All things have a creator. Good or evil, deity or science, something has created this known world. The law of Conservation of Energy states that "energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another" (Energy 1). What creates must have the energy with which to build. It must have power. Power may give life or take it away. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, power is one of the key roles in this turbulent novel. Frankenstein depicts a power struggle between light and dark, right and wrong, good and evil, and creator and created. Lightning is the creator and the destructor; lightning is life, and the power with which it rules.
Lightning, like all things in nature, must have a greater purpose. All of nature's creations have some ulterior task than that of pleasing the eye. A task beyond lighting the dark. Lightning is power. Lightning portrays the power of the builder, killer, and life-giver. With one strike it can kill, yet a forest needs a fire to grow more vegetation. Lightning, in all its senses, is godlike. Roger Mais, in his book Black Lightning says the title is "to [be]... used... in the traditional African sense [as] the 'negative-or visual imprint-of the blinding face of god'" (Brothwaite). Lightning is the face of power shown to weak humans, a taste of the greatness forever beyond their reach. The "massive electrostatic discharge" (Lightning) that is lightning contains a colossal amount of energy; quite literally vast amounts of power. Humans may fear what they do not know, but it soon gives way to an insatiable need to conquer the new force. "[Frankenstein] saw the lightning playing on the summit... in the most beautiful figures," (Shelley 7) beautiful, yet unattainable. "Beautiful yet terrific" (7) describes lightning; something to be coveted yet remain an untamable power unto its own. So it is with humans and power. Men do not just yearn for "vivid flashes of lightning dazzl[ing] [the] eyes," (7) they lust for the power behind the tempest. The 'ring of power' in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien symbolises power in itself, and it is said "the ring of power has a mind of its own" (Tolkien). Power has a set of rules all for itself, it is greedy and will squash all opposition in its path. Overcome by greed, humans may make rash decisions based on a desire for power. Even with good intentions, morals can be set to the side in the face of intense ambition. "Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars," (Tolkien) although power is not a bad thing in and of itself, it may push aside important factors of one's personality to make way for itself. Unless one's morals are firmly rooted and matured, power can corrupt all but the strongest of minds. By himself, Frankenstein is a good, honourable man. Having a happy childhood, he grows up in a 'perfect life' without many hardships. When his ambition and thirst for power takes hold, however, it consumes him; "[his] cheek [grows] pale with study, and [his] person [becomes] emaciated with confinement" (Shelley 4). When power takes hold, it is hard to uproot, and even harder to let others take. Walking by where William is found to be dead, Frankenstein comes across the monster for the first time since that fateful night in his laboratory with the storm pattering on outside. This encounter, and the knowledge of William's murderer it brings, sets the stage with its flashing backdrop for many more confrontations between the two. Sparking the power struggle. The fight between man and beast deciding who is right, who is good, and who has the power. On the night of Frankenstein's wedding depicts another power struggle. The monster is infuriated with Frankenstein for ditching the female creature. In a bid for revenge, the monster kills Elizabeth while showing Frankenstein that there will be consequences for refusal. Lightning is power, literally and metaphorically. It causes death, and the death of rational thought.
Lightning is death. A symbol of ominous fate to come. Lightning as "the blinding face of god" (Brathwaite) can be linked to Hermes, the Greek Messenger god. Although Hermes is the patron god, his other job entails conducting dead souls to the Underworld and to their sentencing. This further links lightning to death as lightning is godlike and the gods control death, and one's fate thereafter. Throughout the duration of Frankenstein, the word 'lightning' is directly stated five times. Three of which happen as Frankenstein walks through Plainpalais and near Mont Blanc; the instance in which he becomes assured of the "wretch... be[ing] the murderer of [his] brother" (Shelley 7). The appearance of lightning heralds the coming of death and despair. Despair, anger, and horrible loss permeate the air as "[the monster] seem[s] to jeer... as he point[s] to the corpse of [Frankenstein's] wife. [Frankenstein] draw[s] a pistol... fire[s]; but [the monster] elude[s] [him], leap[s] from his station, and running with the swiftness of lightning, plunge[s] into the lake" (23). Lightning, here, is used as a metaphor for how the monster escapes. Lightning allows death. With his power and speed, the monster is able to kill Elizabeth. Due to the creature's speed, or 'lightning swiftness', Frankenstein feels ever worse. He is not able to kill the "hideous and abhorred" (23) fiend to revenge his wife who took his childhood happiness with her. Life and death, often, go hand in hand. So maybe, there is more to lightning than simple destruction. Lightning is comprised of electricity of an unimaginable magnitude. As the Bakken Museum demonstrates, electricity is life. Electricity can animate the dead. Electricity, most probably, animates the creature as "[Frankenstein] might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at [his] feet" (5) mayhap is referring at least partially to electricity. As Frankenstein says, "to examine the causes of life, [one] must first have recourse to death" (4). Lightning grants animation, life. But beware the sands it blows, for lightning also brings death.
