Both Shelly and Coleridge utilise their texts, Frankenstein and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner respectively, as a devise to voice lessons to be learnt. The way in which each text is presented, through a story-like manner and chronology, lends to the idea of the actual texts being journeys themselves. In addition, through the journeys described in both, Frankenstein’s creation of the monster and the consequences which resulted and the Mariner’s arduous sea-dominated journey due to his killing of the Albatross, Shelley and Coleridge express the significance of crossing literal and metaphorical borders. The use of various geographical locations and the appropriate weather zones associated with them are used to illustrate the emotional state of the protagonists but also set the scene for their journeys. The natural imagery closely embedded within each text serves to further support the ramifications of going against the laws of nature and arguably exemplifies how the crossing of boundaries parallels with committing sins. The metaphorical borders crossed are due to both protagonists placing themselves in the position of God by going against divine power and begins the penitential journeys of Frankenstein and the Ancient Mariner.
Shelley and Coleridge centralise the most significant events in their works around travelling to the extremities of the earth, the Arctic and the Antarctic. The use of violent weather and mountainous terrain and particularly the symbolism of ice foreshadows the potential danger and isolation both protagonists face. Coleridge uses various weather zones during the Mariner’s journey to exemplify the crossing of literal borders. The repetition of ‘The Ice was here, the Ice was there, The Ice was all around’ emphasises the entrapment felt by the Mariner at the beginning of the ballad. The stanzas’ continuation into the animalistic personification of the ice as ‘it crack’d and growl’d, and roar’d and howl’d’ emphasises the ferocity of the location; moreover, the elision used makes the line more impactful aurally as if the Ice had come to life. The literal location of Antarctica’s significance lies in the idea that it is both beautiful and threatening, the similes used to compare the ice ‘as green as Emerauld’ whilst also ‘like noises of a swound’ exemplifies this as it’s glistening appearance cannot mask the effect of making a person faint and unaware. Yet despite ‘The Ice did split’ as a result of the Albatross and its divine powers, the Mariner’s action in killing the Albatross without reason led him on the journey, facing other equally treacherous as a result of crossing various oceanic borders. Alluding to the idea that the ice and conditions of ‘mist and snow’ encouraged his cold-mindedness and naïve actions. The journey across various literal borders, forced by the Mariner’s state of mind, presents the challenges he faces in the process of realising his wrong in acting senselessly by killing the Albatross. By the end of the ballad, his journey and his story, the ‘‘Rime’ of the Ancient Mariner’ melts and fulfils the purpose of his journey that a man ‘prayeth well who loveth well Both man and bird and beast’. This contrasts the previous conditions where ‘the snowy clifts/Did send a dismal sheen; Ne shapes of men ne beasts we ken–/The Ice was all between’, clouding the judgement of the Mariner.
The ship in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a metaphor for the journey the Mariner is about to embark on into foreign and uncertain regions. Not only this but the passing of the ‘line’ is manipulated by Coleridge to mirror the crossing of both borders and boundaries of nature, a central theme of the ballad. The merging of the nautical journey, where the oceans and seas have no end, in addition to the crossing of the boundaries after the equator, creates a boundless space of limitless possibilities. However, before that, the Mariner realises the gravity of killing the bird as the juxtaposition between the alliterative ‘breezes blew, the white foam flew, the furrow follow’d free’ indicating a calmness and ‘Day after day, day after day, We stuck, ne breath ne motion, As idle as a painted ship upon a painted Ocean’, becomes evident as the words become harsher. The repetition of ‘day after day’ and the simile illustrates the stillness of the Mariner and emphasises the sudden stop his journey has come to. The vivid water imagery seen through the simile ‘the water, like a witch’s oils, burnt green and blue and white’ foreshadows the suffering and unfamiliar territory the Mariner is about to face, moreover, the colours used allude to the introduction of the supernatural. Ships are used throughout the ballad to guide the Mariner through the journey. After crossing the borders of the ocean, ‘upon the whirl, where sank the Ship’ the Mariner was saved by the Pilot’s ship ‘and now all in mine own countrée, I stood firm on the land!’ The sinking of the ship could be interpreted as the Mariner’s final punishment which allowed him to cross the final literal border to complete his journey. Despite being completely unaware of his surroundings, when the Mariner ‘took the oars’ it could be seen as his understanding of the end of his journey.
