The cultural identity behind a life exists in many quiet and loud ways; a simple definition of life would focus merely on the physical presence of a thing, but such straightforwardness ignores the multiplicity of ways in which human identity—an identity that will often live beyond the body—can be created. By analyzing fire as a metaphor for human existence and identity, it is possible to see the wide breadth of cultural life; in this way, something as small as a flame can be constructed by the human mind to hold significance based on a wider societal context. As examples, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—a work of Romantic, British literature—will be analyzed, as well as Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, a postcolonial narrative that takes place in Igboland (now known as southeastern Nigeria). Both novels perpetuate fire as a symbol of life and emphasize its necessity for human existence. The deeper literary meaning behind the symbol of fire, however, speaks to the privilege—subconsciously or not—innate to these stories. While Frankenstein uses fire as a symbol for hubris in the case of Victor Frankenstein, as well as a somewhat abstract critique of what it means to be ‘alive’ with Frankenstein’s monster, Things Fall Apart brings light to a deeper cultural heartbeat, as Okonkwo fears the Igbo society will be destroyed by British colonialism. By playing into the human need for fire for survival, Shelley and Achebe also question what is needed for a cultural human life.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is subtitled The Modern Prometheus. This 1800s novel evokes upon immediate opening the image of Prometheus, a titan of Greek myth who gave humanity fire so they could thrive and begin to build a greater civilization. To do so, he stole fire from the Olympian Gods and thus defied their will. As punishment, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to eternal suffering; the titan was chained to a rock, and, every day, an eagle was sent to peck out his liver.
This immediate historical allusion sets up the character of Victor Frankenstein, who attempts to defy the limits of human nature and create a being that exists beyond mortal life and death. In his own eyes, Victor is the modern Prometheus, giving the metaphorical flame of life to others—thus the book’s subtitling. Victor, however, is unable to create the grand being that he had imagined. Instead, he forms a monster, better known as Frankenstein’s monster. He forms a creature that he disowns and abandons in the world; having provided his monster with a physical life—a heartbeat, a ‘flame’—, Victor then runs from his monster, forcing the creature to question his sense of self and, by extension, what a true, cultural human identity is. Frankenstein’s monster experiences the world as a forsaken creature, having to build his awareness of the world up from nothing. As the creature describes, “One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it. In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain. How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects!” (Shelley 94-95). The dichotomy created in this moment is built up using temperature extremes; as the creature was “oppressed by cold” (Shelley 94), fire is seen as a natural counterbalance to this. However, too much warmth all at once proves just as dangerous as these freezing conditions. In this way, Shelley demonstrates the link between physicality and mentality. The creature had a subconscious desire to be away from the cold, but no conscious knowledge of the dangers of fire to begin with. Such behavior is learned over time. The creature’s ability to do things such as learning, experiencing pain, and fighting to survive—despite Victor’s insistence that he had created a monster and not a human being—makes the reader question the uncanny line between what is and is not human. Is desire, is fear, all that is needed to create a human being? Does a human exist in the mental or the physical? If one can see themselves in a monster, does this extend humanity to such a creature? In this way, Shelley creates a link between fire and cold. This is an extended metaphor central to the story and is used in many ways to express culture—Prometheus as a historical allusion, fire as the creator of civilization, Victor Frankenstein’s hubris as a perceived negative trait, and the creature’s learned behavior—, as well as the physicality of life and fire as a necessity to human existence.
The novel opens in the Arctic, with Captain Walton writing letters to his sister about his travels. The captain later finds Victor Frankenstein in the Arctic searching for his monster, and Walton brings him onto his ship due to the freezing conditions. The harsh natural setting juxtaposes human life; the cold proves beautiful but deadly. As Frankenstein earlier describes, “I remembered the effect that the view of the tremendous and ever-moving glacier had produced upon my mind when I first saw it. It had then filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul, and allowed it to soar from the obscure world to light and joy” (Shelley 87). Despite the “sublime ecstasy” (Shelley 87) of the ice, Walton’s ship is later surrounded by sheets of it; several times, they are blocked in by icy waters. Walton details how his ship was “shut in […] by ice” (Shelley 15); again, near the end of the novel, Walton describes how they became trapped by ice once more, stating, “We are […] still in imminent danger of being crushed in [ice’s] conflict. The cold is excessive, and many of my unfortunate comrades have already found a grave amidst this scene of desolation.” (Shelley 206-207). No matter the extent of natural beauty, mortal, human lives are always at the whim of the world before them. While logic like that used by the creature when he learned about fire—“How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects!” (Shelley 95)—can be used for survival, sometimes there is only so much an individual is truly capable of enduring before they succumb to their physical limitations. The cultural identity of a human being will inevitably fail just before mortality, as remembrance exists in what others carry on for you.
