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What is the importance of character development in literature
Mary shelley literary contributions
Mary shelley literary contributions
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In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones. Frankenstein has been interested in natural science since childhood and has described himself to “always have been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature”(Shelley 25), which foreshadows his future aspiration to create life, and …show more content…
Frankenstein only realizes the full ramifications of his actions when the monster first opens its eyes, but by then it is too late and nothing can stop the monster from being alive. Instead of taking responsibility for the monster he has created, Frankenstein flees and does not really question where it went upon his return, celebrated for a bit when he “becomes assured that [his] enemy had indeed fled” (Shelley 46), and it was not on his mind until it was seen when he got to his home town. This shows Frankenstein's true personality when faced with a difficult problem, as far as physiological reactions go he has the “flight” response. Every time a situation comes up that provokes stressful emotions he seeks for solitude in …show more content…
He knows that he is responsible for it’s existence from the line, “a being whom [himself] had formed, and endued with life” (Shelley 60) but does not consider himself a factor when it comes to the deaths of William and Justine. At this point of the story Frankenstein mostly talks about how much he hates the monster instead of the possible danger his family is now put in, while he cannot help but feel guilty because the creature that he created has already killed two people he held dearly he still does not acknowledge his responsibility for the monster’s actions. After hearing the monster’s side of the story Frankenstein started to show some compassion for the being and agreed to it’s desire for a mate. Now that Frankenstein has learned the full story of his creation he feels the need to take responsibility for it now with the line, “did [he] not as his maker owe him all portions of happiness” (Shelley 125), less the monster start to attack humanity out of
In Shelley’s novel, the final picture of Frankenstein’s monster reveals important qualities of his inner nature; he is shown in the last moments of his life to be felling, fully conscious of his guilt, and firm in his decision to end his life. This is the conclusion of a long series of events providing insight into how the monster changed as a result of his creator’s actions and the actions of the people with whom he came in contact. Up until this final point, he has changed from being good and hopeful to being caught up in the desire for a companion, to being evil and only focused on revenge. All these changes are recounted by the monster himself in this scene. (Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine)
From the very opening of the novel, there is an introduction of a character and his relation to nature, in this case, Robert Walton as he depicts the grandeur of nature through his letters sent to her sister while setting out on his adventure to the North pole; “There, Margaret, the sun is forever visible, its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour” (Shelley 10). Through this description, it is evident that Romantic elements are being portrayed through Frankenstein since the love and emotion for nature is emphasized repeatedly. Moreover, Romantic literature regards emotion and imagination as more important entities than reason and formal rules. This characteristic is exemplified throughout the novel and is the main cause of the scientist’s invention which is caused due to his curious nature rather than rational thoughts. Generally, The Romantic Movement was established in the late 18th century by artists across Europe. The concept of Romanticism is that rationality doesn’t provide an explanation to everything. Thus, Romantics were known for their irrational thoughts and deep emotions unlike the Enlightenment Age, where rationality, collective thoughts, science and deductive reason were heavily focused on which eventually led to the birth of the Industrial Revolution (Hug 17 Mar. 2014). Many writers embraced the ideology of Romanticism and often incorporated several characteristics throughout their texts, for instance, Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein. The novel regards a young curious scientist residing in Switzerland named, Victor Frankenstein. Being an inquiring individual, he shifts to the University of Ingolstadt where he develops an interest in alchemy and chemistry. Expanding his knowledge a...
Never in my life would I justify sympathizing with an evil being or a monster, or so I thought, until I read Frankenstein. I have never stepped into the shoes of a monster until I read this book. I also have never taken into consideration the changes a human can make to essentially fall from grace and become the monster himself. This story forces the reader to sympathize with all characters involved from the creator, Victor Frankenstein, to the monster he creates and all of the people who are affected. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is about a man, a scientist, named Victor Frankenstein. Victor was obsessed with the science of natural philosophy alchemy and chemistry. He was obsessed with how life is created and how life is ended. After attending school in
Furthermore, the creator has a responsibility for all the consequences that the creation causes. Frankenstein did not fulfill his responsibility. For instance, Frankenstein was in “... horror and disgust…”(Shelley 21) when his creation came to life. Therefore, Frankenstein, at the beginning of his creation new life, did not care for the monster at all because of the fear aroused in him. Frankenstein was also didn’t succeed in his responsibility for the monster because he left him the day after the creation was brought to life. For example, “[Frankenstein] did not dare to return to the apartment which [he] inhabited.” (Shelley 21). In the end, Frankenstein left the monster on his own without any regard on how the world
Frankenstein describes the beginning of his life as a happy time with his family. During his childhood, Frankenstein was passionate about learning, but his emotional connection with Elizabeth kept him from completely engrossing himself in his studies (Shelley 38). When Frankenstein left home to study at the university of Ingolstadt, he became intent on his quest to uncover the mystery of life. He tells of working in the laboratory until sunrise and being indifferent to the beauty of the world around him (Shelley 56-63). These changes in Frankenstein’s way of life represent Shelley’s belief that one’s passions must be controlled or the passions wi...
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.
