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According to the United States bureau, twenty-four million children live in America with the absence of their biological father. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, a creature is one of every three individuals who is abandoned or left without a male parent or guardian. The lack of their presence steers the affected children on a path to hardships, mental and physical changes, abuse, and behavioral issues. In most cases, children’s issues are born difficulties to the changing environment around them, which is created or developed due to the lack of support, love, and availability of the child's father. In the period immediately following the father leaving, many children have significant emotional adjustment and cognitive development problems. …show more content…
While wandering outside the creature found a reflective pool of water, “At first [it] stared back, unable to believe that it was indeed [the creature] who was reflected in the mirror; and when [it] became fully convinced that [it] was in reality the monster that [it was], [it] was filled with the bitterness sensations of despondence and mortification,” (Mary Shelley, 138). The creature struggled to accept its self after glancing in the pool of water and seeing its reflection and eventually goes to attempt suicide, believing that it had nothing to live for. Along with the creature, many children in today’s society without a father will also struggle to love oneself. A new study by researchers from an issue of “The Lancet” and from WebMD’s health and medical writer Sid Kirchheimer shows that living without the presence of both parents doubles the likelihood of suicide for the affected children. According to the US Dept. Of Health/Census, “63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes, [which is] 5 times the average.” The loneliness children can develop from the lack of love and support can be deadly, but the absence of a father figure isn’t always an abhorrent
...creature must not have hated Frankenstein during the whole chase and later, depressing times in Frankenstein’s life. The boy only wanted attention from his father.
In a world full of novelty, guidance is essential to whether a being’s character progresses positively or negatively in society. Parents have a fundamental role in the development of their children. A parent’s devotion or negligence towards their child will foster a feeling of trust or mistrust in the latter. This feeling of mistrust due to the lack of guidance from a parental figure is represented in the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his creation in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The creature created by Frankenstein was shown hatred and disgust from the very beginning, which led to its indignant feelings toward his creator and his kind.
The Controversial Issues of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley ‘Frankenstein’ is a Gothic Horror novel written by Mary Shelley. An ambitious scientist, Victor Frankenstein, creates a creature from Human body parts in secret. Instead of taking responsibility for the creature he abandons it. The creature spends its life learning about Humans, learning to read and trying to find Frankenstein.
The role of the father, a male figure in a child’s life is a very crucial role that has been diminishing over the years. An absent father can be defined in two ways; the father is physically not present, or the father is physically present, but emotionally present. To an adolescent, a father is an idolized figure, someone they look up to (Feud, 1921), thus when such a figure is an absent one, it can and will negatively affect a child’s development. Many of the problems we face in society today, such as crime and delinquency, poor academic achievement, divorce, drug use, early pregnancy and sexual activity can be attributed to fathers being absent during adolescent development (Popenoe, 1996; Whitehead, 1993). The percentage of adolescents growing up fatherless has risen from 17% to 36% in just three decades between 1960 and 1990 (Popenoe, 1996). Dr. Popenoe estimates this number will increase to approximately 50% by the turn of the century (Popenoe, 1996). The US Census Bureau reported out of population of 24 million children, 1 out 3 live in a home without a father (US Census Bureau, 2009).
Shelley’s mother died eleven days after Mary was born ( Britton 4). Like Mary Shelley, the monster was born motherless, and this deeply affected him. The monster proclaimed, “no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses” (Shelley 86). Just as the monster longed for a family connection, so did Shelley. Barbara D’amato wrote, “The unconscious conflicts and psychic experiences of loss and of longing for connection are captured and revealed in the orphaned character of Mary Shelley’s fictional story, Frankenstein (118). Shelley and the monster also share the struggle of feeling abandoned and hated by their fathers. Shelley’s father abandoned her twice during her life. The first time was when Shelley was a young child. Shelley believed that her stepmother was interfering with Shelley’s and her father’s relationship, and this jealousy caused conflict between the family members. Shelley’s father later sent her to live somewhere else. When Shelley was older, her father disapproved of her decision to elope with Percy Shelley which resulted in him disowning Mary. This abandonment left Shelley with the feeling that there was something terribly wrong with her (D’Amato 126). The monster was also abandoned by Frankenstein, or the man that can be considered his father. The monster explained to Frankenstein why he had become the violent being that he was, when he told Victor, “Believe me Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?” (Shelley
Frankenstein does not want anyone to think that he is anything less than perfect, so he decides the best action is to leave the creature completely; however, this has some negative effects, especially to the creature. Frankenstein leaving the creature makes the creature develop Abandoned Child Syndrome. According to the author of “Understanding the Physical and Psychological Impacts of Abandonment to a Child,” Abandoned Child Syndrome is “a type of psychological condition on children that stems from either an abusive household or loss (or absence) of one of both parents.” It can be said that Frankenstein is the father of the creature since he made the creature, so since one of the creature’s parents left, the creature had to learn the way that the world works on his own. Claudia Black, author of the article “Understanding the Pain of Abandonment,” says that children depend on their parents to provide a safe environment for children to grow, and that when the parents do not provide that environment for their children, the children can grow up believing that the world is an unsafe place, that people can not be trusted, and that they do not deserve approval and comfort. The creature exhibits all of these symptoms and emotions. After the creature saves a little girl from drowning, he is attacked by her father and wounded. “This was the reward for my benevolence! [...] Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (Shelley 135). After being betrayed multiple times by humanity and the people that he felt like he was close to, the creature is tired of being deserted and attacked for just being himself, so he decides not to trust humanity anymore and to do things that make him succeed, even if those actions hurt the people around him. The creature was never taught how to deal with these emotions or how to deal with
Mellor, Anne. Abandonment and Lack of Proper Nurture Shape the Monster's Nature. N.p.: Copyright Methuen, Inc., 1988.