The journey of the Mariner and the crossing of literal borders can also be seen through the markings of various weather zones. The crossing from the ‘dismal sheen’ of the ‘snowy clifts’ of the South Pole into the tropical latitude of the Great Pacific Ocean with its ‘hot and copper sky’ and the ‘bloody sun at noon’ creates an eerie atmosphere. Coleridge depends on visualisation of the weather to depict the stages of the Mariner’s journey. Although the oxymoron presented through the gloomy brightness of the mountains is not a particularly joyous image, the transformation through colour imagery into more vivid red colours and the metaphor of the ‘bloody sun’ could be symbolic of the blood shed through the killing of the Albatross. The ferocity of the weather continued until the ‘The roaring wind!… doth roar more loud’, the exclamatory nature of the line and the personification of the wind advances the notion of the importance of respecting nature; the wind pushes the Mariner on his journey so that he can learn this lesson. This is furthered by the effect of the alliteration of the ‘s’ in ‘sweetly, sweetly blew the breeze–On me alone it blew’ when the Mariner comes to the end of his journey. The melodious sound created contributes to the serenity found by the Mariner towards the end and a sense of peace is found upon coming to completing his journey. Coleridge uses the figure of God as a force behind the changing of the weather and the crossing of various atmospheric conditions during the Mariner’s journey. The metaphor of the ocean being ‘Still as a slave before his Lord, The Ocean hath no blast’ exemplifies the astrological motif running through the ballad which suggests that the ruling of the moon is in fact the ruling of God. Arguably, it could be conceived that significance of the journey the Mariner is forced to embark upon lies in the fact that he is constantly watched over and controlled by God who decides whether the journey will be ‘smooth or grim’. The negative force faced by the Mariner can be seen through the harsh weather conditions, ‘the rain pours down from one black cloud…the lightning falls with never a jag’. The pathetic fallacy used indicates the crossing of literal borders which emphasise the emotions of the Mariner in the times of darkness and suffering felt for his sin. Yet, the sensory nature of ‘there breath’d a wind on me, Ne sound ne motion made…It rais’d my hair, it fann’d my cheek, Like a meadow-gale of spring’ removes the feeling of the Mariner’s isolation. Moreover, the idea of the ‘meadow-gale’ and the changing of the season into ‘spring’ foreshadows the returning of the Mariner home. The passing of literal borders exemplifies the significance of the Mariner’s journey. His proclamation upon reaching his own country that, ‘I pass, like night, from land to land; I have strange power of speech…To him my tale I teach’. By crossing the border from ocean to land, not only enlightened him to the lesson which he learnt, but also taught him that he must continue on travelling in order to share his lesson of morality.
The purpose of the literal borders at the beginning and end of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are to exemplify the stability the Mariner once had, lost and then regained. The ‘stone’, the ‘harbour’ and ‘below the Kirk, below the Hill, Below the Light-house top’ are locations which signify the Mariner’s homeland and the stability which they offer. Likewise, in the sixth part of the ballad, the Mariner exclaims ‘O dream of joy! Is this indeed The light-house top I see? Is this the Hill? Is this the Kirk? Is this mine own countrée?’ The succession of questions illustrates the shock of the Mariner and exemplifies his relief and happiness in seeing the solid land after the harrowing journey he has just endured. Furthermore, it illustrates the cyclical nature of the ballad and mirrors the structure of a story and lesson learnt. In contrast to the many literal locations in Shelley’s Frankenstein, Coleridge’s 1978 version of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner use of the ship as the main location, with only few specified, allows the ballad to have a certain ‘freedom’ and ‘timelessness’ to tell its tale; exemplifying the extent to which literal borders were crossed. Malcolm Guite’s view that ‘the poem itself, like The Odyssey before it, has the classical shape of a journey out and back again’ supports this as Coleridge utilises the ship as a direct contrast to the land which the Mariner leaves and returns to, to illustrate his hardships and lessons learnt from the journey.
In Frankenstein and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the protagonists are both travellers carrying out multiple journeys. Through the crossing of literal and metaphorical borders, both Shelley and Coleridge use Frankenstein and the Mariner to narrate their story and vocalise the effect of their immoral and thoughtless actions. Arguably, the journeys of both characters are ones of penance, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an allegory for the journey men must take to find redemption for their sins. The Ancient Mariner voyages from land across the ocean and equator, towards the South Pole and returns realising the purpose of his journey which was ‘he prayeth best who lovest best, All things both great and small: for the dear God, who loveth us, He made and loveth all’. The Mariner’s realisation after his suffering that he must appreciate all living things as they are a gift from God marks the end of his journey. Likewise, as Frankenstein physically journeys from Switzerland to many other places such as Germany, England and the North Pole he comes to terms with his wrongdoing in giving life to the creature. ‘In Gothic literature, the setting may be the single most important device’ as the presentation of the various places allude to the stages of the travellers’ journey and the impact of their surroundings on their psychological state. The purpose of the protagonists’ storytelling in both texts, the Mariner to the wedding guest and Frankenstein to Walton subconsciously makes their tale more vivid for readers and listeners and emphasises the importance of their journeys.