The Ancient Mariner and Victor Frankenstein: Morality, Socialization, Action and Responsibility

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Recommended: Narrative technique in Frankenstein

Mary Shelley, in her novel Frankenstein mentions Coleridge’s poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in several instances, undoubtedly connecting her character, Victor Frankenstein, to the character of the Ancient Mariner. There are several critics, such as Michelle Levy and Sarah Goodwin, who support the idea that Frankenstein and the Mariner share a common background. Enough so, that Shelley’s mention of the Mariner in her novel is acceptable. This is true in some ways regarding their tragic backgrounds and how both characters end up confessing their actions to others. However, Frankenstein and the Mariner have many differences when it comes down to how they ended up in their tragic situations and even what means to an end they hope to achieve by sharing their tragic stories. The biggest differences being, knowledge of what could come from their actions, and how they accept the responsibility of the deaths they caused. Shelley was undoubtedly influenced by Coleridge’s poem and while her use of the poem in her novel is interesting, and the notion of comparing the action of confession and equal lack of social “belongingness” between Frankenstein and the Mariner are comparable, the two characters run the risk of being too different to compare when thought about in depth.
From several character analyses, a popular subject to write about during the time of “The Ancient Mariner” and Frankenstein was the effect of colonization and the search for knowledge as well as what effect new lands had on one’s psychological health and the effect of these ventures on social relationships with family and friends. Both Shelley and Coleridge were “vociferously opposed to unregulated and irresponsible venturing into the unknown in the real world. A...

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...els. London: Penguin, 1986. 259-497. Print.
Fletcher, Mary D. "Carson McCullers' "Ancient Mariner"" The South Central Bulletin 35.4 (1975): 123- 25. JSTOR. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. .
Goodwin, Sarah W. "Domesticity and Uncanny Kitsch in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Frankenstein." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 10.1 (1991): 93- 108.JSTOR. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/463954?origin=JSTOR-pdf>.
Guyer, Sara. "Testimony and Trope in Frankenstein." Studies in Romanticism 45.1 (2006): 77- 115. JSTOR. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .
Levy, Michelle. "Discovery and the domestic affections in Coleridge and Shelley." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 44.4 (2004): 693+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.

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