Science And Religion In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And H. G. Wells

In the world in which we live in today, science and religion as a whole are considered to be opposites. While many have tried to combine the two to make a cohesive argument as to how the world came to be and the rules that guide it, for example creationism, the general consensus is that the two are completely separate sets of beliefs that do not complement each other. While this is a popular opinion in today’s world, the science fiction genre does not cater to the real world. One of science fiction’s most identifiable qualities is that it does not confine to reality or society’s rules of universal order. It is a separate entity in which both science and religion can coexist if the author chooses. In fact, science fiction literature, as a whole,

Wells decide to pair religion with the science in their novels, what those decisions indicate about their feelings towards religion, and the messages they want to convey about it. In Shelley’s Frankenstein and Wells’ War of the Worlds, both authors write opinionated comments about religion, however the ways in which they go about differ greatly. While Shelley’s novel shows that science fiction and religion can work together, Wells uses religion in his novel to express his belief that the two do not mix well. Shelley does so in through comparisons to Adam, the devil, and Paradise Lost throughout her novel, while Wells’ uses the curate in his novel to express is contempt for religion. Although these authors differ in their opinion and messages, they are both able to make commentary on societal issues and religious beliefs of the time through novels that have little to do with religion or

Shelly leaves clues throughout the novel that help the reader detect the understated theme of religion. An example of this is when Frankenstein’s monster reads Paradise Lost and talks about how he should be Adam, but in reality he is the “fallen angel”(189). John Milton’s Paradise Lost adds creative detail and embellishes on the story of creation. Shelley essentially does the same thing when she makes Frankenstein an allegorical novel of creation. The readers can easily deduce that Victor is compared to a creator, while the monster is compared to Adam and Satan, creating more complexity within the novel. The monster refers to Victor as his creator many times and demands that Victor make a female for him. “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being,”(84) he insists. This occurrence mirrors the event when God creates Eve for Adam. Frankenstein’s monster is looking for his own Eve, but Victor refuses to give life to another monster. Victor gives his creation life and believes that this act insures that he will be blessed as a creator. After successfully creating his monster, Victor ¬¬¬¬feels he has reason to believe, “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of