In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Victor’s relationship with the creature is often characterized as one of creator and creation, versus father and son. “Mary then composed the story of Victor Frankenstein, a story which gothicized the relationship between parent and child.” (Lall 13) Victor assigns himself the role of ‘creator’ throughout the book, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (Shelly 33). However he only gives himself the role of father in the beginning of the book when he is creating the monster. “No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs” (Shelley 33). The bond of a father, including legal and moral …show more content…
Even though the creation of the monster is outside of marriage, it is still produced aseually. This leaves the question, if the monster was childlike or if he was a monster? Vicor thinks that his creation was not childlike, but a monster, “flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life” (Shelley 50). If Victor saw the monster as his child then maybe he would have completed some obligations that come with being a father. Such as, caring for, loving, and teaching. This would have cut out a lot of problems that were caused by the monster being lonely or outcasted. Victor could have introduced the monster to the world, which would have made it easier to be accepted into …show more content…
Before the monster awakens Victor uses the word “father,” but after the monster awakens he refers to himself as “creator” and “author.” The monster on the other hand does see Victor as a father, “I learned from your papers that you were my father, my creator; and to whom could I apply with more fitness than to him who had given me life” (Shelley 118). The monster also recognizes the obligations Victor has to him. The monster first feels abandonment from Victor. The reader knows this when the monster says, “But where are my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses” (Shelley 101). This is what leads the monster into a life of abandonment and
His mother's love was shown throughout the beginning of the book so much more than his fathers was. Together the two parents loved him so much it helped him grow and this is why his childhood was so phenomenal. When Victor was sent off to Ingolstadt, he had no real idea of what it was like to be an adult. He was taken care of so well by his mother that once she was away from her parents, her father being at home and his mother being dead, he was not sure what was right and wrong. Victor's curiosity for knowledge is what led him to be a man of science and this is why he came up with the idea to experiment and create a human being from death. Without thinking of the results that were to come, Victor's ambition to become godlike pushed him to finish his project. The end result terrified Victor so badly that even he left him alone. To start, he left him alone in his apartment and when he returned, the monster was gone. “I could hardly believe that that so great a good fortune could have befallen me, but when I became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy and ran down to Clerval.” (Shelley 61) This is the first time that Victor does not care for his monster properly. After all of the care that Victor received from his mother, readers would think that Victor would grow up to be just like his parents and be so kind and gentle. Victor is unable to take responsibility of the monster that he created. Victor is prejudiced by the appearance of the monster which leads him to run away from his
If Victor had stayed around and showed the monster the real world, he might have not have went on to perform violent actions. This portrays Victor as a selfish character and gives more of an insight on his personal life. As a child, Victor is only interested in furthering his own knowledge and not worried about anyone else. He spent much of his time “drawing the picture of [his] early days... when [he] would account to [himself] for the birth of that passion which afterwards ruled [his] destiny” (Shelley 34), or otherwise a magnificent creation that would change his future. When constructing the Monster, he put all of his relatives in the back of his mind, and only focused on his own success and victory. This further explains the theme of being selfless and only doing certain things that will benefit
With nobody to reason with, Victor makes senseless decisions while he is alone. Victor begins this with his process of creating the monster. Nobody in the right mind would ever dig up graves, but that is just what victor goes and does. Once this creation is finally given life, which Victor has spent two years striving for, Victor foolishly abandons it. Victor comes to his senses to some degree after he brings life to the monster as he states, “‘now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 43). Had there been companions around Victor during this creation time, perhaps someone would have been able to guide Victor away from creating the “wretch” (Shelley 43) he so hopelessly conceived. As for the monster, he makes fairly good decisions even without guidance from anyone, including Victor, his creator. The monster has the desire to learn and gain knowledge as a genuine individual. As the monster is continuously rejected and shunned by mankind, his natural benevolence turns to malevolence. In his loneliness, the monster wrongly decides to declare “‘everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery’” (Shelley 126). Say the monster was able to have comrades of some kind around him, he would not have turned to this
Firstly, Victor abandoned him- which isolated the monster from his ‘father’ and created the first rift in his relations with humans. Adding onto that, because of the monster’s physical appearance, he was naturally isolated from society as well.
The monster tells Frankenstein of the wretchedness of the world and how it was not meant for a being such as himself. At the end of his insightful tale the creature demands a companion of the same hideous features but of the opposite gender to become his. Victor only has the choice to make the monster or suffer a lifetime of horror his creation would bring upon him. Which the creator ultimately agrees to make the female monster to save the lives of his family but gains a conscious that fills with guilt of all the destruction he has created and creating. When the monster comes to collect the female he tears her apart and the monster vows to destroy all Victor holds dear. The monster’s emotional sense is consumed with rage against Victor, murdering Frankenstein’s best friend. Though when the monster’s framing ways do not work to lead to Victor being executed, he then murders Frankenstein’s wife on their wedding night. This tragedy is the last for Victor’s father who becomes ill with grief and quickly passes within a few days, leaving Victor with nothing but his own regret. Shelley doesn’t give the audience the monsters side of the story but hints that the remainder of his journey consisted of being a shadow to that of his creator. It is at the graves of the Frankenstein family when the creature makes an appearance in the solemn and
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...
