The Age of Monsters in 19th century Europe is the result of a cataclysmic explosion of art, literature, science and philosophy. Nations like Germany speed through cycles of industrial revolution and romantic nature movements. The occult becomes popular entertainment.
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Romance, as we find the in works of Wilde, is an archaic term for imagination or flights of fancy. Between surges of industry and the technological evolution of a nation are periods of creative thought, self-awareness, return to nature, health and natural philosophy.
In the early 1800s the work of writer, traveler, artist and natural philosopher Alexander von Humboldt, especially in South America, piques interest. Von Humboldt supports protection
of the environment, and replaces outmoded European concepts of foreign cultures.
Writers such as Friedrich Schiller and Heinrich Heine enjoy the height of popularity. As Heine is considered a member of the Young Germany movement, a mid-century uprising of democracy among youth, his work is banned. Thus it's read more than ever.
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Lyric poet and critic Heine is especially famous for the Romantic poem The Lorelei (1824). She sits at the narrowest part of the Rhine and sings sweet seduction. Friedrich Schiller, physician, philosopher writes Ode to Joy, in 1824, later put to music by Beethoven.
Mary Shelley's gothic horror "Frankenstein" (1818) takes influence from the German region of Odenwald, or Forest of Odes. Mary, with her then lover Percy Blysse Shelley, and the notorious Lord Byron (Baron George Gordon Byron), travel through the area.
Mary's sister, pregnant by Byron, and Mary's four-month-old baby accompany them. The trip is a disaster in all ways possible. Gloom and rain throughout the days lead to infighting and cabin fever, with a crying baby too.
To save sanity, the three writers decide to see who can write the best horror story. Mary's is Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. First published as a limited edition of fifty, Frankenstein soon goes viral as one of the most influential works of the 19th century.
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Although Mary never visits Castle Frankenstein in Odenwald, it's a significant part of local legend. On the grounds, they say, is a fountain of youth. One notorious past resident is alchemist Dippel, rumored to practice experiments in human soul transferal.
The story of Frankenstein's monster, rooted in contemporary thought, ignites talk in literary and social circles about the horrors inherent in the struggle of technology and nature, the latter as an element of chaos in a carefully ordered world.
In response to the Romantic movement, the Realism style comes to art and literature in the latter half of the century. Realism is focused on everyday life and contemplation of the nature of reality. A new breed of philosophers, writers, artists and theorists meet and mingle.
In 19th century Germany, Shakespeare is taught in schools. In The Tempest, main character Prospero, exiled with daughter Miranda, calls up a storm to take revenge on his enemies. Themes of civilization vs nature focus on the spirit Ariel and man-beast Caliban.
Despite his power over those around him, Prospero can't control their feelings. Caliban exudes bestial lust and desire. Though defeated by Prospero, Caliban ever plots to kill him. Nor is the wild spirit Ariel a willing accomplice.
Monsters of science and nature influence leading English writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson. In his short novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886, a man of science battles his own base nature.
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In 1896 H.G. Wells writes the The Island of Dr Moreau. A scientist creates creatures of horror in his island laboratory. As the Age of Monsters comes to climax, Irish author Bram Stoker invokes the horror of the supernatural when he publishes his novel Dracula in 1897.
As time goes by, romance is equated with love. Portrayed as beastly horror in the original book by Stoker, Count Dracula and his successors now number among the greatest lovers of all time.