In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores a wide range of themes concerning human nature through the thoughts and actions of two main characters and a host of others. Two themes are at the heart of the story, the most important being creation, but emphasis is also placed on alienation from society. These two themes are relevant even in today's society as technology brings us ever closer to Frankenstein's fictional achievement.…
Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein hides in constant fear of the creature he has created. However, he had one opportunity to live his life free of this constant fear. That was to simply create a partner for his creature and the creature promised to leave him alone forever. He took the agreement and began making the partner. However, in the middle of the process, he betrayed his creature’s trust in him. He destroyed what he had created and vowed to never create another creature ever again. This betrayal of the creature’s trust is what prompted the monster to continue his monstrous rampage and is what led Victor to live his life in constant fear. This one simple act of misdeed, due to the fear instilled into Victor by the creature, allows…
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by loving family and friends and appears to grow up a normal boy with the exception of his obsession of studying outdated theories of science that focused on the natural wonders.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.…
Throughout the novel, The Monster is characterized as a sensitive being; he wants to be loved and resents the fact that he was rejected by Frankenstein. As he gains knowledge and begins to grow more intelligent, The Monster comes to the realization that Victor abandoned him, that he is unwanted. This frustrates him as he continually gets rejected by society. Although Victor seems to think very highly of himself, The Monster has a very low self-esteem, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (pg #), which stems from his rejection by both Victor and society as a whole. This character trait of The Monster makes the sort of selfishness of Victor, as it shows that, in his search for fame and glory, he was uncaring of the consequences. In creating The Monster, Victor’s intentions were not what they should have been; instead of trying to create life in order to make the world better, he was doing is for the sole purpose of becoming a God-like person. His God-complex is apparent in other parts of the novel as well, when he meets The Monster in the mountains and they have a conversation about Victor’s want to destroy The…
In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays her idea that creatures are born with good intentions, but this innocence is soon snatched away by the gnarled hands of life. The monster, when he is first created, wanders until he finds a family which he observes intently. At first the monster would steal some of their food, but “when [he] found that in doing this [he] inflicted pain on the cottagers, [he] abstained” (Shelley 99). The monster has been alive for a very short period of time and knows little of social norms, yet he has an instinctive predisposition towards good actions. Victor was also innocent in his youth, and remembers fondly how he was raised by devoted parents. Victor recalls, “I was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed…
As his mind is clouded with anger, Frankenstein decides, through thoughts about Elizabeth and consideration for his own possible death, “not to fall before [his] enemy without a bitter struggle” (121). Although Victor reflects on the sorrow his “beloved Elizabeth” may experience if he dies, he is still completely determined to, at least, try to fight if ever face to face with his creation (121). Shelly implies that Victor disregards the consequences of a “bitter struggle” because his thoughts still display his persistent desire for vengeance, to not “fall before [his] enemy.” Muddled with vengeful thoughts, individuals are prepared to withstand any afflictions that may follow the attempts to exact their lust for retribution. This indifference to consequence shows the lack of rational thought within individuals that seek to exact revenge, a clear warning from Mary Shelley. As he kneels in the graveyard, following Elizabeth’s murder, Victor “swear[s] to pursue the demon, who cause[s his] misery, until he or [Victor] shall perish in mortal conflict”(145). With the death of his fiancee, best friend, and younger brother, Victor Frankenstein declares his only purpose for existence is to seek vengeance until death. The lust for retribution ignites intense emotion which proves to be in direct correlation with mental instability. Similarly, the monster’s hatred for all things, including Frankenstein, intensifies his lust for revenge and as a result, leaves him a victim of irrational, detrimental thought. The monster “for the first time” experiences “the feelings of revenge and hatred” and he “[does] not strive to control them, but allow[s]..[his] mind” to focus on “injury and death” (95-97). The search for vengeance sparks within the monster, and without hesitation, the monster allows the feelings of rage to take control, and his mind’s focus turns…
In the book Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, secretly blames Victor throughout the course of the novel as the cause of his own suffering and pain. Victor ultimately is the one and only monster within the novel because of relationship that has built between him and the monster. Victor Frankenstein has created a monster that throughout the novel harms him because of his lack of responsibility and selfishness. The monster commits a number of different crimes which in return causes Victor to view him as the true monster however if Victor wasn’t so self- concerned with achieving his own goals, he would have seen the negative effects of the way he treated the monster earlier then he did.…
