Paul Mallinckrodt
English 1500-004
The Spirit of Travel was Female
In Great Britain, from the 1300’s through the 19th century, travel writing became
popular in the same way that Internet media has taken off in the technological era, as the
product of interactive and exploratory forms of leisure. The collections of text that stem from
English Travelers have had a lasting influence on the development of writing in the English
language. These influences are everywhere, look no further than the nearest book store or
online search engine. This being so, it is important to recognize a main driving force behind
“travel” that is observable through two of the most famous works considered as British travel
writing. Using examples from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Knights Tale” and Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein I will argue in this essay that the most prominent themes evident in travel writing
do not come exclusively from the male protagonists of these works, but primarily from the
connection to the female characters, which best represent the connection between travel and
travel writing. Between the two works important themes such as empathy, beauty, creation
and freedom are represented as characteristically female.
First, in order to explain the ideas embedded in “The Knights Tale” it is necessary to
understand the Emotions that Palamon and Artica, the two protagonists this story, are
subjected to throughout their adventure. While the plot follows the two knights and their
feelings towards their lady Emily, it should be noted that even before their capture, the two
were subject to another force that is represented as specifically female in this story. This is the
idea of empathy or pity. “Have mercy on our woe and our distress! On us poor women, in your
nobleness of heart, let but one drop of pity fall! (Chaucer, 24)” Pity, as shown here is the first of
the major themes that are demonstrated through the use of female characters. These
demonstrations go on to parallel the worlds of these literary works, and the physical world that
inspired them. Though not particularly important until long after Chaucer, pity connects
traveling and travel writing as it is complementary to the change associated with the public
view of nature, which came about as a result the industrial revolution which occurred in
London. During Chaucer’s time in the 1300’s empathy and travel was more connected to a
religious outlook than an environmental concern.
The next important comparison of this story to represent an idea cherished by travel
writing and characterized as female is shown in Lady Emily and her relationship with Palamon
and Arcita. In this story, the two knights come to love Emily as they observe her. They see her
beauty and her apparent kindness, but more important than these, almost expected
characteristics, is that Emily represents the concept of freedom. Since these two knights are in
jail, they are tormented by the limits in their freedom to pursue Emily. During an argument
Arcita says to Palamon, “What’s more, you are not likely, all your life, to win her favor, any
more than I; for as you yourself know to certainly, both you and I have been condemned to
prison for ever; and for us there’s no escaping. (Chaucer, 30)” Pointing out that both of them
are unable to act on their desires. The freedom That Emily embodies is not only the freedom
from prison, or in the case of Arcita, exile, but freedom from their constant longing. It is not
until each knight obtains a chance of bridging this dissonance that the energy is provided that
leads Arcita and Palamon in their travels towards their final standoff. This relationship is very
similar to the effect that the countryside had on British travelers. Writing on things they
experienced in nature was a way of connecting them to the feeling of freedom in a time period
of human history when natural things began disappearing from the increasingly urban setting.
For the entirety of the 400 year gap between Shelly and Chaucer much of Great Britain
was still being experienced and described through stories. Chaucer based his collection of
stories on actual traveling that was occurring annually across the kingdom and Mary Shelly
wrote her three part novel as an extension of a story that was told around a campfire in the
Alps. In both cases the themes represented in travel writings are authentically drawn in almost
the same manner. But whatever the similarities between Chaucer and Shelly, the way in which
the spirit of travel is tied to the female characters differs from work to work.
In this story told by Mary Shelly, the themes which drive the movement of Victor
Frankenstein are not so directly embodied in female characters as in “the knight’s tale”, but
rather are self perpetuated, yet necessarily inspired by specific female figures. Obviously, the
theme of creation is central to Victor’s entire journey. It is, after all, Victor’s monster that
causes him to end in the Arctic Circle. But before the idea of creating perfection became a
possibility for victor, he first had to observe what he considered perfection in nature as a child
in his cousin Elizabeth. “While I admired her understanding and fancy, I loved to tend on her, as
I should on a favourite animal; and I never saw so much grace of person and mind united to so
little pretension. (Shelly, 66)” It is this admiration for natural Beauty carried throughout the rest
of the novel that sets the standard for the being which Frankenstein brings into existence. The
fact that he went to attempt and fail to recreate is not yet relevant, because none less victor
had intended beauty on par with what he saw in Elizabeth. If you consider the environment in
place of Elizabeth, this relationship between victor and his cousin is analogous to the purely
ascetic value hikers or travelers attain from being in the presence of the outdoors. Undoubtedly
this was a part of the creative process of our authors, and is foundational to their travel writing.
The second theme which carries a strong female influence in Frankenstein comes after
Victor’s experience with beauty, when he takes it upon himself to create a human. Originally,
he constructs his creature as a reflection of something naturally beautiful. After the resulting
catastrophe, a shift occurs and the theme of creation emanates less from Frankenstein himself,
and more from the demands of Victor’s Monster. After experiencing the world, Victor’s
creation pictures an ideal female and demands the creation of a companion. “You must create a
female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of sympathies necessary for my being.
(Shelly, 168)” This is the central female which influences the theme of creation in the later parts
of this novel. The struggle she influences is between Victor’s fear of creating another life and
call by Victor’s monster for Frankenstein to follow through with his agreement to do so. The
desire to recreate the perfect grace and harmony of nature is not however, a monstrous idea.
In fact it is quite common. As part of picturesque travel, a specific discipline of travel writing,
the whole purpose of interacting with nature is to capture the most admired parts. I believe the
exaggerations made by Shelly were mostly for good story telling, but they do bring to mind a
limit for what could be considering over-attempting to creating nature.
So of the feelings which inspired travelers in England to go and experience and write,
Pity or empathy, freedom, natural grace, and the desire to create, are the most prominent. All
of which bear heavy feminine connotations as they are displayed in Frankenstein and “The
knights Tale.” Of course these themes are not contained to the works of Geoffrey Chaucer or
Mary Shelly, these are just two of the most exemplary figures whose impact on travel writing
can be seen anywhere from pop culture entertainment to the academic classroom. The
feminine connotations associated with these themes through the use of female characters is, in
my opinion a form of stereotyping, that helps the reader drawn internal connections between
the inspired work they are reading and the ultimate inspiration, often referred to as “Mother
Earth.”
Citation
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc. Print.
Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein. Buffalo, NY: Broadview Press Ltd. Print