Frankenstein Did Not Like Himself

Frankenstein Did Not Like Himself

Victor Frankenstein effectively and ethically abandons the major responsibility of the creature he created. The ethical interpretation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is so complicated that it requires a careful study of the novel. Many different ethical views are proposed throughout the novel Frankenstein. Victor's actions toward the monster clearly show that his morals are questionable.

One primary example of Victor's unethical behavior is his constant refusal of responsibility for creating the monster. This affects both his life and the lives of those around him after he abandons his creature. He turns his creation into a monster both physically and mentally. By leaving the monster to survive on his own,

He carries positive and negative qualities. His negative qualities only appear after he is repeatedly abandoned and neglected. Victor's animation of the patchwork body that is abused and then abandonment ultimately cause the creature to become evil, but rather it is Victor's neglectful and cruel behavior toward his creation that causes the damage. Shelley diverts focus away from the common arguments of morality and the issue of "not playing God" and chooses to divert the focus on the ethical problems of the individual. Victor becomes "the wretch -the miserable monster whom [he] created" (44); he is referring to the monster, however he could be speaking of himself as well.

Shelley shows the reader that this form of wallowing escapism does not render a person any less accountable for their actions. Victor relates to Walton that he "remained motionless. The thunder ceased; but the rain still continued, and the scene was enveloped in an impenetrable darkness" (63). This is symbolic of Victor's life after his refusal to take charge of his own actions, but it is not only himself whom he thrusts into this impenetrable and perpetual darkness, it is a fate he prescribes to all of those closest to him. This teaches us that our ethical or

Elizabeth laments "when I reflect ... on the miserable death of Justine Moritz, I no longer see the world and its works as they before appeared to me. Before, I looked upon the accounts of vice and injustice, that I read in books or heard from others, as tales of ancient days, or imaginary evils; at least they were remote, and more familiar to reason than to the imagination; but now misery has come home, and men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other's blood" (79). A person cannot and must not rely on society to dictate an ethical way oflife. It is up to the individual to construct his or her own ethical compass. Elizabeth goes on to say "when falsehood can look so like the truth, who can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness? I feel as though I were walking on the edge of a precipice, towards which thousands are crowding, and endeavoring to plunge me into the abyss" (80).