As argued by the romantics, the sublime is a combination of both awe and the looming possibility of danger. I believe this sublime actually becomes dangerous when one attempts to disrupt the order of the natural world. When in such a vulnerable position, nature fights back.
Such disruption of the natural world is seen in Frankenstein and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde where scientists Victor and Jekyll perform experiments to change the existing scientific limits and structures of the universe. Victor experiments supposedly in search of scientific glory; Jekyll believes he has identified and must change "the curse of mankind" (Stevenson 75).
In each, the scientists also disrupt the natural order of the world by creating a new form of species which, as argued by Mellor, "eliminate[s] the female's primary biological function and source of cultural power" (Mellor 355) and is the is the “engage[ment] upon a rape of nature”--a feminine form of life. In doing so, this active disruption of the feminine identity provokes the dangerous side within it to fight back. If, as Mellor argues and Victor argue ("I pursued nature to her hiding places”), nature is female, then the sublimity of nature in both these stories also characterizes a sublime female. Both nature and the female are capable of danger and monstrosity once disrupted.
In the stories, the female is portrayed as monstrous in various ways:
- Man creates artificial and monstrous creations when attempting to transcend the sublimity of nature and control female sexuality. These products are then reflections of their creator (quite literally, in the case of Jekyll and Hyde), where the creator becomes the monster themselves.
- Nature--a feminine force--"fights back" against the creators: in Frankenstein, Elizabeth dies and Victor’s health deteriorates, and in Jekyll and Hyde, Jekyll becomes overpowered and at the mercy of Hyde.
- Man's artificial creations become monstrous and destructive.*
For (3), this is not to argue that the female is necessarily monstrous, but rather that it holds the potential to become monstrous. Much like the sublime, this monstrous potential becomes realized when actively disrupting the natural order of the female nature. Like the dangers of the sublime, those experiencing transcendence are subjected to the very dangers of their enlightenment, awe, and glory. The artificial creations, then, are not "natural" (as they are artificial) products of nature, and so they become monstrous forces of life, harming both the subjects of the sublime experience (their male creators) and other innocent beings. In Frankenstein, Victor's artificial creation not only hurts him, but harms other innocent people (specifically women). If created naturally, perhaps the monster would not become dangerous. It is the "scientific penetration & technological exploitation of female nature" (Mellor 355) that provokes this danger. In the case of Jekyll and Hyde, the artificial creation even reflects the (unnatural femininity of the) creator, as it is a direct representation of the creator's repressed self. As such, Hyde is portrayed--in many ways--as feminine himself. While Hyde is described as the embodiment of rash desire and “heady recklessness, [and] a current of disordered sensual images” (77), he also is physically depicted with a great deal of more feminine attributes: he is smaller and lighter in frame than Jekyll (76) (Juricek). Additionally, his rash, spontaneous actions seem closest to (typically viewed as female) emotional and hysterical ones; Jekyll even describes the “sufferings and terrors” of Hyde as “unmanning” (41) (Juricek). As Hyde is supposedly the expression of all evil extracted from Jekyll, the feminine characteristics of Hyde further convey the idea of female monstrosity when having disrupted the natural order of life.
Like the nature that turns from the sublime, beautiful and strong, to terrifying, the female can turn from a strong and wonderful force to one of monstrosity.
I aimed to show this with the contrast of the middle and outer components. The middle component demonstrates the peaceful sublime; the inner side illustrates the false male usurpation of the inside; and the outside illustrates the development to sublime monstrous forces.
Mellor, Anne K. “Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein,” Frankenstein, edited by J. Paul Hunter, 2nd ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2007, pp. 355-368.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, edited by J. Paul Hunter, 2nd ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Planet Ebook.
https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-strange.