Composed during the Industrial Revolution at a time of increased scientific experimentation, Shelley warns and forebodes her enlightened society of the consequences which come about from playing god. She uses Victor Frankenstein as her platform, whose self-exalting line “many excellent natures would owe their being to me” represents a society engrossed with reanimation. Recurring mythical allusions to Prometheus, “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge” portray Victor as a tragic hero; a noble character whose “fatal flaw” of blind ambition ultimately results in his own downfall and dehumanization, “swallowed up every habit of my nature”. In addition, Victor’s impulsive rejection of his grotesque creation, leads to the Monster’s rebellion (“vowed eternal hated and vengeance to all mankind”).…
In “Frankenstein” a gothic novel by Mary Shelley there is much suffering and affliction, some attribute this to victors search for glory, however it is by his ravenous search for knowledge that he meets his tragic fate. This novel often presents knowledge as destructive, and dangerous, but this does not only apply to Victor, all who wish to expand their knowledge find destruction eventually in this novel.…
Shelley’s Gothic novel, Frankenstein, explores the complex nature of mankind by considering the consequences of an unrestricted pursuit of science. A rise in scientific experimentation with Galvanism during Shelley’s time is reflected through the protagonist Victor as he uses it to bestow life. Shelley portrays Victor and the Creature as complex beings, demonstrating both inhuman and human qualities. Despite this, the subsequent rejection by his creator and the De Lacy family drives the Creature to ‘eternal rejection and vengeance of mankind’. Victor’s initial response when meeting the creature, demonstrates his savage, cruel treatment and lack of responsibility towards his creation.…
Cultural, religious and scientific influences are deeply intertwined in Frankenstein. The novel’s cultural aspect is introduced at the beginning of the novel when Victor’s drive for knowledge is introduced, which leads to the introduction of the science aspect, in which Victor animates lifeless matter. The birth of his monster establishes the religious aspect the nature of evil becomes questionable. In this essay, Shelley’s manipulation of the religion, scientific, and cultural aspects of the novel will be analyzed. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, Shelley manipulates…
This change in humanity is something Shelley questions extensively throughout her novel with Victor’s parallellism with society in the way he goes about his science ‘I was left with a Childs blindness added to a student’s thirst for knowledge’ this thirst for knowledge in victor was not accompanied by thought for the future it was the ‘childs blindness’ to go with his ‘ardent curiosity’ that created a ‘monster’. Frankenstein’s arrogance and ignorance is making a statement about humanity’s lust to be enlightened with ‘both eyes open, only to be blinded in one eye’ with the morals and ethics of our society lacking the support and discussion needed. tragic circumstance’s within Frankenstein are made to show what should have happened in the circumstances, which involves thinking of morals and…
Written during the Industrial Revolution and in the Age of Enlightenment- Shelley’s Frankenstein can be interpreted as a warning to the technological curious. This curious nature leads Shelley to…
Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ explores a deeper understanding of disruption through questioning the morality and consequences of creating human life. Written in 1818, Shelley both reflects and foresees the dangers scientific exploration could bring if it advanced too far. This period of scientific advancement (seen through Darwin and Galvini) is mimicked through her…
Contextual influences shape our values and way of life just as those of us living at that time challenge the values of that time. Shelley wrote Frankenstein during the Scientific Revolution not long after Galvani’s discovery of so-called ‘animal electricity’, sparking her idea of the possibilities of generating new human life. The power of the creative imagination was also a major influence on Shelley, a Romantic herself, and very influenced the renowned Romantic poets, husband Percy Shelley and friend Lord Byron. Shelley used the character of Victor Frankenstein in order to question the scientific and industrial revolutions wherein industrialists and scientists were increasingly focused on the thirst for knowledge at the expense of nature. In her text she has the obsessed Victor comment that he “did not watch the blossom of expanding leaves” and here…