Lightning is life. It is rebirth. It harnesses the power it possesses to bring new. It harnesses its power that creates and destroys, but in the end, only turns the wheels of time. A forest fire paves the way for new life. Without decay, there can be no new life. The old must go for the new to come. Lightning is fire. It causes death and rebirth. Forest fires eat away the casings of seeds, so from the ashes a new era will rise. Forests need fires to grow. There will be casualties, but without loss the gain can not come. Like lightning strikes a dead tree and sparks the flames of reform, so does the mind flourish when the temptation of power leaves. James Allen said "Passion in all its forms is a mental thirst, a fever, a torturing unrest. As a fire consumes a magnificent building, reducing it to a heap of unsightly ashes, so are men consumed by the flames of passions, and their deeds and works fall and perish," which parallels closely to Frankenstein. Frankenstein, the flames of ambition and power nipping at his heels, creates a monster. "Now that [he] ha[s] finished, the beauty of the dream vanishe[s], and breathless horror and disgust [fill] [his] heart," (Shelley 35) as James Allen says, works driven by a thirst for power will "fall and perish". Frankenstein's sole ambition is the quest for fame and power, which, ultimately, destroys him and drives his creation to be that of horror. A phoenix must burn before being born anew. Younger, stronger, better, but new and different. Many instances where lightning is used in Frankenstein, death is needed to move on. William and Elizabeth's deaths mark the passing of Frankenstein's childhood. They mark the passage from carefree young boy to worldly man. Although the process is not smooth, Frankenstein grows from it. At first, Frankenstein is solely occupied with making his creature, it consumes his every waking moment as he obsesses over it. Later, however, he says to Walton he "will not lead [Walton] on, unguarded and ardent as [Frankenstein] then was, to [Walton's] destruction and infallible misery" (4). Admitting his was the wrong path to take depicts that Frankenstein has indeed grown from the power-hungry, impressionable young man he once was. Although lightning causes death and despondency, these things, however unpleasant, are sometimes necessary. Ruins must be burnt away before the new can take their place.
As objectionable as hardships are, they truly do let one grow. Like lightning lets a forest be burnt only to grow again, humans learn from trials and are better for them. To hold sway over such great matters, one must have immense power. Lightning possesses this power. Power both physical and metaphysical. It can cause death, but rebirth follows soon after. In Frankenstein lightning is used as a way to communicate a sense of foreboding, often culminating in death. Casting an ominous shadow over surrounding passages, lightning is a symbol for gloomy days, but with a flash it can light back up with new promises and paths to take. Everything in this world has a purpose greater than what appears on the surface. Lightning symbolizes the power beyond any mortal's reach. A power only able to be achieved by gods, who rule the fate of men. Gods give life as well, breathing life into newborns. Electricity represents the gods with their awe-inducing beauty and all-mighty power. Electricity can give animation to a lifeless being, perhaps not true life, but close enough for human brains. Lightning truly is a power to be reckoned with; a power in itself, it causes death and rebirth. With one comes the other, and yet humans refuse to acknowledge this. They attempt the impossible; to control fate. But playing with fire will only burn.
Works Cited
Brathwaite, Kamau. Roger Mais. Rep. Vol. 125. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993. Dictionary of Literary Biography. Cengage Learning. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.
"Energy Cannot Naturally Be Created or Destroyed." Energy Cannot Naturally Be Created or Destroyed. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.
"Find the Famous Quotes You Need, Quotations." . ThinkExist, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.
"Lightning." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Bookbyte Digital ed. N.p.: n.p., 1818. Electronic.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. Print.