In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein illness seems to be a way for the main character to separate from society. When people are sick they tend to remove or distance themselves from others. In Frankenstein’s case, he falls into a deteriorating physical state whenever he comes into contact with the monster. His physical conditions seem to be directly linked to any confrontation with the monster. It can be seen that Frankenstein subconsciously uses sickness as an escape from his guilt and responsibilities of the monster. Subsequently, illness can be seen as a way for Frankenstein to hide and forget the actions he indirectly committed. Although in reality, illness is not effective because instead of improving Frankenstein's conditions it only masked it while he continued to deteriorate after every encounter with the monster, finally leading to death.
Frankenstein has a disposition to become sick whenever he feels guilty or should take responsibility for his actions. Soon after creating the monster out of lifeless matter, Frankenstein removes himself from the scene. It was not until he came into an encounter with Clerval, that he was finally able to return to his apartment. Once he realized the monster left his apartment, he became overly happy in a way that worried his friend (Shelly 51). Frankenstein was aware that he was responsible for bringing something terrible into the world. “This was the commencement of a nervous fever which confined…[him] for several months” (Shelly 52). Of course Frankenstein would fall into a “nervous fever”, he is openly admitting that he cannot accept what he has created and it causes him to fall ill. This proves that Frankenstein uses illness as an escape to his problems at hand. While in an...
... middle of paper ...
...ankenstein internally. Shelley manipulates illness in a way that allows the reader to understand the guilt and emotions Victor carries for taking the role of God and creating life. Frankensteins illness begins to unravel the day he laid eyes on his creation. From that day forward, he suffered the consequences of his actions. The portrayal of illness illuminates the meaning of the work by expressing that ones intend may be positive, but the outcome may not turn out as planned. His “creation” experienced the world on his own, and without the proper guidance he turned into a “monster”. As a result, just because you bring life into the world pure, it is the world that changes pure into evil. All in all, Frankenstein wanted to bring goodness into the world, but instead he created a monster and used illness as a way to escape his guilt and responsibility to the creature.
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
Frankenstein only realizes the full ramifications of his actions when the monster first opens its eyes, but by then it is too late and nothing can stop the monster from being alive. Instead of taking responsibility for the monster he has created, Frankenstein flees and does not really question where it went upon his return, celebrated for a bit when he “becomes assured that [his] enemy had indeed fled” (Shelley 46), and it was not on his mind until it was seen when he got to his home town. This shows Frankenstein's true personality when faced with a difficult problem, as far as physiological reactions go he has the “flight” response. Every time a situation comes up that provokes stressful emotions he seeks for solitude in
Victor Frankenstein is ultimately successful in his endeavor to create life. This, however, does not stop the underlying theme of obsession. Shelley’s shift from Victor’s never-ending quest for knowledge is replaced with an obsession of secrecy. “I had worked har...
In Frankenstein, Victor’s monster suffers much loneliness and pain at the hands of every human he meets, as he tries to be human like them. First, he is abandoned by his creator, the one person that should have accepted, helped, and guided him through the confusing world he found himself in. Next, he is shunned wherever he goes, often attacked and injured. Still, throughout these trials, the creature remains hopeful that he can eventually be accepted, and entertains virtuous and moral thoughts. However, when the creature takes another crushing blow, as a family he had thought to be very noble and honorable abandons him as well, his hopes are dashed. The monster then takes revenge on Victor, killing many of his loved ones, and on the humans who have hurt him. While exacting his revenge, the monster often feels guilty for his actions and tries to be better, but is then angered and provoked into committing more wrongdoings, feeling self-pity all the while. Finally, after Victor’s death, the monster returns to mourn the death of his creator, a death he directly caused, and speaks about his misery and shame. During his soliloquy, the monster shows that he has become a human being because he suffers from an inner conflict, in his case, between guilt and a need for sympathy and pity, as all humans do.
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.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a truly famous novel that has been revisited by many, as well as revised by the author in the many years since its original publication. Within this novel Shelley conveys the tragic fictional story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster that he thoughtlessly brought to life, as well as the lives of those affected by his hideous creation. Throughout the novel it is made quite apparent that the monster was not inherently evil, in fact the monster was quite benign, however through its interactions with society the monster is slowly shaped into a being that can truly be called just that, a monster. All of the aforementioned change to the monster are brought about in part by the societal standards of the time period
When Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is analyzed, critics comes to a conclusion about Victor Frankenstein's creation. The creature invokes the most sympathy from the readers than any other character in the novel. Because he is abandoned by society which manipulates the creature to do evil things despite his good heart. Therefore Shelley's message throughout the novel is that a person is not born evil, they are made evil.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
Literature often works as depicted act of betrayal. Many people, friends, and family may portray a protagonist, but they will likewise be guilty of treachery or betrayal to their own values. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is acts of betrayal between Victor Frankenstein and the monster. In the Novel Victor Frankenstein is a betrayal of life itself because it should be given naturally and not created by a scientist man. The monster is actually the one who is majorly betrayed, he may look like a hideous dangerous monster on the outside but, not one within himself. From the beginning of the novel, Victor betrays the monster, and this betrayal is seen on many levels throughout the novel. The tragic figure in Mary Shelley’s horror novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, is truly the instrument of betrayal to his creation of the monster because life should be given naturally not by creation of suffering and horrific which is made by man.
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
“I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am” (Shelley 92). Frankenstein’s Creature presents these lines as it transitions from a being that merely observes its surroundings to something that gains knowledge from the occurrences around it. The Creature learns about humanity from “the perfect forms of [his] cottagers” (90). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.” Shelley believes that the nurture of someone, or something, in the Creature’s case, forms them into who they become and what actions they take. While this is true for Frankenstein’s Creature, the same cannot be said about Victor Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein secretly creates a monster without considering the consequences. After the creation of the monster and throughout Victor’s life he and the monster suffer constantly. Because Victor keeps his monster a secret from his family, friends and society, he is alone and miserable. The monster is also alone and miserable because he is shunned by society due to his grotesque appearance.
“Allure, Authority, and Psychoanalysis” discusses the unconscious wishes, effects, conflicts, anxieties, and fantasies within “Frankenstein.” The absence of strong female characters in “Frankenstein” suggests the idea of Victor’s desire to create life without the female. This desire possibly stems from Victor’s attempt to compensate for the lack of a penis or, similarly, from the fear of female sexuality. Victor’s strong desire for maternal love is transferred to Elizabeth, the orphan taken into the Frankenstein family. This idea is then reincarnated in the form of a monster which leads to the conclusion that Mary Shelley felt like an abandoned child who is reflected in the rage of the monster.
The abnormal behavior of Victor Frankenstein simply could not be explained by anyone. He was obsessed with building his monster, no matter what the morality or the outcome of his actions were. Consequences wreaked havoc on the creator when the monster turned on him and took his anger out on Victor’s family. He was so focused on building his perfection that he overlooked some factors. After further research, it is concluded that Victor suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder during the creation of his monster, which resulted in a rigid following of the ethics and morals of science and technology.