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William Godwin and Frankenstein: the Secularization of Calvinism in Godwin's

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William Godwin and Frankenstein: the Secularization of Calvinism in Godwin's 2.B.ç, q \ WILLIAM GODWIN AND FRANKENSTEIN: THE SECULARIZATION OF CALVINISM IN GODWIN'S PHILOSOPHY AND THE SUB-GODWINIAN GOTHIC NOVEL; WITH SOME REMARKS ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE GOTHIC TO ROMANTICISM. This thesis was awarded the degree of Master of Arts 1n the Department of English at the University of Adelaide. Submitted by VIVIENNE ANN BELL, B.A. (l'lons) (Ade'l . ) in January 1993. A-..u .-1,..,{ ! ,,',, I + TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Summary 111 Statement by Candidate Acknowl edgement vi Introducti on 1 Part One: Pol 'iti cal Justi ce Preface 4 'l 'l Chapte r One : The M i enn i um 5 Chapter Two: Sandemanianism 'l 4 Chapter Three: Other Phi losophical Influences Upon Godwin 37 Chapter Four: Po'l i ti cal Justi ce 49 Part Two: Frankenste'in Preface 93 Chapter One: The Gothic 97 Chapter Two: Calvinism 119 Chapter Three: Frankenstein as Romantic Myth 138 Chapter Four: Rousseau's Inf 'luence 153 Chapter Fi ve: Conf 'l i cti ng Phì I osophì cal V i ewpoi nts 162 Chapter Six: Godwìn's Ph'i losophy and the Monster's Development 221 Chapter Seven: Victor's Idealism and Scepticism 251 Chapter Eight: The Inversion of the Neoplatonic Journey 272 1l Chapter Nine: Romantic Paradox, the Subl ime, and Irony 296 Conc I us'i on 364 Bi bl iography 367 iii SUMMARY The subject matter of thi s thesi s 'is Wi I I i am Godwin's @i-c.e and Mary Shel ley's Frankenstei n. My central argument is that there is a secularization of Ca]vinism in both Godwin's philosophy and the sub-Godwinian Gothic novel. The relationship of the Gothic to Romanticism is also a primary consìderation here. I thus aim to demonstrate how a particular theological model becomes secularized, both as an i ntel 'lectuaì system and as a 1 i terary f orm. Part One i nvol ves an exami nat'ion, through an anal ys'is of Political Justice, of how Godwin's early Sandemanian Calvinism becomes secularized in the idealistic anarchìsm of his potitical philosophy; Calvinist predestination is translated into progress, âs reason and the human will assume the role of deity. Part Two then argues that V'ictor Frankensteìn's distinctive qualities can be attributed to a Calvinist world view, âñ outlook which also defines the Gothic. The Gothic, however, is an extreme psychologica'l and emotional response to Calv'inist rational ism and absolutism. In Frankenstein's Romantìc Gothic text, a yearning for the completìon and wholeness which is a characterìstic of Romantic ]V organicism 'is combined with the despa'i r and damnation of a fatalistic Gothic universe. I interpret Frankenstein as an allegorìcal representation of the development and possible consequences of Godwinism, with Victor and his creature as embodiments of this process. Victor's history mirrors the possib'le psychologìcal , emoti ona'l , and i nte'l 'l ectua'l conf I 'i cts wh i ch mì tht ensue in someone who effectìve1y fails to make the transition from a fatalistic wor'ld view into that of beneficent Romanticism, with its utopian ideas of progress and mi 1 lennial fel icity. Frankenstein reveals an ambivalence about the powers of human rat'ional ity which conf I icts with the overt message of Pol itica] Justice; it can be read both as a subversion of Godwinism and as a question'ing of Romantic organicism, âs a reaction against rationalist systems of progress and utilìtarian relativìsm. As an assertion of essentialist and absolutist values and truths it represents Mary's rebelIion against her origins. This is to certify that the fol'lowing thesis contains no material wh'ich has been accepted for the award of any other degree of diploma in any University and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previous'ly publ'ished or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. I consent to the thesis being made available for photocopyìng and 'loan if appl icable if accepted for the award of the degree. VIVIENNE ANN BELL V1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank the following people for their support during the preparatìon of this thesis. To my principal supervisor, DF. Michael Tolley, I owe thanks for his criticism and advice; and to my secondary supervisor, DF. Madge Mitton, for her encouragement. I owe most to my husband, Colin Turner, for his unflagging confidence that I wou'ld succeed and for his endless encouragement. 