Human Relationships and Revenge in Frankenstein
In Frankenstein, Shelley uses the creature, who Victor Frankenstein creates, to
illustrate many themes. Some of the main themes are human relationships and revenge.
Shelley shows human relationships between the creature and Victor and the creature and
society. The creature seeks revenge on Victor for creating him to be so unwanted and for
not creating him a companion. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses the themes of human
relationships and revenge to illustrate the need to be loved by someone.
Victor and the creature’s relationship is based on strong hate and revenge.
In the essay Responsible Creativity and the ‘Modernity‘ of Mary Shelley‘s Prometheus,
critic Harriet Hustis says, “Victor openly acknowledges that the most he can feel
towards his creation is a fleeting sense of “compassion”, but it quickly turns into disgust,
horror, and hatred after seeing his creatures horrific appearance” (2). Victor has spent a
lot of time locked away in his room working on his experiment. He has created a
monster, but as soon as the creature comes alive Victor is terrified by its appearance and
abandons him. Victor Frankenstein exclaims, “How can I describe my emotions at this
catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I
endeavored to him” (42). In Readings on Frankenstein, critic Timothy Madigan explains
how Victor Frankenstein does not live up to his role model. He lacks compassion and
moral responsibility by refusing to disclose his experiment to the community around him
...
... middle of paper ...
...nothing more for him to do but to kill the monster himself. Victor is so
furious with the creature that he dedicates the rest of his life to hunt down the evil
creature before he can destroy any more of his family.
Shelley uses the themes of human relationships and revenge to illustrate the
need for everyone to have a companion. The creature is so unwanted by society that he
despises Victor for creating him to be so hideous. As a result of the creature’s revenge,
he becomes very malicious. All the creature wants is someone to love him so that he
does not have to be alone. Human relationships and revenge are the main themes in
Frankenstein that illustrate Shelley’s main point of the need to be loved.
After the day that Victor’s monster comes to life his creator runs away in disgust at the creation he has made, leaving behind a lost creature looking for its place in the world. As the monster
This new side arouse from desperation and rejection, he was scared, and he could not stand the loneliness. Victor’s did not create a monster. Victor changed the character of the creature, the creature showed more humanity than his creator and now he act as though he looks, like a
Victor’s cruel and hostile actions toward his creature demonstrate his monstrous characteristics. One example of Victor’s inhumane cruelty is when he decides to abandon his creature. When Victor realizes what he has created, he is appalled, and abandons his creature because he is “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created” (42). This wretched action would be similar to a mother abandoning her own child. Victor’s ambition for renown only fuels his depravity; he brings new life into the world, only to abandon it. This act of abandonment accurately depicts Victor’s cruelty because it shows his disgust toward his own creation, as well as his lack of respect for life. An example of a hostile action is when Victor destroys the creature’s
These parallels between the creature and a developing child help to explain many of the mysteries of the book. As we see, the creature goes on a terrible killing spree. There are two reasons for this. First, the creature desires revenge for its isolation. But it seems that the creature is also not aware of its own strength - it is easy for the creature to accidentally commit a murder. What two-year-old would not dream of this power? The creature's identification with mythological figures has some fantastic aspects - children fantasize incessantly. This makes sense. The creature, being new to the living world, is chronologically a child - physically strange as it might be, we can only expect it to act its age.
As a result of Victor’s secrecy, he becomes completely fixed on the creation of his creature, he does not inform anyone of the danger posed by the monster, and he is unable to tell anyone about the creature for fear of not being taken seriously. Victor’s secrecy during and after the creation of his monster indirectly causes several deaths. While the monster is primarily responsible for the deaths of his victims, Victor’s concealment allows the monster to commit and get away with his murders easily.
Victor never even fathomed the actual existence of the creature, somewhat resembling an unplanned pregnancy that was never emotionally and rationally dealt with even after the actual birth of the child. He certainly did not adequately prepare himself for parenthood.