In her novel Frankenstein, Shelley explores the driving force behind the heedless scientific advancements that her romanticist leanings warn against, this being the arrogance and hubris of mankind. Shelley’s Aristotelian hero, a Victor Frankenstein’s pretentiousness in his attempt to supplant the role of creator reflects Shelley’s thoughts about the nature of technology and the evils it could be used for. Frankenstein’s arrogance drives him to create the monster, which in turn destroys everything, that matters to Frankenstein, his wife and family. This symbolises the misgivings Shelley held about the hubris and arrogance that are intrinsic to human nature and the dire consequences she predicted if these emotions are allowed to dominate humanity. This is further reinforced by the dichotomy between Frankenstein and Walton, who like Victor, is driven by a sincere belief in the absolute power of empirical knowledge, demonstrated when he calls the arctic a “country of eternal…
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, she attempts to bring to light the dangers and the amount of responsibility a then new-found age of scientific exploration and discovery could bring to the table. When Technology and Power are used for self-beneficiary reasons, the process in which man tries to move forward with their pursuit of knowledge becomes complex, ending in the corruption of the self. In his attempt to make life, Victor unleashes a ‘Monster’ unto the world, oblivious to the responsibility it comes with. Being ignorant to this, and believing it to be a mere monster, he rejects any responsibility, sealing their fate in death.…
Some claim knowledge is power, but is it ethical to use that knowledge and tamper with nature? It has often been said that “progress is born from doubt and inquiry”, however, when the inquirer takes this knowledge and uses it to play God, can his actions be justified? That is the dilemma in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, where protagonist Victor Frankenstein attempts to artificially create life, only for it to end in death and tragedy. The novel blatantly displays how taking things too far and meddling with matters that are beyond human capacity is something that should never be done.…
Everyone goes through life with the hopes of acquiring new knowledge and being smarter today than they were yesterday; it is part of human nature to want to become better as a person. This was the case in the novel of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The characters within this novel each have different situations to which their quest for knowledge leads them to different points in their life. With knowledge comes power and with power comes consequences, these characters each have to deal with the consequences of their actions, which in some cases are good and some are not so good. Pride becomes an ultimate factor for one of these characters and is the make or break point of their decision making.…
Like Frankenstein, the Monster’s quests for knowledge only enhances his misfortunate life. This further allows readers to dissect the consequences associated with knowledge and the Monster’s responsibility in his fate and therefore parallels Victor’s and the Monster’s relationship with their misfortune. Knowledge, in the case of the Monster, ruins his naive understanding of his world. After the Monster sees the love Felix has for Safie he laments, “"Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock.” (85). Until this scene, the Monster understands he does not live in the best scenario, although is unaware of how poor his conditions truly are. Furthermore the Monster’s comparison of himself to a rock acts as an ironically fitting portrayal- an inanimate object. The comparison between the Monster and Victor continues to remind readers that the Monster was not gifted with emotion, nor is the Monster technically human. The Monster in this scenario much rather not know what he…
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is arguably one of the most controversial novels of the 19th Century. It discusses the concept of science verses human conscience in a technological world. The Gothic atmosphere of the novel reflects the dark feelings of society at the time, and Shelley utilised pathetic fallacy, her chosen form and imagery to suggest a twist on the real monster of her story. Shelley uses poetical language and perspective to emphasise how the monster is a model Romaticist, and to express the importance of belonging and communication to a judgemental society. Symbols, contrasts and ‘heavenly’ adjectives are used to portray Victor Frankenstein as a God-like figure; expressing how we must never interfere with nature’s course and take on God’s role to the knowledge-greedy culture of the 1800’s, which was consumed with the Industrial Revolution. Shelley has manipulated her writing to convey her personal ideologies, and to reflect her concern for a loss of ethics in a society fixated on the pursuit for answers.…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Doctor Frankenstein continues to use and implement his knowledge, which seems to go against nature and is called ‘dangerous’. This knowledge, when used to create his hideous monster, deeply affects his mental and physical state of mind. Shelley showcases this in chapter four of Frankenstein. In the novel, Frankenstein acquires knowledge, then causes detrimental harm to his mental and physical health.…