19th-Century Heroism
The Romantic Hero, much like the Byronic Hero, is at odds with society. The difference is that the Romantic hero is portrayed as completely alone, while a Byronic hero can be part of a group - such as Joaquin Murieta and his group of bandits. These individuals live off of a code of natural law. Natural law means, "Natural law and natural rights follow from the nature of man and the world. We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state" (Donald). With this code that they live by the Romantic hero is shown as a leader - whether they are on the side of the law or going against the law! They lead themselves or others (followers) on quests to reach a higher goal. This goal could be finding something they want or finding someone they are looking. It all depends on the quest and the hero. A few characteristics that a Romantic hero has are: they are introspective, brooding about sense of purpose, fights for what they believe, and they are misunderstood.
The Romantic Hero
Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein!
Another version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein cover!
A few different portrayals of Frankenstein's monster over the years!
Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein!
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most influential novels that has ever been created. This is mainly because it changed the landscape of what it meant for a novel to be labeled, "horror fiction." Now, to many readers the hero of this story would probably be Dr. Victor Frankenstein - however, we will be going against that assumption by saying that Frankenstein's monster is the true hero. This is very easily seen because "the monster" is created against his will and left to fend for himself when his creator - Dr. Frankenstein - runs out screaming following his monster's creation. This leads "the monster" to retreat into the mountains to live in exile. Yet, it turns out that he is not alone as he comes across the home of an exiled family. "The monster" becomes obsessed with this family and teaches himself how to speak and read so that he can communicate with the family. However, when he finally introduces himself to them, they do not react positively which causes "the monster" to flee. "The monster" than kills Dr. Frankenstein's youngest brother William. "The monster" has done this in order to force Dr. Frankenstein to return so that he can tell Frankenstein about his adventures and ask for the doctor to create a person for him to love. Frankenstein rejects the idea which thus causes "the monster" to react by taking away the woman that Dr. Frankenstein loves, Elizabeth, for revenge. This may not sound like the makings of a Romantic Hero but the characteristics are all there.
Frankenstein's monster was actually created due to a dream that Shelley had. "On 6 March 1815, the seventeen-year-old Mary Godwin lost her first child, a daughter, who like Frankenstein's creature had no name: she had not lived long enough to have one" (Shelley). I believe that through this book, we are seeing a hauntingly honest insight into one of Shelley's worst nightmares. This makes me believe that Frankenstein created his monster in order to make up for a lost love one that he might have had - just as Shelley wishes she could do to bring back her lost daughter. With this background, it makes our argument about Frankenstein's "monster" being the hero figure even stronger. Shelley must have written the character in the vision of her unborn daughter, as the monster's sole objective in life was to find someone to love and respect it. It gives this horror book a sense of realism and an eerie version of Shelley's inner most demons - making the story even more haunting.
"I swear to you, by the earth which I inhabit, and by you that made me, that with the companion you bestow I will quit the neighbourhood of man and dwell, as it may chance, in the most savage of places. My evil passions will have fled, for I shall meet with sympathy! My life will flow quietly away, and in my dying moments I shall not curse my maker" (Shelley, Chpt. 17)
--- This is the perfect quote to show that Frankenstein's monster was not as bad as Dr. Frankenstein thought him to be. "The monster" literally tells the doctor that he will vanish from the public eye for the rest of eternity if the doctor made him a companion. "The monster" just wants to have a purpose in life and he feels that having a companion to love and live with would give him the greatest sense of purpose that he could ever imagine. It is clear that had the doctor given "the monster" a companion that all the death and destruction at the end of the book would have never happened. "The monster" simply is fighting for what he wants and getting revenge on the doctor for being selfish and bullish by not allowing him to have a companion. ---
"My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine" (Shelley, Chpt. 24).
--- This is another great quote that shows "the monster" only wants to be loved. He knows that the rest of the world just looks at his disfigured body and assumes the worst. He longed to have companionship ever since he was up in the mountains in exile and saw the family. Doctor Frankenstein takes this dream away from him when he denies him access to the companionship that he craves. It is the doctor's fault that "the monster" turned out that way - thus showing just how much of a villain the doctor truly was. ---
"I beheld the wretch — the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life" (Shelley, Chpt. 5).
