Genetic Engineering Frankenstein

Genetic Engineering has been used agriculturally for years, and has only recently been put to use in humans, a controversial topic, as seen in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the medical world, genetic engineering has opened many doors and helped hundreds of people already, with just the few years its been put to use in so far. But during the 18th century, no one could have thought of putting it to use yet. Genetic engineering has been seen as unethical, unnatural, and unorthodox by some. Genetic engineering has also been viewed as life-saving, a new perspective, and life-changing by others. With so many different opinions on the matter, how can scientists and doctors alike be so sure that putting genetic engineering to use on humans is the best idea?

“With the capacity to massively change the external world of animals and plants to suit our desires, we relinquish another level of our ties to the land and external nature” (,21). While agricultural engineering is going so well, why not work it into the medical field? With genetic engineering, once can alter living things to suite their liking, therefore nature is useless, and one can simple change all environments, natural or not, to how one sees fit. Everyone seeks to change their own world to what they want, which can extend beyond themselves into their natural surroundings, unto others. Victor Frankenstein created a monster in his own image of what he wants, gave it life, and then set him free into the world. “I collected bones from charnel-houses and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame” (). Victor took his time to plan his creation out, to collect parts to put to use in his monster, which in itself is a type of genetic engineering. Victor Frankenstein had to pick apart other organisms to better benefit another being, essentially the definition of genetic