Comparing Frankenstein And Death Of Sardanapalus

In an ideal world, there would be no difficult decisions to be made, but in reality, what we so earnestly desire often clashes with the moral laws within us and the starry heavens above us. It is the impact of such important decisions which is explored in both Mary Shelley’s didactic text Frankenstein and Eugene Delacroix’s controversial oil painting Death of Sardanapalus. Frankenstein warns against decisions made without moral contemplation but more interestingly explores the morally enhancing effects of nature and the role of God in an individual’s fate while the painting also examines the immoral decisions made by those in power.

Death of Sardanapalus is based off the Romantic poet, John Keats’s tragic story of the Assyrian leader, Sardanapalus,

Through the depiction of the ruler in his uninterested gaze and apathetic body language, Delacroix’s anti-hero allows him to explore the

Based on Pantheist values which emphasise the unity between man, God and nature, Shelley warns against excessive ambition unchecked by a moral compass through the introduction of the motif of light when Frankenstein notes “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world” foreshadowing the dangers of tampering with God’s right to create. Furthermore, Shelley explores how Frankenstein’s ignorance of nature catalyses his moral corruption through the unnatural imagery in his nightmare “Delighted, I embraced Elizabeth, but I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of flannel” employing the vivid human imagination to emphasise the dangers of disconnection from nature. Indeed, in line with the Romantics awe of nature, it is only through solitude in nature whereby Frankenstein regains his compassion, moral boundaries and mental stability explored through “It was a divine spring; and the seasons contributed greatly to my convalescence … and in a short time I became as cheerful as before I was attacked by the fatal passion”. This was a notion supported by Romantic philosopher William Wordsworth who encourages “Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher”. Ultimately, Shelley