Frankenstein Child Neglect Essay

821 Words2 Pages

Imagine ever feeling so alone, so frozen and never quite understanding the relation others have and you don’t? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is more than the scientific dangers but the social attire of neglect and emotional/physical abuse that so many of this, and Shelley’s time, had to experience. In fact this topic is personal to me and my relationships to my late family. Society faces the same social issue of child neglect and rejection that also occurs in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and is prevalent to the fact that Frankenstein is alive today.
Child neglect is another important social issue of our time and Mary Shelley’s. In the article, “Child neglect accounts for 75% of reported abuse cases”, Michelle Healy, a health and wellness reporter …show more content…

In the article, “Rejecting Childhood Rejection”, Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D in psychology, claims that “being rejected by the very people who are suppose to love, cherish, and care for them...the result is often low self esteem, chronic self help, and depression” (Hartwell-Walker). She supports this claim by first expressing the main reasons for why a parent(s) would treat their child in such a manner. Then, Hartwell-Walker discusses the long term affect this mistreatment has on a child. Hartwell-Walker’s purpose is to help the outcast ‘reject the rejection’ and to find other means to replace that role. I agree with Marie Hartwell-Walker and her article on ‘Rejecting the Rejection’ because of my own personal experience with child neglect and loss confirms it. Furthermore, Hartwell-Walker’s article, reflects similar ideas discussed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Both author’s address the impacts of child neglect and how mistreatment may lead to some awfully mixed emotions and/or actions. Shelley supports this issue in Frankenstein by such quote,“ ‘Hateful day when I received life!’ I exclaimed in agony. ‘Accursed creator! why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?’ ” (Shelley 115; ch. 15 ) the creation is expressing his pain from his ‘creator’ or should have been more parenting and not rejected his creation. Shelley illustrates, like Hartwell-Walker, that. Hartwell-Walkers’ article, “Rejecting Childhood Rejection”, is significant because the issues in Frankenstein are alike and much closer to home that the average public even

Show More
Related

  • Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    in Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical Edition.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a Critique of Masculinity

    1775 Words  | 4 Pages

    The idea for the novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein came to her one night when she was staying in the company of what has been called ‘her male coterie’, including Lord Byron and her husband, Percy Shelley. Mary Shelley’s whole life seems to have been heavily influenced by men. She idolised her father, William Godwyn, and appears to have spent a good part of her life trying very hard to impress both him and her husband. There seems to have been a distinct lack of female influence, her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, having died weeks after her birth, being replaced by a neglectful step-mother. These aspects of her life are perhaps evident in her novel. The characters and plot of Frankenstein were perhaps influenced by Shelley’s conflicting feelings about the predominately masculine circle which surrounded her, and perhaps the many masculine traits that we see in novel were based upon those of the male figures in Shelley’s own life. In this essay I will attempt to show some of these traits.

    Read More

  • The Consequences of Man's Ambition

    1660 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shelley, Mary. "Frankenstein." The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewics. New York:St Martin's Press, 1997. 230-235.

    Read More

  • Metaphors In Frankenstein

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    How would you feel if you were abandoned as a newborn in a forest with no one to guide you or take care of you through the most vulnerable stages of life? In Frankenstein, a horrific, gothic science fiction written by Mary Shelley, a scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein abandons his creation of life who now must try to survive and learn about the world around him on his own. Through the use of various literary techniques, Mary Shelley is able to convey the impression of the creature as a baby just learning about life and his world.

    Read More

  • Poor Parenting In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    335 Words  | 1 Pages

    So I’m probably going to be off topic but this represents how the role of poor parenting all started. Shelley was raised by a single parent, her father William Godwin and offers in Frankenstein,

    Read More

  • Tragic Hero in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tragedy shows no discrimination and often strikes down on those undeserving of such turmoil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature more repulsive than one can imagine is brought to life by a young scientist. Although this creature is horrifying in sight, he is gentle by nature. Unfortunately, the softer side of the creature is repeatedly overlooked and the so called “monster” is driven to a breaking point. Even though the Creature committed many crimes, Mary Shelley’s Creature was the tragic hero of this story because of his efforts rescue the life of a young girl and helping destitute cottagers.

    Read More

  • Poor Parenting Revealed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Abandoned Children In Frankenstein

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives an account of a monster who was created and abandoned by Dr. Victor Frankenstein. One may perceive the monster as a child, or being with child-like characteristics. For most children, love and trust are two immensely important essences in life. Children’s understandings of the world are formed by what they are edified by their parents, or in this case, their creator. Adolescents are taught that family protects and loves one another. However, most are not taught these moral aspects in life they are rather in a place of abuse where their buser is someone that this person knows. Frankenstein gives an account of an abandoned “youth” trying to adapt to a world unknown to him. The monster tries to deal with this abandonment by his creator and is extremely determined to win over the love and affection of the person who created, but also casted him.

    Read More

  • The Analysis Of Women In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many critics have argued how much Mary Shelley’s personal life and background should be considered in the reading and interpretation of Frankenstein which contains many autobiographical references and experiences of her own. Analyzing the combination of a complex novel and biographical information readers find evidence that circumscribes her life produces a possible feeling and intentions that the author may have possessed. During the time period of writing Frankenstein, f...

    Read More

  • psychoanalysis of frankenstein

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein, an Example of Gothic Romance

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s world renowned book, “Frankenstein”, is a narrative of how Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant chemist, succeeds in creating a living being. Although Frankenstein’s creation is benevolent to begin with, he soon turns murderous after being mistreated by humans. His anger turns towards Frankenstein, as he was the one who brought him into the world that shuns him. The Monster then spends the rest of the story trying to make his creator’s life as miserable as his own. This novel is an excellent example of the Gothic Romantic style of literature, as it features some core Gothic Romantic elements such as remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein and The Great Gatsby

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frankenstein is novel where a single man condemns himself, his family, and creation to complete misery. Family is the first significant theme we are introduced. From the beginning of the novel, Alphonse Frankenstein, shows his loyalty and appreciation to family as he adopts a child that may not be very fortunate. This action becomes very important as the adop...

    Read More

  • Feminism in Frankenstein

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the years, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become universally portrayed in one way: a tall, green-skinned, dumb brute with no language or reasoning abilities. Society has turned the story of Frankenstein into a mere horror story, dehumanizing the monster more than was intended in Shelley’s novel. However, the message of Frankenstein is a far cry from the freak show displayed by the media. While many people may only see Frankenstein as a grotesque story meant to thrill its audience, its purpose goes much deeper as it advocates for the equal rights of women in society.

    Read More

  • Child Neglect Essay

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    What distinguishes neglect from additional forms of maltreatment is its inherent omission of behaviour rather than a commission of behaviour, as in the case of physical or sexual abuses (Sagatun & Edwards, 1995; Zuravin, 1991). Over recent years, it has been increasingly recognized that child neglect has a more severe and adverse impact on children’s development than abuse (Hildyard and Wolfe 2002; Trickett and McBride-Chang 1995).

    Read More

  • How Does Mary Shelley Use Family Conflicts In Frankenstein

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within Mary Shelley’s work Frankenstein, the concept of “family conflicts” are widely evident throughout her novel, primarily by the Frankensteins and even other families like the Waltons. These dysfunctional family dynamics call to question the credulity of the protagonist’s description of his home life and how Mary Shelley represents parenthood or particularly fatherhood.

    Read More

More about Frankenstein Child Neglect Essay

Open Document