling this story after Clerval has already died, feels the need to include these words to emphasize the deep or hidden guilt he felt because something he created led to the destruction of his best friend. This subtle emotion seems to echo throughout the elongated description of Henry Clerval.

I definitely understand why Shelley chose that excerpt to include in her own novel. It successfully draws a parallel between minor character Clerval and major character Victor and illuminates the peculiar qualities that set Victor apart from the norm. I found this a strategic way to draw literary works together, and place them in a way the feelings and thoughts of one easily allow for the flow and characterization of the other.