Isis

The Isis, the name given to the River Thames as it flows through Oxford, appears in Frankenstein as a brief but symbolically charged landscape during Victor Frankenstein's journey through England with Henry Clerval. In the narrative, the river is not merely a geographical marker but a site of contrast between the serene beauty of the natural and historical world and the inner turmoil of a man haunted by his own creation. The description of the Isis occurs at a moment when Victor, despite his profound misery, is momentarily able to engage with the world around him, making the river a locus of both aesthetic pleasure and painful self-awareness.

Setting and Description

The Isis is introduced when Victor and Henry arrive in Oxford during their tour of England. Victor describes the river as flowing beside the city "through meadows of exquisite verdure" and spreading forth into "a placid expanse of waters, which reflects its majestic assemblage of towers, and spires, and domes, embosomed among aged trees." This depiction emphasizes tranquility, reflection, and a harmonious integration of human architecture with the natural environment. The river's calm surface mirrors the city's ancient structures, creating a scene of composed beauty that stands in stark contrast to the violent and chaotic events that have defined Victor's recent life. The language of reflection—both literal, as the water mirrors the buildings, and metaphorical, as the scene invites contemplation—is central to the river's function in the text.

Narrative Context and Victor's State of Mind

The visit to Oxford and the view of the Isis occur during a period of relative calm in Victor's otherwise tormented existence. He has agreed to create a female companion for the monster and is traveling to England to gather the necessary scientific knowledge. Yet even as he enjoys the scenery, Victor's mind is consumed by guilt and dread. He reflects that he "was formed for peaceful happiness" and that during his youth, "the sight of what is beautiful in nature or the study of what is excellent and sublime in the productions of man could always interest my heart." Now, however, he feels like "a blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul." The Isis, with its placid waters and historical associations, represents the kind of peaceful, cultivated existence from which Victor feels permanently exiled. The river's beauty does not console him but rather sharpens his sense of loss, as he recognizes that he can no longer partake in the simple joys that such a scene would once have afforded him.

Thematic Significance

The Isis functions as a symbol of the civilized, ordered world that Victor has irrevocably damaged through his transgressive scientific ambition. Oxford itself, with its ancient colleges and history of learning, represents the legitimate pursuit of knowledge within established social and moral frameworks. The river's reflective surface suggests the possibility of self-knowledge and introspection, yet Victor's encounter with the scene only deepens his awareness of his own degradation. The contrast between the serene, reflective waters and Victor's turbulent inner state underscores the novel's central theme of the dangerous consequences of overreaching ambition. The Isis, like the other natural landscapes Victor encounters—the Swiss Alps, the Rhine, the Orkney Islands—serves as a mirror for his psychological condition, but unlike the sublime terror of the glaciers, the Isis offers a gentler, more melancholic reflection of what has been lost. The river's placid beauty, precisely because it is so unlike the horrors Victor has witnessed and caused, becomes a site of poignant regret, a reminder of the peaceful life that might have been his had he not pursued the secret of life.