Shelley’s Frankenstein is a frame narrative, as the story begins with Captain Walton finding Victor Frankenstein and ends with Frankenstein’s death. Before his passing, Frankenstein speaks to the crew of the ship, saying to them, “’Oh! be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes, and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts might be; it is mutable, cannot withstand you, if you say that it shall not’” (Shelley 208). The ice, in this instance, is set in stark contrast to the mentality of the human being. By noting the physical metaphor of the fire, Shelley plays with how the physicality of human beings also informs a cultural mentality. Frankenstein constructs the ideal identity for these men as one of bravery—“This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts might be” (Shelley 208)—, but he speaks little to a British, cultural context. This is arguably because of Frankenstein’s hubris, as his desires seem to go ‘beyond’ that of human culture and into a status of godliness. Furthermore, British imperialism at this time could have a lot to do with the lack of criticality towards a distinctly European way of life.
The deepest level of analysis that Shelley gets into a British identity is in her Romantic writing style, which is defined well as an emphasis on nature and its impact on the individual. This is often done by describing the ‘sublime’, supernatural, and grotesque parts of the human imagination. Scholarly writer Andrew Griffin analyzes Shelley’s Frankenstein through its emphasis on Romantic elements. Griffin states, “To the prescientific and poetic mind that Bachelard analyzes, fire is life and change, ‘the ultra-living element,’ and as such has been confidently located in the sky, deep in the earth, in everything that moves, grows, alters its shape, reproduces itself. Fire is thus ‘one of the principles of universal explanation,’ both good and bad” (Griffin). Shelley’s Romanticism was commonplace at the time; in this way, Shelley shows that British identity is an assumed culture, subconsciously emphasizing Eurocentrism, especially when noted in works such as Things Fall Apart. Shelley’s use of Frankenstein’s monster urges the readers to question what is or is not human, using fire and ice as a metaphor for that which is and is not ‘human enough’.
In contrast to Shelley’s work, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is very self-aware of the novel’s societal context, both inside and beyond Igboland. In almost every way, the novel is an examination of culture and how the ideology of a group of people can be both flawed and deserving of protection. Postcolonial themes run deep throughout this story, as Achebe directly critiques the destruction of Igbo culture after the colonization of the area because of British missionaries. Achebe is critical of both British and Igbo cultures, however. The main character, Okonkwo, is an incredibly toxic character, filled with hubris and extreme sexism due to his views on the superiority of masculinity. Several times throughout the novel, Okonkwo expresses that anything feminine is ‘bad’. After his son, Nwoye, converts to Christianity and joins the British missionaries, Okonkwo—without any sort of serious self-evaluation—reflects on the matter. Achebe writes, “Okonkwo was popularly called the ‘Roaring Flame.’ As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name. He was a flaming fire. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye, degenerate and effeminate?” (Achebe 153). Flame is immediately tied into this metaphor of masculinity and greatness; the “’Roaring Flame’” (Achebe 153) is deserving of praise, while Nwoye is “effeminate” (Achebe 153) and weak for leaving the village. Achebe’s construction of a cultural identity through the metaphor of fire is much more direct than Shelley’s; Okonkwo is very clear that masculinity is greater, and that it should be one’s purpose in life to be ‘the greatest’. Being the greatest means that an individual must apply themselves to the standards of Okonkwo’s masculinity, through which he views every part of the world. In one literary analysis of Things Fall Apart, writer Jahidul Azad looks at the novel through a postcolonial lens while simultaneously theorizing that Okonkwo’s hubris is at fault for his and his culture’s demise. Azad writes, “Such resentment towards indolence & gentility makes Okonkwo a slave of egocentricity and toughness. However, he receives a great deal of respect and admiration from the young, aged, and female members of society. He frequently gets picked for dangerous as well as noble acts of the entire clan because of his love of action and violence” (Azad 118). Through this lens, it is possible to see how Achebe hoped to critique Igbo culture using Okonkwo as a vehicle for this. Azad continues to explore this idea, saying, “Okonkwo was trained to act in this way by the Igbo social structure because there, human emotion is devalued and viewed as a sign of weakness. Feelings and passions are something, which should go with women only, certainly not with men. As a result, it is not just Okonkwo’s responsibility but also a social flaw. Naturally, both Okonkwo and society will have to compensate for this” (Azad 120).
To say that Okonkwo’s character is a critique of all Igbo culture would certainly be a disservice to the breadth of people who lived in Igboland. However, through the postcolonial lens and use of sexism as a critique of said sexism, Achebe points out the hypocritical nature of some people. He points this out so to both critique Igbo culture and to show the complicated nature of their people. At the time this novel was published, African literature was incredibly limited; Achebe’s goal was to show the humanity of these characters and to express the reality of Igboland before British imperialism.
