In Chapter 10, to what extent is nature a key point?

Nature holds a key part in this chapter, as Victor once again seeks comfort from it and relieves his grief and calamities by being at one with the natural surroundings of Mount Blanc. The romantic theme of this chapter demonstrates the popular movement existing in the 18^th and 19^th century, when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Romanticism celebrated nature rather than civilisation and focused on the effects of nature, this is relevant particularly in this chapter as Victor seeks solace by climbing the ‘tremendous’ Mount Blanc. ‘It had then filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul’. As we have seen throughout the novel so far Victor temporarily forgets his sorrows when surrounded by nature and presents this feeling of overwhelm and awe at the beauty and grand scale of nature. His love for nature and the relief that comes with it is emphasised the positive language Victor uses in relation to nature, 'tremendous' 'awful and magnificent'. Mary Shelley’s emphasis on the romantic elements of nature comes as little surprise, as she was acquainted with some of the greatest romantic poets of her time, for example Wordsworth. Moreover within the novel nature is perceived as the highest immutable power, above that of mankind and the struggles in society. In chapter 10, both Frankenstein and the monster seek the power of nature to forget the erratic humane troubles that they are faced with, highlighting the romantic within Mary Shelley and more subtly her criticisms of society.