1 INTRODUCTION This thesis aims to demonstrate how a particular theological model becomes secularized, both as an'intel]ectual system and as a literary form. In Part One I discuss how William Godwin's early Calvinism becomes secu'lari zed in his pol itical phi losophy. This process invoìves the reiect'ion of a view of the Creator as transcendent and an acceptance of deì ty ( al bei t secul arì zed ) as be'ing i mmanent i n matter, thereby al 1owjng f or the development of utopian ideas of progress and mi I lennial fel icìty. Such a response i mpl 'ies soc'ial and po1 i ti cal involvement, and can be seen as an optimist'ic reaction to Calvinist 'impotence and despaì r. Conversely, the Gothic novel represents a reflection of the pessimìstic and anxiety-laden psychological state attendant upon a world view which can be seen as similar to that of Calvinism. Here ìmpotence and inertia remain, for the Gothic v'ictim ultìmate'ly has no sense of the autonomy of the wi I I i n the face of transcendent fate. The creative act which proceeds from true union of mind and nature ìn Romantic organicìsm cannot be 'l attai ned i n Godw'in's phi 'losophy. I wi 1 argue i n Part Two, whi ch deal s wi th Mary Shel 'ley's Romanti c 2 Gothic text Frankenstein (E),1 and where I regard V'ictor Frankenstein largely as a modet of Godwinism, that this particular Calv'inist-based inte'l lectual system cannot be reconc'i led with Romantic organicism. This novel demonstrates the intel lectual, psychologjcal, and emotional confl icts wh'ich ensue in someone who cannot effect a transitìon between conflicting world vìews. Godwin's own Gothic novels can be seen to reveal the despai ring undersi de to Pol i t'ica] ùsLi-ce's (zu) optimistic 'ideal ism. 3 1 I refer throughout this thesis to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein. 4 PART ONE: POI-ITICAL JUSTICE PREFACE The fi rst three chapters here are concerned with historical , theolog'ical , and phi tosophical influences upon Godwin, while the fourth is a deta'i led analysis of the evidence of these influences in Politica'l Justice, specificaìly of the manner in which his early Sandemanian Calvinism becomes secularized in his philosophical anarchism. CHAPTER ONE: THE MILLENNIUM Certain ìdeas which originate in the Reformatìon inform the later belief in the real.ization of the bibl ical mi l lenn'ium within the temporal sphere of existence. Theories of evolution and progress echoed the concept of reljgious redemption, whì]e it was the Protestant tendency to view the Deity as immanent rather than transcendent which al lowed the role of Providence to be gradual'ly transferred to i mmutabl e natural 'laws. Godwi n's phi losophy can be seen as one example of the cu I mì nat'ion of these cu I tural devel opments ' progress may be seen historical'ly ìn terms of a secular shift f rom the mi l lenn'ial idea: it is common'ly believed today (as Godwin did) that a scientific positivist age is an advance over a theolog'ical one. The poet, Philosopher, and theologian Henry More (1614-87) had suggested that God was working out a gradual redemption of human'ity through a series of ascendìng epochs of h'istory ( 71 5 (Tuveson vi i ), and by 1 692 Thomas Burnet 1 635-1 ) had worked out a wel l-developed theory of progress (Tuveson v). He saw God's plan in terms of cu]tural development, wjth a ref inìng of spi ritual and mental faculties paralleling a movement from the primitìve to the philosophical state of humanity. 6 Burnet reconc i 1 ed the Neop I aton'i c i dea of a movement towards greater complexjty with the Christian linear view. Unlike the Classical attitude the Christian is in the main hopeful and, ìn contrast t,o Renaissance ideas, the change was now considered by many to be inevitable, and not iust a possibility. Apocalyptic theory is actually behind our ideal of progress, not Renaissance cycl ìcal historiography (Tuveson 75); with science, the cycl ica'l element becomes te'leolog jcal . There is, for examplê, a resìdual teleology implicit in the evo'lutionary idea that better and "higher" forms of 'l ife are yet to emerge. The teleo'logìcal aspect of individual perfectibility, in being concordant with the unfolding of latent potentialities, combined with the ìdea of God's working only through inexorable natural laws, to lead to the consideration of nature's method as being itself progressive (Tuveson 194). An 'increasìng focus upon the psychological and emotional aspects of human experience stemmed from Behmenist "inner Iight" theology whjle, with the individual now beginning to be seen as governed by the same immutable laws as were postu'lated for the natural world, the concept of renewal could be transferred from the organìc realm to that of the i ndi vi dual 's spi ri tual I i fe.
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