Frankenstein awoke his passion for natural science and through this, awoke his own doom. Reflecting on the ideas of earlier philosophers transformed Dr. Frankenstein into a philosopher himself, intent of ferreting out the secrets of the universe. This problem was only exacerbated by the discovery of how to animate lifeless matter “I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter. The astonishment which I had at first experienced on this discovery soon gave place to delight and rapture” (Shelley 38). He should have felt horror and disgust at discovering something not meant to be unearthed. None of the other philosophers or scientists had delved that far into the depths of knowledge before, and instead of feeling apprehension, Dr. Frankenstein enjoys and rejoices in his good fortune, beginning the downward spiral. Now his love for knowledge, instead of an asset to his studies, is a detriment. He cannot focus on his classes because he devotes his time to perfecting his being. He cannot enjoy nature and refresh his soul with its beauty. He cannot appreciate the company of friends - he even deplores society’s companionship, even from his friend Clerval “but I was unable to contain myself… I felt my flesh tingle with excess of sensitiveness, and my pulse beat rapidly” (Shelley
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. Throughout the novel, Shelley investigates the idea of monstrosity. She makes the point that a monster does not have to be genuinely evil in order to be considered monstrous.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein exposes some of the harsh natures of human characteristics in this gothic novel through a genius, Frankenstein, and his hideous creation, Frankenstein’s monster. These two most important characters of the novel try to obtain power over one another and power is one of those harsh natures and is one of the strongest drives of human desire. Doctor Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster have altering positions of power as the novel progresses and their power is measured through knowledge, hostility, threats, and even death.
...Frankenstein and the creature. The situations that each character experience are lessons about how seeking prohibited intelligence comes with extreme consequences. Frankenstein is a Gothic novel which means it involves the supernatural; however, because it contains religious qualities it is more appealing to the common people’s idea of knowledge. Mary Shelley achieves her goal of informing the audience that man should not seek or possess the level of knowledge that God acquires. One should learn from the situations present in the novel because life comes with an enormous amount of knowledge; going after the unknown is an act of rebellion against God.
When Victor Frankenstein gives life to his monster, Mary Shelley shows the reader how disappointed Frankenstein is with the outcome of the monster, "How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe"(Shelley 55), these descriptive words show how Frankenstein is disgusted with the monster that he has created. He is disappointed because he wanted his creation to be something beautiful, instead, he creates an ugly monster. The monster enters the world and is immediately unloved by his creator. Frankenstein does not take responsibility for his creation instead he abandons him, leaving him to fend for himself. The monster did not start out more evil than anyone else, “He does acts of evil, yes, but they can be equated to tantrums from a lonely
Victor Frankenstein and his creation are alike in several ways, one of them being their appreciation of nature. Victor embraces the nature for the quick moment that he escapes the creature as it “filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul and allowed it to soar from the obscure world to light and joy” (Shelley 84). Vict...
Mary Shelley's, Frankenstein, tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who created a monster in a scientific experiment. Shortly after discovering he had created a self loathing monster, Victor immediately began to regret his decision. After being denied a companion to love and be loved by, the monster makes it his mission to destroy the life of Victor Frankenstein as he knew it. Going to great lengths, the monster decides to end lives in return of Victor’s sufferings.
His intentions to create life were purely to become remembered and looked upon as great for having creating life. After he had created the monster, he thought of nothing of what he would do with the monster after he had created it and he took absolutely no responsibility to it. As the book continues, the monster begins to express more and more of his internal thoughts and unconscious. The monster sets out on a conquest to take out revenge on Victor and anyone who may be related. On his journey, the monster stumbles upon William who is related to the Frankenstein’s and he decides to kill him. The monster says, “The child still struggled and looked me with epithets which carried despair to my heart”, “I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation”. (Shelley) The monster is consciously aware of his actions towards this child and still continues with his plan. This demonstrates the monsters ego as described by both Freud and Jung. The ego is where our conscious awareness exists. Not only is the concept of the monsters ego portrayed but also the superego. The superego is the morals an individual has and the inner voice that tells an individual that we shouldn’t do something. The monster shows some remorse and knowledge that what he is doing is cruel and wrong by his dialect with William during this tragedy. After the monster has been rejected by society, he goes
Dr. Frankenstein is socially irresponsible, stubborn, and extreme in his actions throughout the novel's plot. His irresponsibility shows through many times in his feelings toward his creation. While he was in the process of shaping his creation, Frankenstein is so caught up in his work and his yearning to be remembered for all time that he does not ponder about what will happen after life is breathed into this being. He is so consumed by his work he does not sleep for days on end, go outside, eat meals, or write to his family with such frequency as he had before he commenced. After his creation comes to life, he refuses to accept his obligation as the creator to his creation. He does not care for it, shelter it, provide it with food or love, nor teaches the creation. Eventually all the monster wants from the doctor is a companion like himself. Frankenstein even refuses to accept the responsibility of providing a source of companionship for the creation since he does not allow for any connection between himself and the monster. The doctor is intensely set in his ways. Even after his creation kills his son and frames Justine, Frankenstein still will not change his attitude and does not want any association between himself and his creation. Frankenstein is so convinced that his creation will kill him next, he does not stop and think about what else he could have meant by, "I will be with you on your wedding night." The thought does not enter his head that the monster is foreshadowing the death of his bride. Then after the monster has taken this action, Frankenstein is wrathful towards his creation for not killing him. Frankenstein again shows his persistence when he tries to kill the creation. The monster leads his creator through all kinds of rough terrain, and then into the snow. Frankenstein does not care that the monster is vastly superior in physique compared to himself, and that he will never be able to seize the monster unless the creation allows the doctor to catch him. His thick skull does not let any of this affect his thirst for revenge.