o the wild sea and unvisited regionns I am about to explore." This statement is the veryessence of one of the many facets of Romanticism; it contains a yearnning to search for theunknown, coupled with a lure of dangerous oceans and unexplored regionns, plus apassionate response to a new challenge, and finally, it mentions the now-famous albatrossfrom Colleridge's "Ancient Mariner." This inspiration of Walton will again be reminiscentof Victor Frankenstein when he desires to create life, because this "god-like" desirecontains a concept so lofty and mighty as to awe one. "No one can concieve the variety offeelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiaasm of success. Lifeand death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour atorrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator andsource; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me." Walton expresses in his letters his bouts of solitude; he is extremely lonely because hehas nno friend with whom he can share his Romantic visions nor with whom he can sharehis enthusiastic response to life. This loneliness will also be felt by Frankenstein when heleaves his home and enrolls at the University of Ingolstadt. He will find no other collegueswho are interested in his Romantic pursuits. Solitude is, therefore, one of the strongcharacteristics of the Romantic inclination; numerous odes were written to-and about-solitude, including the forementioned "Ancient Mariner," a recurring reference in thenovel. Other ideas for Shelley's novel arose in the summer of 1816 when she stayed at LordByron's villa in Geneva, Switzerland. Utilizing sources that she had been reading andstudying, Shelley incorporated two in particular, one being The Metamorphoses by Ovid. It is belived that Mary studied Ovid in April and May of 1815. The major element thatOvid supplied to the theme of Frankenstein was his pres...