--- This is the moment following "the monster" being created. Frankenstein is scared of the creature he just made and runs out, leaving "the monster" alone. This is the moment where "the monster" is forced to learn to live in this unfamiliar and unknown world. He flees to the mountains in exile and teaches himself how to read, write, and speak. All he ever wanted was someone to love and respect him - pretty much was wanting what his creator had not given him. Frankenstein loathed and feared his monster from the second he created him, when all his monster wanted was for the doctor to love him. ---
Frederick Douglass's Narrative is the home of our final hero. This is one of the easier texts to analyze as the hero and villain are very clearly contextualized. "The slave" - who is never given a name - is re-telling his time working for Mr. Covey. We can tell from the very beginning of this story that Mr. Covey is the antagonist. "The slave" says that within the first week of him working for Mr. Covey that he bled from such a savage back lashing at the hands of Covey. "The slave" gets mistreated by Mr. Covey on multiple occasions (getting stripped naked and whipped & being beaten with a hickory slat). It gets to the point where "the slave" decides to take action and fight back against Covey (the law) and thus is where we find the true heroic characteristics that he possesses.
"The slave" clearly shows throughout the story that he pursues justice over his pursuit of the law. In doing so he also shows that he follows the code of natural law that I spoke of at the top of this page. He believes in our right to be able to defend ourselves from opposing figures. This characteristic goes hand-in-hand with another of the characteristics - "fighting for what they believe."
Now what makes this character truly amazing is that fact that "the slave" was actually Douglass himself. In research of this character I read more of Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and found that it was indeed an autobiography of Douglass's life. This means that it is really Frederick Douglass that is the Romantic hero in this story. It is only fitting as Douglass is one of the most influential writers from the Romanticism Era of Literature. Later on in the same chapter following the story we read in class Douglass describes Covey as such, "Mr. Covey, as I have shown, was a well-trained negro-breaker and slave-driver" (Douglass). As we can tell, Douglass thinks very little of Covey - as he should.
Douglass wrote many novels about slavery (Narrative, The Heroic Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom). All of which had the protagonist being the hero of the story, although in Narrative it is himself he is talking about. Douglass was the first to really write about slavery and gain recognition for it. What is even more impressive is that he managed to do this in a time where the views on slavery were much more swayed toward being accepted. In this regard, Douglass falls under the characteristic of a hero where he goes against the "law" (those who supported slavery) and pursued justice (allowing his readers to see his personal struggles and the struggles of his characters). It is also more than clear to see that Douglass fought for what he believed in and from his writings we can see that he too followed the Natural Code talked about above.
“Abolition of slavery had been the deepest desire and the great labor of my life” (Douglass, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass).
--- This quote shows just how much Douglass despised slavery. He made it his life's mission to bring the abolition of slavery. He did this by bringing awareness to the cruelties that he faced in slavery and through the characters of his books. As stated above, most of Douglass's books were about slavery and the rise of the slave as the hero. It allowed him to show people the issue of slavery in a different light and made them see just how unjust and wrong it truly was. ---
“By depriving us of suffrage, you affirm our incapacity to form an intelligent judgment respecting public men and public measures; you declare before the world that we are unfit to exercise the elective franchise, and by this means lead us to undervalue ourselves, to put a low estimate upon ourselves, and to feel that we have no possibilities like other men” (Douglass, What The Black Man Wants).
--- This was from one of Douglass's famous speeches. He is calling out "the whites" by informing them that it is because of their actions that "the black man" is looked down upon. He basically says that if the "the white man" treated "the black man" with more respect and equality than "the black man" would learn to value themselves and thus would help them to feel more equal and successful. He fought hard for the rights of black people and was a very influential person in future movements. ---
"...he ordered me to take off my clothes. I made him no answer, but stood with my clothes on. He repeated his order. I still made him no answer, nor did I move to strip myself" (Douglass, Narrative)
--- This shows Douglass's ("the slave") thoughts on Natural Law because he was defending himself against an unjust and hateful command. He knew that by disobeying that it would cause problems but he stood his ground because he knew it was the right thing to do and that what Mr. Covey was asking for was wrong. ---