In the beginning we find Victor growing up in a wealthy family, where he is encouraged to seek a greater understanding of the world around him through science. He is surrounded by loving family and friends and appears to grow up a normal boy with the exception of his obsession of studying outdated theories of science that focused on the natural wonders. Inspired by his youthful obsession, Victor leaves for the University of Ingolstadt to pursue his passions; however, tragedy strikes a few days before with the passing of his mother from scarlet fever. We can only imagine the distraught Frankenstein traveling to school with the sadness that must have plagued him during this time, and how when he arrived may have unconsciously lead him down the road to the construction of the creature.…
Prometheus, according to Greek mythology, was the Titan who created mankind. A task given to him by Zeus, he was to create human beings with clay and water in the image of the gods. Prometheus taught man to read, heal their sickness, and to hunt. Zeus kept fire from mankind but Prometheus stole the fire from Zeus and gave it to the humans against direct domands. Zeus then punished him by fixing him to a rock of Caucasus where each day an eagle would peck out his liver, only for it to grow back the next day because of his immortality as a god. Prometheus was also a myth told in from clay and water against the laws of nature. Much like Victor and his creation of man against the laws of nature, in which they both end up punished for their creations. Prometheus and Frankenstein are similar in many ways, such as their actions and results of creating humans. But they are also very different in personality.…
The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life. Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to surpass previous human explorations by endeavoring to reach the North Pole. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge, of the light (see “Light and Fire”), proves dangerous, as Victor’s act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him, and Walton finds himself perilously trapped between sheets of ice. Whereas Victor’s obsessive hatred of the monster drives him to his death, Walton ultimately pulls back from his treacherous mission, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for knowledge can be.Monstrosity…
Frankenstein seeks supremacy by trying to uncover the secrets that science has to offer and by pursuing to obtain dangerous knowledge. Victor Frankenstein’s drive and self-belief is so strong that he forces to exploit himself by studying long ridiculous hours, blinding himself to his own personal health and to the ramification of his desire. "For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”. This drive becomes so compulsive that Frankenstein isolates himself from the rest of society and his family. “ Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul in the pursuit of some discoveries which I hoped to make.” His exuberant perseverance to acquire knowledge and egotism results in Frankenstein’s aspiration to defy the order of nature and play God, displaying…
* Throughout Frankenstein, the reader is left with the feeling that Victor's obsessive desire to defeat nature, through the creation of another life, directly led to the many tragedies that befell him, "Learn from me, if not by my precept, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier…
Victor Frankenstein’s demise stemmed from his infatuation with the balance of nature and science. Even as a child, Frankenstein longed for answers that no one could give, “ I confess that neither the structure of languages, nor the code of governments, nor the politics of various states possessed attractions for me. It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn” (28). From that moment Victor’s fate was determined, and his pursuit for these answers soon became an obsession with playing God. However, moments after the birth of his creation, his entire deanor shifts; he suffers remorse, “breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (51). This horror only worsens with his later encounters with the monster and the knowledge of the several murders of his most beloved. Victor Frankenstein gave life and now longed for…
How do people change in times of crisis and tragedy? In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, Victor learns a lesson in thinking before acting. Before creating the monster, he only cares about his studies and is relatively happy. After his creation, his studies become his phobia and his creation (which, while constructing him, used to be his love) became his tormentor. In the end, he learns his lesson and stops himself before committing the same mistake again. In creating life, one learns to live life a little wiser.…
Victor payed the price for his volatile ambition and his thirst for forbidden knowledge. He was doomed to a terrible fate when he began his academics and search for greatness because if he decided to be a common man all the misfortune that came to him would have never occurred. The danger of knowledge is very prominent in Frankenstein and is the beginning of all Victor’s…
Secrecy, like many other things in life, should be taken in moderation. Too much and one becomes isolated, distant to all friends and family members. Too little and one discovers that there is no privacy. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein has a problem deciding whether or not to tell his secret. Through Victor, Shelley warns us of the dangers of secrecy, and isolation, as well as the necessity of secrecy. In this classic, Shelley hints at secrecy should not be taken lightly; one must find equilibrium between isolation and publicity.…
Nature can influence life in either a positive or negative manner. It can react to a person’s feelings and thoughts, thus impacting their way of life. For example, nature is a huge part of the novel Frankenstein. Both the setting of the novel and its romanticism contribute to the theme as well. Nature impacts the characters in the novel as well as the events.…
In Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein purses a great thirst for knowledge resulting in his own demise. Frankenstein sought power and and was therefore punished for his curious mindset, eventually dying of exhaustion attempting to track his monstrous creation after it had killed Victor's loved ones.…
Three characteristics that shape Victor Frankenstein’s personality are that he is passionate, strong-minded, and committed. Victor’s passion stems primarily from his desire to create a human being that is free from disease and invulnerable to death. He wants to have a strong purpose in his life and be remembered for succeeding at something great. He states, “Wealth was an inferior object, but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render a man invulnerable to any but a violent death” (23). This statement shows that Victor is not driven by money or fame, but by scientific purposes. In order to succeed in his quest he completely devoted himself to his studies while attending a university in Ingolstadt. He shuts out his family from his life while pursuing his studies. His determination to create a flawless human being causes him to shut out the rest of the world and put his current life on hold.…
In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley gives a new meaning to revenge. It is illustrated in such an intense way. Viewed back and forth from Frankenstein’s and the creature’s perspective. Showing them fully consumed in their revenge, by being driven by it, getting their loved ones killed, and ultimately destroying them. Frankenstein’s and the creature’s revenge leads to their destruction.…
Mary Shelley in her Gothic novel Frankenstein introduces us to the ultimate betrayal between Victor Frankenstein, a mad scientist, and the characters throughout the novel. Shelley exhibits the theme of betrayal throughout the novel to convey the themes of secrecy and betrayal.…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the contradictory concepts of discovery echo between Victor Frankenstein, Walton and the creature. For Victor and Walton, the initial discovery is joyful and innocent, but ends in misery and corruption. The ambitions of both Walton and Frankenstein to explore new lands and to cast scientific light on the unknown are formed with good intentions but results as a fatal disregard for the sanctity of natural boundaries. Though the idea of discovery remains idealized, human fallibility entirely corrupts all pursuit of that ideal. The corruption of discovery parallels the corruption inherent in every human life, in that a child begins as a pure and faultless creature, full of wonder, but hardens into a self-absorbed, grasping, overly ambitious adult. Shelley suggests that although the desire to excavate unknown is a natural human trait, exceeding the human limitation inspired by greed, obsession, and ambition results self-destruction and harms to the others.…