Throughout time man has been isolated from people and places. One prime example of isolation is Adam, "the man [formed] from the dust of the ground [by the Lord God]" (Teen Study Bible, Gen. 2.7). After committing the first sin he secludes "from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken" (Teen Study Bible, Gen. 3.23). This isolation strips Adam from his protection and wealth the garden provides and also the non-existence of sin. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, is able to relate to the story of Adam and the first sin to help her character, the Creature, associate with Adam. The Creature is able to relate because "[l]ike Adam, [he is] apparently united by no link to any other being in existence" (Shelley 124). In other ways the creator of the creature, Victor Frankenstein, also identifies with the tale of the first human, but with a different character, God. "God created man in his own image" (Teen Study Bible, Gen. 1.27) and unlike Frankenstein "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Teen Study Bible, Gen. 1.31). Frankenstein brought a life into the world but did not take the responsibility to lead and guide his creature to benefit himself or the created. Unlike God's creature who did in turn prosper. Instead of prosperity Frankenstein receives a life of loneliness and responsibility of many unnecessary deaths. The Creature, like his creator, lives his life in isolation from society. His only goal is to be loved and accepted by those around him. Through these circumstances the effects of isolation and loneliness are brought to life by the creature and the creator thought their pasts, social statuses, emotions, and dreams and fantasies.
Fatherless has been one of the most important challenges and epidemics in our generation. The effects of growing up...
Upon creation, the creature, uttering sounds of desire and affection, smiles and reaches out for Victor’s embrace; rather than embracing his creation like a loving father, Victor is repulsed by the deformity of his creation and flees in horror, abandoning it completely This is analogous to giving birth to a child with a disorder, then leaving it in the woods to fend for itself.. In half-century of international research, there has not been evidence of any other experience that has a stronger and more consistent effect on personality and development than the experience of rejection by parents during childhood (Rohner 103); those who are shunned by their parents are more prone to becoming hostile and aggressive. (Rohner 104) Children are dependent on their parents as they are born immature and can only learn proper skills, common knowledge and socially acceptable
Today, there are children around the world who are treated badly and abused by their parents. The monster, created by Victor Frankenstein, was raised very poorly; he did not receive love nor care and never was able to experience these feelings for himself. The moment he opened his eyes, he faced neglect- just as
From the moment of his creation, the creature only encounters abandonment from those he considers important to him. Dr. Frankenstein, the equivalent of the creature’s father, immediately leaves the creature, abhorred by the sight of what he had made. Upon the realization that the creature has left his house, the relieved Dr. Frankenstein does not attempt to find him, instead trying his best not to think about it. At this point, the creature is essentially an infant, already set cast out alone in a world that he does not understand. Hoping to find a safe haven or someone who could understand and accept him, the creature comes across the kind DeLacey family.
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s inevitable evilness. Victor was not predestined to failure, nor was his creation innately depraved. Rather, it was Victor’s poor “parenting” of his progeny that lead to his creation’s thirst for vindication of his unjust life, in turn leading to the ruin of Victor’s life.
Imani Alleyne Professor D. Kaloustian English 302 5 May 2017 Feminist Issues in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a sci-fi pioneer that weaves a cautionary tale warning of the repercussions of human curiosity. More specifically, the woman’s place in her narrative reveals that the fate of the feminine kind is left up to the meddling males that alter their universe.
From the beginning of time in history, women have always been portrayed as and seen as the submissive sex. Women especially during the time period of the 1800s were characterized as passive, disposable, and serving an utilitarian function. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example displaying the depiction of women. The women in Frankenstein represent the treatment of women in the early 1800’s. Shelley’s incorporation of suffering and death of her female characters portrays that in the 1800’s it was acceptable. The women in the novel are treated as property and have minimal rights in comparison to the male characters. The feminist critic would find that in Frankenstein the women characters are treated like second class citizens. The three brutal murders of the innocent women are gothic elements which illustrates that women are inferior in the novel. Mary Shelley, through her novel Frankenstein, was able to give the reader a good sense of women’s role as the submissive sex, through the characters experiences of horrific events including but not limited to brutal murder and degradation, which is illuminated by her personal life experiences and time period of romanticism.