Frankenstein’s Tragedy In gothic novels tragic figures are symbols of pain to the characters. Victor Frankenstein brings misfortune to his loved ones, which concludes to his overall tragedy. Ironically the monster in this novel is Frankenstein the creator not the creature. He has seven victims including himself and his fall is due to his ambition to be superior. Victor plays the role of God and creates his “Adam” but unlike the Adam from the bible, the creature is not designed in a perfect image or guarded by the care of his creator. The creature compares himself to Satan when he says “I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; …like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (228). The creature was forsaken his first days of living and learned about the society of humans through observation and reading. God introduced Adam to the world with everything provided and guided him his early days of life. He saw Adams loneliness and granted him a mate. The creature asks Frankenstein for a companion as a last chance to become happy and good hearted. Victor destroys his hope and brings more tragedy among him by doing so. God creates all things good, Victor took his Job as a creator and his creation became malignant because unlike God he was ashamed of his creation. From that point on the creatures’ heart becomes cold and makes sure to destroy his creator. When Victor dies the creature repents for the damage that he has done and would live with continuing pain till his death. “…My agony was still superior to thine; for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever” (380). William Frankenstein is the younger brother and ... ... middle of paper ... ...erstood that the real monster was his ambition which led to his overall tragedy. He died miserable because of his pride; one could say he is selfish because when creating the creature he did not think of the benefit of others. 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.
Victor Frankenstein and his creation were both portrayed as a villain and a hero. The Monster learned that murdering innocent people and his creator, did not bring him any peace. Instead, his murders and agony he brought upon innocent families only increased his desolation and in the end, he vowed to kill himself to put an end to his, and everyone else’s suffering. As the Monster learned too late, not everyone in the world is going to neither accept nor appreciate the beauty and knowledge someone else brings into the world. However, like the Monster found the blind man, if an individual can find that one person in the world who can look past the flaws, their life would be filled with love and
Misfortunes are the memories that most people keep in mind and do not forget. It is the pain and suffering that they thrive on. In the lifetime of Mary Shelley she experienced various misfortunes that influenced her writing. Many of these events that occurred in her life influenced the content within Frankenstein. These events started occurring at a young age which affected her mental health. In the novel Frankenstein it demonstrates the consequences of man-made life and the pain inflicted upon Mary Shelley by tragic experiences. Many that have heard about the novel believe that the “monster” created by Victor is named Frankenstein. Although, the young man responsible for the unnamed creature brought to life is named Victor Frankenstein. Throughout
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
... the first monster. Yet, when he had lost those who were dear to him, he had nothing to motivate him further than to destroy the monster. What had begun as a scientific discovery soon became a dangerous force that the creator could no longer control. Now the consequences of his failure would surpass trial and error, and end in an irreversible struggle between himself, guilt, fate, and death.
In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, cruelty is a frequent theme and different acts of cruelty are committed almost every chapter. Victor Frankenstein abandoned his creation because of its grotesque face and destroyed any chance if the monster getting a mate, and the monster kills everyone Frankenstein loves out of spite. In Frankenstein, the different acts of cruelty that are imposed onto Frankenstein and his creation help reveal their true character
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.
Victor Frankenstein is forced by society to live a life of suffering. From an early age, Frankenstein grew up in one of the most distinguished families in the republic, meaning he had to partake in society and suffer from it’s influences unwillingly. He describes his father as being an honorable, and respectable syndic, which set high standards for Frankenstein. At university, Frankenstein is ridiculed for his belief in the alchemists, furthering Frankenstein’s ambition to prove the professors wrong. The actual “fate” Frankenstein describes is the influence of society which is constantly influencing him, whether it be through his professors or his parents, to be as ambitious as he is. The only way to have stopped
Of course, he is brought to a different conclusion when he sees the true madness behind his creation and the tragic work comes into play. But this initial decision leads to a further demise. As Victor acts almost as a god-delving into the unknown of life and death that haunts us all-, it is now his duty to care for his newfound “child”. He should of been striving to love and care for his creation instead he finds himself repulsed by his own creation and basically disowns him. This leads to the ultimate analogy of the creation of man, where the creature states that “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel." Which leads to the creatures cruel and thoroughly dreadful life, this causes a continual quietus. The monster is innately good, but due to his disgusting nature of not being pure in the fact that he was created out of science and not in love he can not be regarded as a human. So this causes the death of William, since the monster becomes irritated at the fact that no one shows him affection, which then harms the tragic hero Victor, since it is his family, and leads to the further death of Justine although she is innocent. Victor’s family dying leads to the novel to continually become a somber work, and now Victor begins to feel guilty and feel the unrelenting power of his own
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.
Like a child longs for a mother’s love, the monster longs for the love of his creator. When the monster was first created, Victor says that the monster looked at him “while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.” The monster looks at Victor with love and instead of receiving love in return, he receives complete rejection. The monster cannot understand why his own creator does not love him like God loved Adam. The monster believes he should be like Adam but is “rather the fallen angel.” God made man in his own image and loved Adam even with his flaws. Yet, victor made “a monster so hideous that [Victor] turned from [his creation] in disgust.” This rejection from Victor makes the monster angry and
middle of paper ... ... Generally in the novel, most readers tend to sympathize with Frankenstein because of the way in which he is mentally and physically harmed by his creation. However, one must also realize that while Frankenstein is a victim in the novel, he also exhibits features that make him a monster. These monstrous qualities, however, stem from his passion for science and his desire to create life. Not only does the reader criticize and pity Frankenstein, but the reader also empathizes with Frankenstein’s creation.
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).