"I felt as if I had committed some great crime, the consciousness of which haunted me. I was guiltless, but I had indeed drawn down a horrible curse upon my head, as mortal as that of crime" (Shelley 127). Victor knew that in his actions he had created wrong. He himself implies it that of a "mortal" sin, one in which completely cuts off the relationship that man has with God. The creation of man to the catholic faith is the essence of a mortal sin. God creates man and all that man does. It is God's job to create life and by Victor creating the monster, he completely disrespects that. This is what made the feat of creating man so appealing to Victor. "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (Shelley 39). Creation by man had yet to be explored and he was the first to cross into that impossible ...
As previously mentioned, Victor’s childhood was full of parental support, and even included his parents “adopting” another child into their home (Shelley 35). The creature’s “parent” Victor, abandons him, leaves him to fend for himself, which results in the creature feeling angry toward Victor. The creature had a resentful, distant relationship with his creator, while Victor’s upbringing could not have been more different. Shelley uses the story of Victor’s childhood; the adoption of Elizabeth, the stories of the De Lacey children to compare to the creature and the “upbringing” Victor is denying him. The opposition in parenthood is displayed between Victor and the creature are displayed by the way Shelley writes the creature’s last quotes after Victor’s death “Once I had falsely hoped to meet with beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities I was capable of unfolding” (Shelley 239). The opposition lies in the monumental difference in parenting between Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein, and Victor Frankenstein. Perhaps if the creature had been cared for more adequately, the story would’ve ended much
The father knows that his child has not been given the chance to end life blissfully, and believes that him committing suicide is the closest he will get to a happy ending. The father is aware that it is not right to embed the idea of suicide into a child’s head, but he is only trying to protect him from the dangers around him. Even though he knows his son’s life will not last long, he does not want him to witness the full potential of monstrosity, and how easy it is for someone to take another’s life away. Differently, in Frankenstein, Victor is faced with the decision to create another female monster so that the monster he already created has a companion. The monster proposes, "You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being.” (Shelly, 153). After refusal, Victor finally agrees to go through with the idea, not only because the guilt of rejecting his creation— but the fact that he does not want the monster killing anyone else that Victor loves. Victor hopes that the female companion will end the monsters desire to kill, which will protect his loved ones and himself, but knows that it is not right to create another creature that is potentially dangerous to themselves and also society, because if the monsters breed, they can create a race of evil. Victor is left pondering the outcome of his potential decision, and ends up destroying the female creature during the process of creating her. Thinking he made the right choice, he is proven wrong when the monster is enraged and takes away the love of Victor’s life, and then ends both of their lives. This shows that Victor tries to prevent harm to his loved ones, but one choice
In Mary Shelley’s prominent novel, Frankenstein, Victor attempts to prove that life can be formed from stray limbs, and other miscellaneous body parts. His creation is deemed a success when he composes a brutally hideous creature, who is indeed, filled with life. After the being is created, it is demonstrated that our world is much too discriminative to the way in which we physically look.
Humanity relies far more on characteristics than outer appearance. Instead of judging humanity solely on the flaws that cannot be changed, human qualities must be looked at. From infancy, humans desire the companionship of their families. Humans also want to make others’ lives better and easier through good morals and unselfishness. Curiousness and a passion for knowledge for the world increases while a child grows up. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley implies that desire for companionship, good morals, and a passion for knowledge defines humanity through Victor and the monster’s struggles.
He had asked Victor to create him another monster as a companion and if he doesn’t keep his promise, then he will be miserable. When Victor goes to England with the intention of creating this promised monster, his friend Henry follows him. After several months, Victor destroys the half created creature and this upsets the monster very much so because he wants this companion. When he kills Henry, the monster distinctly planned it so that Victor would be blamed for the murder. Through all this confusion on who killed Henry, Victor knew all along that the monster did it. At this point, Victor knew that he must return to Geneva to protect his family whom he loved very much (Shelley 181). Since this monster killed Henry, Victor knew that his family was now is in danger. The monster is very happy that Victor is having to suffer because, Victor is now feeling the loneliness that he feels all the time. Though the monster’s character is not evil, the pain he feels is what he wants his creator to feel. His revenge only increases throughout the book because he is only longing for a fellow companion that Victor can only give him, but yet he is choosing not to create it. The anger that is within the monster is only growing and this is increasing the possibilities of him hurting more
The notion of father is mainly used in regard to a man who had biologically played the role of father in the birth of a human child. In this case, Frankenstein's creature is neither Frankenstein's biological offspring and neither what most would call, a human being, in the traditional sense of the word, the creature being put together from dead human remains, later brought to life through some unknown procedure. Considering however the creature's behavior and the fact that it showed the capability of generating emotions such as only a human being can, denotes that Victor Frankenstein had greater responsibilities toward the creature, very much like a father to his son, than toward a cat or a dog, brought back to life, which would not have the ability to consciously analyze the situation they are in, responsibilities which Victor Frankenstein did not manage to live up to. He failed as a father because, scared of the creature's appearance, he simply abandoned it, denying it any trace of love or affection what so ever. One of the key discussions between the creature and Frankenstein was the one when they met on the ice.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are introduced early in the story to one of the main characters Victor Frankenstein and subsequently to his creation referred to as the monster. The monster comes to life after being constructed by Victor using body parts from corpses. As gruesome as this sounds initially we are soon caught up in the tale of the living monster. Victor the creator becomes immediately remorseful of his decision to bring the monstrous creation to life and abandons the borne creature. Victor describes his emotions and physical description of his creation as follows: