Theme Of Suffering In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein”, the thematic of suffering is introduced again and again throughout the work. Through the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his creation, Shelley was able to explore the relationship between suffering and education and suffering and the human consciousness. The development between the two characters makes us question whether or not one can truly understand another’s suffering and how it can affect our morals. In this analysis, we will address these issues in order to gain a deeper understanding of the role of suffering in the novel. In the beginning of the novel, the creature was at a clean state. New to all the human experiences, he did not understand nor felt intense emotions such as desire, sorrow,

One of the book was Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, a long, detailed, narrative poem about the creation of Adam and Eve and it was through this novel that the creature began to question his own existence and place in the world. Why was he created? Adam and Eve must endure their suffering as a punishment for eating the forbidden fruit so why was he being punished? Being in solitary made him question about his own Eve as he once mentioned, “no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone” (Shelley 130). While with the cottagers, the creature also noticed that as the season was transitioning to spring, Felix was growing unhappy, however that feeling seemed to disappear when Sofia appeared. Seeing how Felix had someone to share his sorrow yet he was all alone further amplified his bitterness towards his

Victor, in the beginning was very adamant about creating life and because he was so absorbed in it, he failed to see the moral implications of it. It wasn’t until William’s death that Victor realizes that he was in no place to mess with nature nor try to bestow life. Another aspect of Victor developing morally is that when he first saw the creature, he immediately deemed it as a “monster” solely based on its appearance. As the creator of the creature, it would only be right of Victor to give the creature a chance to prove himself, however Victor never did. Through most of the story, Victor continued to hold a negative view against the creature, never allowing himself to fully understand the creature’s perspective. This animosity towards the creature went on until Victor went through the same suffering and was finally able to understand where the creature was coming from. He realizes that although the creature was born with a grotesque appearance, there is still humanity in him. Victor had developed morally because he recognizes that he was at fault for neglecting the creature based on his personal impression of it. This also touches bases on whether or not it’s possible to understand the suffering of another. From the conversation between Victor and the creature, it shows that it is possible because Victor stated on page 104 that “For the first