Victor Frankenstein’s constant state of illness after something unpleasant occurs is his means of escape, of ignoring the critical mistakes that he slowly realized was the result of his creation. After creating the monster, Victor realized that the monster is terribly gruesome in terms of appearance, focusing on his image rather than his character: “A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch” (Shelley 52). He subsequently fell ill because he could not confront his failure and tries to avoid his responsibilities: “I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness” (Shelley 52). Victor is weak for being unable to process and accept what he had done. This is continuous throughout the novel, revealing…
He ends up getting in Victor’s mind until he ultimately dies. He spent the rest of his life trying to get away from the monster and then trying to track it with clues. There are some similarities and differences between the monster and Victor Frankenstein. The similarities are that they both possess physical power. Victor has the ability to put a life together by putting body parts back together and has power over science. Likewise, the monster has the physical capability to have ability over life in the fact that he can kill. The difference is that Victor is bringing life back and the monster is killing. Another difference shows that Victor realized he had power and felt guilty and the monster has never felt any remorse. A similarity is that the monster and Victor are both self-centered. The monster wants a mate for himself and does not think of the outcome it may have. Victor is self-centered because he created the monster because he originally wanted to have the power over science and life. He sooned learned that power was not all that he thought it was. Victor was also self-centered when he did not turn the monster into authorities when it started killing people. If he would have done this originally, he would not be in trouble or feel guilt and remorse. They both are similar because they are not very intelligent. Victor might have brains to build a body back but he was too arrogant and stupid to realize what could possibly happen. Likewise, the monster had the brain capacity of a baby and did not know anything socially or mentally at all. He just knew he wanted to get back at Victor for not building him a…
The use of symbolism also strengthens the prevailing theme by tying in additional hidden messages to the novel. The process of Frankenstein relaying his story is painful for him because it is symbolic that he never learned from his mistakes or repented. He expresses this grief to Walton “I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me; I have tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge” (Shelley 83). Frankenstein’s story shows how his entire pursuit has brought him nothing but pain and grief. Yet despite telling this story and experiencing all his grief anew, he still does not fully reject the pursuit of excess knowledge. This is symbolic of him being in a state of denial which ties in to how he…
It is proved that his mental state is unbalanced when he states, “My internal being was in a state of insurrection and turmoil” (Shelley 36). As his mental health becomes unstable, he then becomes obsessed with science, making it his highest priority, even above his own health and family. Victor then suddenly became consumed with the concept of creating life artificially, and of the elixir of life. Although Victor does succeed in his dream of creating life, he is soon horrified at the sight of what he has created. He is not proud of the Creature, but disgusted at the sight of it, stating, “the beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 57) Victor abandons his creation and leaving it to fend for itself, indirectly causing the murders of loved ones on account of his own shallowness, selfishness, vanity, and disregard of moral…
The human mind is something scientists have been trying to comprehend forever. Science can not alter how the mind communicates with one’s body, or even how it works. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein uses the creation of a fake being to emphasize the fact that the human mind cannot be altered or replicated effectively. Dr. Frankenstein thought he would be able to create and control the mind of a creature. He had tried many times, but to no avail. After talking with a professor, he finally figured out a way that he would be able to complete what he had been trying to for years. But does Frankenstein pass that natural boundary placed before us by our peers? To create life, a being with its own mind, had never been done before. What are the consequences of his actions and was it truly worth it to go beyond those limits?…
Ambition is usually seen as the primary tool to promote achievement. In the novel Frankenstein, there are three outstanding examples of people with ambitions, and each person achieves their goal in a different way. Mary Shelley uses the journeys of Robert Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature to warn against ambition for the purposes of self-gratification, as they ultimately lead to the detriment of the lives of others.…
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…
After a certain period of time passes, the creature mentions his strong desire for love. He eventually approaches the cottagers he was watching and the only person home was the blind father. The blind man accepts him into his house and displays a glimpse of love to the monster.…