In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley's imagery involving nature is particularly compelling. Throughout the tale, she almost exclusively depicts nature as a wonderful and beautiful part of the story. The only portions of the text in which nature is not appreciated and reveled in by the characters are the portions in which Victor Frankenstein is engaged in the defiance of nature, the creation of the monster, and later, the beginnings of the second creation.

The two most compelling instances of Shelley's use of the beauty of nature occurred in Chapters 10 and 18. On p.96, Frankenstein describes the Montanvert as "...sublime and magnificent scenes...", and later lauds the "...unstained snowy mountaintop, the glittering pinnacle...". In chapter 18, Frankenstein describes his voyage down the Rhine River. "During this voyage, we passed many willowy islands, and saw...beautiful towns...the course of the Rhine below Mayence becomes much more picturesque." (p.154-5) All of this narration takes place when Frankenstein is in the depths of misery, yet still he sees the majesty of nature.

While Frankenstein's tale of the creation of the monster does not depict the ills of nature, he does state that "...I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves--sights which before always yielded me supreme delight..." (p.56) In the aborted creation of the female monster, however, the images or his workplace are unmistakably harsh. "It was a place fitted for such a work, being hardly more than a rock...The soil was barren...and even fresh water...was about five miles distant," (p.163) relates Victor Frankenstein.

The overwhelming majority of the scenery in Frankenstein pictures the beauty and magnificence of nature and other natural creations, including man. When the tale turns to unnatural creation, however, is when the dark side of nature is seen.

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