The Rime of Frankenstein: Tracing the Albatross and the Mariner in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Abstract

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a 19th century novel by Mary Shelley, which, over
the years, made its way from the Gothic narratives to mainstream Romantic discourses and
continues to be evoked in modern contexts, usually in reference to man's inventions, knowledge,
powers, etc. One important theme of the text is a sense of guilt shared equally by both the Creator
and the Creation and Mary Shelley often uses the image of the Albatross and the Mariner from
Coleridge’s 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ to evoke these ideas of guilt and regret. My paper
tries to trace the Albatross and the Mariner in Frankenstein and establish the ultimate sin to be
Victor Frankenstein’s willingness to compromise on the quality of his work right from the first day
of its conception, having killed the albatross before it began to chase.