Religion and the Supernatural: Explained and Unexplained

Although Mary Shelley and S.T. Coleridge both wrote Gothic works with an emphasis upon the supernatural, the religious views that they revealed through the supernatural elements in their works were quite dissimilar. The two authors had very different views of God and their religious faith, and as a result they treated the supernatural aspects of their works in very different ways. This difference is particularly visible when a comparison is made between Shelley's Frankenstein (or, the Modern Prometheus) and Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." In order to understand the difference between the two, it is first necessary to determine what supernatural elements are. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word "supernatural" means " departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature." While Mary Shelley chose to give scientific explanations for the supernatural elements in Frankenstein, Coleridge preferred to attribute his to actual supernatural forces such as spirits. Both authors, however, chose their particular explanations of supernatural elements as a result of their unique religious views.

Mary Shelley did not have any strong religious beliefs, unlike many of her contemporaries. However, the beliefs of the people closest to her, especially her father and her husband, deeply affected her own views about God and life. Her beloved father, William Godwin, was raised as a Calvinist, but later became an atheist who did not believe in original sin and was fascinated by the idea of immortality. Shelley never knew her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, as Wollstonecraft died shortly after Shelley's birth. However, Shelley greatly admired her mother, read all of her works, and was familiar with Wollstonecraft's abstract, naturalistic view of religion (her abstract views of religion are revealed in "Memoirs."). Later in life, Mary Shelley grew to admire and look up to Percy Bysshe Shelley just as she admired her parents. Shelley was a self-proclaimed atheist from a young age, a viewpoint that he made very clear in his pamphlet "The Necessity of Atheism." On occasion Shelley revealed that he believed in the possibility of a neutral higher power, but he never believed in the God of Christians. Mary Shelley deeply admired these three people, but her relationships with them were quite troubled. First of all, Shelley never knew her mother, as Wollstonecraft died of infection just ten days after Shelley's birth (Wu/Badalamenti). Shelley blamed herself for the death of her mother. She loved her father deeply, and never stopped regretting that she had given him great pain by causing the death of his beloved wife. She was hurt by his perceived favoritism towards her half-sister, Wollstonecraft's first child, and felt further displaced in Godwin's affections when he married her stepmother (Badalamenti). When Shelley ran away with Percy Bysshe Shelley, her relationship with her father was strained even further because Godwin did not approve of the match (Badalamenti). However, Shelley grew to have an even more difficult relationship with her husband than she did with her father; she grew unhappy because of her complex feelings about Percy's associations with other women, the tragic deaths of three of their children, and Percy's lack of support when the children died. Shelley's relationships with these three people deeply influenced her views of religion, which in turn affected the way that she portrayed religion in her writing.

Unlike many Gothic novels, in which a string of supernatural events carry the story along, there is only one supernatural event in Frankenstein. However, this event'"the creation of the monster'"sets the entire story in motion. The reader is informed that Victor Frankenstein has discovered the secret to life, with which he has created a monster. This supernatural event, which "[appears] to transcend the laws of nature," is never fully explained (Merriam-Webster). However, although the reader is never given the exact details of how the monster was created, it is clear that Shelley meant to show that it was created through the use of science rather than through mystical means. In contrast, Frankenstein himself seems to believe that the event is more spiritual than scientific; before creating his monster he says that "a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs" (Shelley 53). As he reveals in this quote, Frankenstein sees himself as more than a father figure to his new species; he describes their relationship in terms that make him seem like a god. Unfortunately, as events soon make clear, Frankenstein is not morally ready to be a god. He is unable to even tolerate the sight of the creature that he has created, let alone "claim the gratitude" of his creation (Shelley 53). His absence of love and compassion causes the monster to lash out in anger and pain until everyone whom Frankenstein holds dear, and finally Frankenstein himself, is dead. Although Frankenstein first describes himself in god-like terms, and acts like God by creating life, his cruelty towards the monster is more reminiscent of Satan. In direct contrast to God, who lovingly created Eve as a companion for Adam, Frankenstein finds the monster so repulsive that he refuses to create a female companion for him (Barkhoff 54). Victor's feelings, and their tragic outcome, make the message of this plotline clear: Mankind has no right to create life, and certainly is not morally ready to do so. Frankenstein's knowledge of the secret of life is knowledge that he has no right to know. However, he chooses to use his knowledge anyway in order to create the monster, and is punished harshly for his overstep. As he reminds Walton later on, one who "aspires to become greater than his nature will allow" will fall into despair and therefore it is important to obey the normal limitations of nature and science (Shelley 52).

