The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration
Nineteenth-century science probed into the mystery of ice, from the structure of snowflakes to glaciers to Polar exploration. Literature reflects this attempt to understand the shifting nature of ice, a transparent yet deceptive—neither liquid nor truly solid—elemental structure. While glaciers beco...
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Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée
2017
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Online Access: | http://cve.revues.org/2855 |
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ftopenedition:oai:revues.org:cve/2855 2023-05-15T17:39:51+02:00 The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration Lanone, Catherine 2017-05-16 http://cve.revues.org/2855 en eng Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens urn:doi:10.4000/cve.2855 http://cve.revues.org/2855 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2017 ftopenedition https://doi.org/10.4000/cve.2855 2017-05-21T00:02:43Z Nineteenth-century science probed into the mystery of ice, from the structure of snowflakes to glaciers to Polar exploration. Literature reflects this attempt to understand the shifting nature of ice, a transparent yet deceptive—neither liquid nor truly solid—elemental structure. While glaciers become the sublime site of Romantic poetic epiphany, Mary Shelley subverts the euphoric associations of pristine settings by choosing to locate a crucial confrontation between creature and creator in the Alps, then by opting for Walton’s search for the North Pole and the Northwest Passage as a frame for Victor’s narrative. Walton’s delusion and search for an open sea ties in with the journals of contemporary expeditions, as if Mary Shelley had sensed that the jingoistic expeditions might turn into epic disasters. The loss of Franklin’s last expedition triggered an unprecedented series of rescue expeditions which allowed to map unknown areas yet also proved how shifting and unconquerable the ice remained for nineteenth-century boats. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Pole Northwest passage OpenEdition North Pole Northwest Passage Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens 71 Printemps 201 210 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
OpenEdition |
op_collection_id |
ftopenedition |
language |
English |
description |
Nineteenth-century science probed into the mystery of ice, from the structure of snowflakes to glaciers to Polar exploration. Literature reflects this attempt to understand the shifting nature of ice, a transparent yet deceptive—neither liquid nor truly solid—elemental structure. While glaciers become the sublime site of Romantic poetic epiphany, Mary Shelley subverts the euphoric associations of pristine settings by choosing to locate a crucial confrontation between creature and creator in the Alps, then by opting for Walton’s search for the North Pole and the Northwest Passage as a frame for Victor’s narrative. Walton’s delusion and search for an open sea ties in with the journals of contemporary expeditions, as if Mary Shelley had sensed that the jingoistic expeditions might turn into epic disasters. The loss of Franklin’s last expedition triggered an unprecedented series of rescue expeditions which allowed to map unknown areas yet also proved how shifting and unconquerable the ice remained for nineteenth-century boats. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lanone, Catherine |
spellingShingle |
Lanone, Catherine The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration |
author_facet |
Lanone, Catherine |
author_sort |
Lanone, Catherine |
title |
The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration |
title_short |
The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration |
title_full |
The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration |
title_fullStr |
The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Mystery of “those icy climes” (Shelley 269): Literature, Science and Early Nineteenth-century Polar Exploration |
title_sort |
mystery of “those icy climes” (shelley 269): literature, science and early nineteenth-century polar exploration |
publisher |
Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://cve.revues.org/2855 |
geographic |
North Pole Northwest Passage |
geographic_facet |
North Pole Northwest Passage |
genre |
North Pole Northwest passage |
genre_facet |
North Pole Northwest passage |
op_relation |
urn:doi:10.4000/cve.2855 http://cve.revues.org/2855 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4000/cve.2855 |
container_title |
Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens |
container_issue |
71 Printemps |
container_start_page |
201 |
op_container_end_page |
210 |
_version_ |
1766140625811406848 |