Dualism and Conflict - Conflict between classicism and romanticism

It seems that all major movements in literature are rejections of what came before and Romanticism is no different. Romanticism is a rejection of "classical values" and Frankenstein shows the conflict between the two.

Classicism came out of the "Enlightenment period" which valued "reason" as the primary basis of authority. The reason it's called "classical" is that the writers tended to emulate the rational philosophers of Ancient Greece.

Romantic elements:
Nature, Wilderness

Classical elements:
Cities, particularly academic ones
(Oxford, London, Ingolstad)
Science

There exists, in Frankenstein, a dualism between science and nature which can be seen as an example of the conflict between rationalism and romanticism in the artistic world at this time. In every circumstance, however, nature wins -

Frankenstein does not manage to defy death - his creation overpowers him, both creator and created end up dead and Walton sees Frankenstein as a sum of body parts which parallels what has come before.

Walton does not manage to overcome the Pole

Even the monster, who is male counterpart to the overwhelmingingly female representation of Nature, has his own little battle versus nature. Logically, he should fit in fine with the De Lacey family, but his appearance outweighs his mind in how the De Laceys see him.

If you want a Wuthering Heights link, Lockwood is "rational" and Heathcliff is "romantic"