No one in their right mind would ever think that it is socially acceptable to create this creature, neglect it to the point where it runs away, and then not take responsibility for the actions of the creature that he made. There is a complete disconnect between Victor and the society that he lives in. For example, the reason that Victor neglects his creature is the fact that it is physically ugly. Anyone with a social conscience would not have made this creature in the first place, but if they hypothetically did, they would be ecstatic that they just discovered the source of life itself rather than be upset over the appearance of their
This presents Victor showing unfair judgement towards the creature that he made “There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies” (55). This is unfair to the creature because he was born against his will and already Victor claiming to the creature that he has no community; a home. This is also unjust because Victor shows his hatred towards his creation that they are enemies before even giving the creature a chance to show himself and show who he really is and can be. Victor and his poor character towards his family and close friends make him more monster than the creature he had created “I could cope with the sullen despair that overwhelmed me: but the whirlwind passions of my soul drove me to suddenly leave” (51). With his family having hardship during this time and Victor knowing that and knows he needs to be there decides to chase his passion and leave without giving much thought. Victor knowing that his family problems and hardship are happening because of him doesn’t tell them what’s going on or what's happening in his current situation leaving them with no answers. This makes Victor a bigger monster because of his poor character he has towards his family and his poor statements towards the creature, a being that he
We are introduced to Victor who is found by Robert Walton, now when Victor begins to retell his tragic story he gives us a general view of who he is, where he was born, and what has happened in his life. We then progress through the story and arrive at the rising action which is when Victor returns back to school after his mother’s death and sisters recovery of scarlet fever. Victor sets out to create a living thing upon his return and this is when it all goes down hill, he successfully creates the monster but he is horrified at the site of the creature he then runs like fearful gazelle leaving the creature/monster to wander (very smart Victor). Skipping ahead the monsters causes quite a bit of trouble and strangles a lot of people, and this is all caused by him not being provided with a connection with anyone. Now before he really starts his strangulation spree he spies on a family (the Delacy’s) that teaches him unknowingly how to speak, read, and of general human connection and relationships. This moment of distant watching and learning has left him wanting things even more, he then reveals himself the Father who is blind and he is kind to the monster when the children arrive they terrified and reject the monster. Throughout the tale of the monster is reminded of his indifference by others resulting in him
At first glance, Victor Frankenstein’s early life makes it seem as if he will be the perfect husband and family man. During his childhood he is spoiled with love and as a young man he is given all of the resources that he needs to become successful. This is all shown to have
Victor, at first sight of the Creature, abandons and leaves him to survive on his own. This is insignificant to the creature at the time, but later causes the Creature to have bitter feelings towards Victor. After the Creature discovers Victor’s notes, he becomes enraged, and incriminates Victor for the victimization that he faces; hence accusing him as a perpetrator of cruelty. Through the accusation of Victor one can see that the Creature believes that Victor should be held responsible, and owes the Creature a favor. Additionally, Victor double-crosses the Creature after obliging to create a mate for the Creature. These actions of betrayal demonstrate how Victor is a perpetrator of cruelty and how the Creature is his victim. Victor’s unintentional cruelty reveals how he only wanted what was best for himself and human kind. Victor’s betrayal is seen as an action of cruelty by the Creature, and consequently delivers the final blow that instigates the retaliation of the
After Victor destroys his work on the female monster meant to ease the monster's solitude, the monster is overcome with suffering and sadness. These feelings affected his state of mind and caused him to do wrong things. He did not deserve to see his one and only mate be destroyed.
Victor said when he saw the monster before it was alive. Afterwards it was the
Victor has a lack of respect for the natural world that leads him on the path to becoming a monster. In creating the monster Victor is trying to change the natural world. He is trying to play the role of god by creating life.
...but what Victor doesn’t realize is the monster has always felt what Victor is feeling because Victor abandoned him. The cold wasteland in which Victor pursues the monster is a strong reminder of his hatred of his creation. The only thing that Victor wants out of life anymore is revenge, he is obsessed with finding the monster and killing it.