Through this lens, it is also possible to view the metaphor for fire in Things Fall Apart as one that connects directly to the lifeblood of Igbo culture. As Okonkwo continues to think about his son’s abandonment of the Igbo, he notes, “as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. And immediately Okonkwo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply” (Achebe 153). In this moment, Nwoye is referred to as ash, which could relate to his “effeminate” (Achebe 153) traits, but also to his disconnect from Igbo culture. In terms of his cultural identity and his masculinity, Nwoye fails to meet his father’s expectations. Achebe’s choice to explore the story of Things Fall Apart through Okonkwo’s eyes allows the reader to truly grasp the history and culture that was lost due to British colonization, while also making it possible for people to understand why the missionaries were so ‘successful’ in tearing these places apart. Okonkwo’s harsh language and unrealistic expectations of his soft-spoken, calm son, Nwoye, in many ways, drove his son to Christianity, as Nwoye sought to escape the severe standards of his father.
As soon as the white men arrive in Igboland, Okonkwo wants to go to war with them. His immediate reaction to violence is one borne from a place of desire; he wishes to defend his culture. When Egonwanne—another man in the village—disagrees with this proposal, Okonkwo thinks similarly of him as he does of his son. Okonkwo notes, “’The greatest obstacle in Umuofia […] is that coward, Egonwanne. His sweet tongue can change fire into cold ash. When he speaks he moves our men to impotence’” (Achebe 200). In Okonkwo’s worldview, it is a weakness to not react; for him, fire—and by extension life—only exists through its burning. A burning that must occur, no matter what lies in the path ahead. His fire is attached to the heartbeat of his culture and his village of Umuofia. Thus, the novel ends with Okonkwo hanging himself; the death of his pride and his fire is also the death of him. As the British continue to impose more and more rules onto Igbo culture, destroying Okonkwo’s previous way of life, the only thing he knows to do is hang himself. His suicide is one that the British do not linger on for more than a few sentences. The Commissioner, running the colonization of Igboland, thinks about how he could write about Okonkwo’s suicide. He says, “One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate” (Achebe 208-209). In a post-colonialist analysis of Things Fall Apart, scholarly writer Lame Kenalemang explains a Nigerian perspective of Okonkwo’s death. Kenalemang writes, “Without culture Igbo society is as good as dead, hence the significance of Okonkwo’s death in the end. Like Okonkwo the Igbo committed suicide by not being suspicious of the white missionary’s intentions in their land or questioning his presence” (Kenalemang 19). In this way, Things Fall Apart interestingly contrasts Shelley’s Frankenstein. As Achebe’s novel ends with Okonkwo’s death (the oppressed passing from the violence of the oppressor), Shelley shows the monster outliving his creator. The creature cries, “’Alas! he is cold, he cannot answer me.’” (Shelley 212). This role reversal indicates the creation of culture but in two very different ways. As the death of Victor Frankenstein opens a gate for the monster to continue his existence in a new way, the death of Okonkwo shows the iron fist of British imperialism on Igboland and the dehumanization of the Igbo people, creating a new form of culture changed by colonialism.
The exploration of the Igbo and British way of life throughout these stories moves beyond the physical presence of ‘being alive’ and into human identity. The cultures of oppressed versus oppressor allow for the growth of new identities. Through the extended metaphor of fire, cultural life is shown to have its own beating heart. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart show the necessity of fire within human existence. Bridging across the physical requirements for life, Achebe and Shelley show that culture and human identity are as essential to existence as the elements of nature. Shelley’s use of fire in Frankenstein illuminates Victor’s hubris and the monster’s questioning of what it means to be alive. In contrast, Achebe explores Okonkwo’s struggles with Igbo and masculine identity under the weight of British imperialism. Both authors, at the very center of their works, implicate the necessity of a powerful mentality and connection to culture to survive. By tying it back to the physical need for fire, Shelley and Achebe theorize that without a cultural identity, humanity would be left out to die in the cold.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart: A Novel. Penguin Books, 1959.
Azad, Jahidul. “The Colonized Fall Apart: A Postcolonial Analysis of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.” Universe PG: British Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2022, universepg.com/public/storage/journal-pdf/The%20colonized%20fall%20apart%20a%20postcolonial%20analysis%20of%20Achebe%E2%80%99s%20Things%20Fall%20Apart.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar. 2024.
Griffin, Andrew. “‘Fire and Ice in Frankenstein’: In the Endurance of ‘Frankenstein’: Essays on Mary Shelley’s Novel, Ed. George Levine and U. C. Knoepflmacher (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: Univ. Of California Press, 1979).” The Pennsylvania Electronic Edition of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/griffin.html. Accessed 10 Mar. 2024.
Kenalemang, Lame Maatla. “Things Fall Apart: An Analysis of Pre and Post-Colonial Igbo Society.” Karlstads Universitet, http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:648320/fulltext01.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar. 2024.Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. 1818 text, Penguin Classics, 2016.
Sprockets and Springes 