Responsibility In Frankenstein

Responsibility in Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein There are many themes that could be written about in Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein, but the one theme that is most important in today’s society is taking responsibility for your actions. In the book there are numerous instances where responsibility is tossed aside and forgotten by the characters. Victor Frankenstein in particular does not take heed of consequences that come about from his own actions. All throughout the book Victor denies the creature and that creates even more problems for him as the book progresses. In the beginning of the book Victor is excited about creating something new, a never before seen creature. He even goes on and to say that the, “new species would
bless [him] as it’s creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to [him]. No Father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should observe theirs (40)” Victor does not care about the new life he is creating, he only cares about what prestige and standing he may be able to receive by his peers. He is not thinking about what this could mean such as the creature being dependent on him for everything and needing him. Teenage parents can and have reacted the same way. They can feel ecstatic about the thought of a baby and not thinking of what it truly means to be a parent. In some ways Victor has more in common with the expectant mother than the father. When the mother makes the decision destroy the fetus, to abort, she shows no love, no affection for the baby. Victor does the same when he “ardently wished to extinguished that life which [he] had so thoughtlessly bestowed (79)”, he exhibits the same behavior that those mothers do. They do not want the responsibility of a baby, of another sentient being that they must care for. Sometimes teen parents do have their unplanned pregnancies and later grow to hate their child. The creature even remarks on how Victor, “[detests and spurs him], thy creature, to whom you art bound (83).” Victor created him and so will always and forever be bound to his creation. Essentially the same way parents are to their children. Victor, however, takes it further than most parents and casts out his monster and acts like he never spent two years working on how to create him. Parents almost always have something to do with their child. Victor is ashamed of himself and his creation so he tosses him out and abandons him to the world. To being treated like an wanted pregnancy, hated child, and having a parent who wants nothing to do with him the monster is not the worst he could have been. If Victor had taken responsibility before he did in the book many members of his family would still be alive and it is likely the monster would have been kind and caring. He does not and the monster truly does become what everyone, even Victor, thought him to be, a monster.