Question

What is the effect of the choice of frozen landscape such as the north pole in the swiss alps in Settings in Frankenstein?

Answer 1

Answer:

The choice of a frozen landscape has two important interpretations:

- It is meant as a symbolic representation of the feelings of loneliness of the monster the doctor creates, and perhaps the doctor's aswell. The monster feels alienated and longs for love, but all he knows is cold rejection. His life is limited by strong boundaries (like ice) that he can only avoid.

- It is a symbol of the consequences of the pursuit of knowledge. The path of knowledge can also be associated with the North Pole landscape, since the extreme conditions resemble the doctor's extreme, life threatening- sientific curiosity. In the book the doctor is lost, his life may be in danger and he is alone, deprived from the warmth of company. The extreme conditions of the North Pole could mirror these feelings/experiences.