While it is clear that Shelley used science in order to explain the supernatural elements in Frankenstein, it is less obvious what lesson Shelley was trying to impart and how this lesson ties into her own religious beliefs. In order to understand how religion affects Frankenstein, it is first necessary to understand that one of the reasons Shelley wrote Frankenstein was in order to subtly protest against the religious views of her father and husband (Ryan). However, although she was unimpressed by their belief systems, Shelley was just as disbelieving of the Christian faith, and used Frankenstein to examine the implausibility of and reveal her doubts about both types of religions (Ryan). The message given in the novel makes it clear that Shelley did, at least, believe in the possibility of a God, but she would have "[agreed] with [Percy Bysshe] Shelley that the Christian religion was dying" (Ryan). Although she supported the morals of Christianity, it is clear from the tragic end of Frankenstein that she did not find Christianity adequate. It was not able to fulfill her characters' needs, her own needs, or society's needs (Ryan). Shelley uses a quote from Paradise Lost as the epigraph to her novel in order to reveal the overarching emotions of her novel; the fact that these lines are infused with such misery and unhappiness with God is a strong implication that Shelley herself was not altogether happy with her life or with God. Just as she protests against the beliefs of her father and husband, Shelley protests against the idea of Christianity in her novel by making her supernatural event an act of man rather than an act of God.

Like Shelley, S.T. Coleridge had a complex and unique view of religion that was significant both in his life and for his writing. His views of religion shifted drastically throughout his life; he was raised as an Anglican Christian, but in his early twenties he became a Unitarian and remained so for more than thirty years. Unitarianism was a very common belief system throughout the Romantic period in England, and like most of its followers Coleridge firmly believed that Unitarianism was a form of Christianity. However, he did not believe that the Bible was inspired by God; rather, he held that the biblical writers wrote under God's influence, but were prone to exaggeration and making up their own stories. He strongly doubted the authenticity of the virgin birth, among other aspects of the Bible, and made his own decisions regarding which parts of the Bible were authoritative and which were not. In 1805, Coleridge renounced Unitarianism and became a Christian once again. James Gillman, the physician who cared for Coleridge for the last eighteen years of his life, reports in his "The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge" that Coleridge suddenly realized that "no Trinity, no God! -- Unitarianism in all its forms is idolatry" (p. 307). Despite his varying beliefs, unlike many of his contemporaries Coleridge always believed in God and based his beliefs upon the Bible.

