The Destruction Of Humanity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Humanity’s attempt to control nature is not necessarily good or bad if pursued without the undertaker’s ego in mind; it is only when the goal is placed above all else and morality is pushed aside that the endeavor leads to disaster.
Victor’s ego is the main reason he continues his project despite loathing his work and the toll it takes on its health. While he mentions the possibility of bringing people back from the dead in passing, he devotes much more time to describing the new race he plans on bringing into being. More specifically, he describes how said race would “bless [him] as its creator”, and how he would completely claim their gratitude, since he was their father. Victor’s focus on how his work will benefit him, rather than others,
shows his selfish goals. Speaking in terms of his children “owing” their being to him and how he feels that he “deserve[s]” such a thing, Victor further highlights how he places himself above others and foreshadows his negative relationship with his creation. The Creature does not live up to Victor’s expectations, thus Victor hates him because he is not getting what he feels he deserves out of the relationship. This self-centered worldview mirrors the use of modern scientific innovations, such as using animal testing on new products. Using lab mice to test a new vaccine leads to good since the vaccine may help save many lives, but using them to test makeup leads to no good at all, and benefits no-one except the people selling it.
Victor becomes increasingly illogical and irrational as his obsession with his creation –and its destruction- grows until it consumes his life.
When he hears of his brother William’s murder and then sees the Creature in the same area, he instantly assumes the Creature must be responsible for William’s death, even though at that point he has no evidence whatsoever to support that claim. Furthermore, he vows to stay silent about his suspected part in the murder, abstaining from giving out even a sane-sounding half-truth in order to warn and protect his family, thus putting them all in danger. This direct contrariness to Victor’s professed love of his friends and family showcases his deteriorating mental state. Upon properly meeting his creation for the first time he threatens to wreak vengeance upon his “miserable head”, completely disregarding that he had witnessed his creation’s superior physical abilities only moments before, and the fact that Victor probably can’t even reach his head in the first place. Focusing on one thing to the exclusion of all else, even sanity, damages one’s self and others. Victor’s emphasis of his dislike of the Creature’s physical appearance is similar to the obsession with physical perfection in today’s society and how scientific advancement has made it easier to pursue it to an unhealthy degree. Plastic surgery is available for those who have suffered severe injuries, yes, but it is mentioned much more often in reference to liposuctions and nosejobs, done only to become more “beautiful” and performed over and over again until one looks more like a doll than a real
person.
Victor was willing to commit acts that “profane[d]” his hands in order to complete his work because he believed that the ends justified the means, no matter how awful both the ends and means turned out to be. He became a grave-robber in order to procure supplies for his experiments and “tortured the living animal” in order to learn more about the secrets of nature. He spent nearly two years sneaking around in graveyards and inhabiting charnel-houses in order to work on his project, believing that once he had his grateful children, being a deserving father would be worth all the effort. His willingness to go as far as he did was what allowed him to finally succeed, but the end result of his labors was a man that Victor deemed unfit and abandoned.
Individuals who are for advancement and “perfection” no matter what will not tread carefully in order to reach their goals, but neglecting to stop and look around at the consequences will only lead to ruin. Victor created his Creature to be about eight feet tall so that the intricacies of the body would be quicker and easier to craft. Had he taken the time to craft a more human-sized form instead, then he likely would not have been afraid of his own creation and the tragic events of later chapters would not have come to pass. His desire to “pour a torrent of light” onto the world in the form of newfound knowledge and agency existed without the responsibility to temper it and decide to use it for good. Modern science has also given humanity a lot of agency, but all too often it is expressed in the form of pretty inbred dogs and a depleting ozone layer. Only when the effects of technology are ignored or passed by in the name of progress does progress become a bad thing.
Disregarding morality in the pursuit of knowledge requires sacrificing the reason for the pursuit in the first place, a price that is far too high to pay. The whole reason humans as a species try to advance is for a life where we can be safe and secure, where tragedy can be averted and accidents can be reversed. Causing tragedy in the name of averting it simply locks us in an endless loop of suffering instead of allowing us to move forward together. We can only seek control if used responsibly and for the benefit of all.