In order to understand how Coleridge's religious beliefs affected his writing, it is first necessary to examine the religious undertones of the supernatural elements in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Religious overtones are obvious within the poem almost from the start, beginning directly after the mariner kills the albatross. After the mariner kills the albatross, some of the other sailors begin to dream of a spirit that follows the ship from the bottom of the ocean. Although he does not do anything to the sailors, he strikes fear into their hearts. Shortly afterwards, the mariner sees a sail upon the horizon. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes clear that the sail does not belong to a normal ship, but rather to a wrecked ship that is manned by Death and Life-in-Death. The two cast dice for the sailors' lives, and while Life-in-Death wins control over the mariner, all of the other sailors die at the hands of Death. As they die, glaring at the mariner, their souls leave their bodies with an audible sound like "the whiz of [the mariner's] crossbow" (line 223). Surrounded by the dead bodies of his fellow sailors, the mariner attempts to pray but is unable to do so because of a "wicked whisper" in his heart (line 246). After seven days and night of horror, the mariner sees luminescent water snakes swimming in the ocean. Astounded by their beauty, the mariner blesses them, and immediately the albatross falls from his neck into the ocean. The mariner is then able to sleep again, which he believes is a gift given to him by the Virgin Mary. After he wakes up again, all of the dead men become reanimated by blessed spirits, who help the mariner sail the ship. In the morning, the spirits leave the bodies in celebratory song, and the ship is propelled northward by the spirit on the bottom of the ocean. At noon, however, the ship bucks back and forth until the mariner faints. When he awakens, he hears two disembodied voices speaking; during their conversation, the mariner learns that he has been placed into a trance because the ship is moving too quickly for his body to endure. He also learns that he "hath penance done / and penance more will do" (lines 408-9). Shortly afterwards, the mariner realizes with joy that the ship is being propelled into the bay of his home city. Seraphim, majestic and awe-inspiring, leave the bodies of the dead sailors and stand silently around the mariner until he sees the pilot, pilot's boy, and hermit approach. At that point an unnatural whirlpool pulls the ship to the bottom of the bay; after being rescued by the pilot, the mariner asks the hermit to hear him confess his sins. When he does so, a supernatural power overcomes him and forces him to tell his entire story. When he is finished he no longer feels guilty, but as he explains to the wedding-guest, he still gets the overwhelming need to tell his story time and time again. He has been given a "strange power of speech" and always knows to whom he must tell his tale (line 587).

As can be seen, Coleridge uses supernatural events with religious connotations throughout "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"; in fact, nearly every plot point except for the death of the albatross relies heavily upon them. Coleridge wrote the last edition of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in 1817, long after he became a Christian for the second time in his life. Spirits, some helpful and others cruel, are especially prominent within Coleridge's poem. However, many other motifs can be seen as well, one of which involves the idea of prayer. After killing the albatross, the mariner is unable to pray; it is only after he blesses the sea snakes that the albatross drops from his neck. The idea of prayer was significant to Coleridge, as he believed that prayer was one of the most difficult and fundamental parts of religious life because it was so powerful. Just as the mariner's prayer took away the physical representation of his sin, Coleridge believed that prayer could rid believers of their sin. Another motif in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is the idea of penance. The mariner attempts to pay penance for his sins by telling the hermit his story, but he soon discovers that he has not been forgiven; instead, he is forced to pay everlasting penance for his sin by being driven to tell his tale to certain people that he meets. The mariner's lack of ability to gain forgiveness is not a condemnation of the Christian faith, as it may appear, but rather a condemnation of Catholicism. Like many Anglicans, Coleridge was not fond of the Catholic belief system. Despite the continuation of the mariner's disturbing fate, Coleridge concludes his poem by reminding his audience that "the dear God who loveth us, / He made and loveth all" (lines 649-50).

Shelley and Coleridge had entirely different views on religion, a fact that can be seen clearly through their differing depictions of supernatural elements. While Shelley scientifically explains the creation of the monster, Coleridge uses mystical sightings and mysterious appearances that increase his audience's awe and make it clear that in his works, a supernatural being of some sort does exist. The two authors both revealed their very different views of God through their particular works.

Works Cited

Primary Sources:

Coleridge, S.T. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In seven parts." Romanticism: An Anthology. Ed. Duncan Wu. Cambridge, M.A.: Blackwell, 1994. 694-710. Print.

Gillman, James. The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Vol. 2. Gutenberg.org: Project Gutenberg, 2005. Web. 5 May 2011.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein (or, the Modern Prometheus). New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1974. Print.

Secondary Sources:

Badalamenti, Anthony F. "Why did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein?" Journal of Religion & Health 45.3 (2006): 419-439. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 April 2011.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, The. Ryan, Robert M. "Mary Shelley's Christian Monster." The Wordsworth Circle 19.3 (1988): 150- 155. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.