The Concept Of Guilt In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Remorse often provokes dire actions that are uncharacteristic of an individual. In Mary Shelley’s horrific novel titled Frankenstein, guilt is a prevalent concept that propels the characters to their limits. A well-educated scientist, Victor Frankenstein finds himself buried in the agonizing burden of guilt after he unleashes a monster of unknown strength upon the world. This tumult of emotion drives Frankenstein to seek out the monster and kill it. Meanwhile, the monster experiences shame of his own as he grows from an innocent being to a mindless murderer. This concept of grief as well as various events throughout the book are written with such precision, that it is possible that Mary Shelley was trying to illuminate an even more terrifying

The monster follows this trend with his crimes. They begin entirely innocent with him stealing food from the cottagers without understanding the harm he was imposing upon them. The monster reveals that when he “found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained” (Shelley 78). The crimes progressed from here. After he is abandoned by the cottagers, the monster lights their home in flames. No one is physically harmed in this process, but it is certainly a crime of rage and destruction. More importantly the damage that the monster causes is intentional- which is very different from when he stole the food. His crimes continue to rise in destruction as he is faced with Frankenstein’s brother. The monster’s original intent does not involve inflicting physical pain onto the small child. The monster wishes to kidnap a companion. When the child doesn’t comply to the monster’s strange demands, the monster’s rage escapes. His intent turns to murder as he strangles the boy until he is limp. The monster’s acts of aggression are brought to the climax when he murders two individuals with planned purpose. He kills both Henry and Elizabeth with extremely clear intentions. The monster has progressed into a truly monstrous being. This is comparable to

The violent criminal needs to relate their story to the common man; one who has never experienced events like theirs. Mary Shelley provides this necessary structure through Robert Walton’s letters and narration. Walton’s words convey similar emotions to both Frankenstein and the monster, but on a much less extreme level. Robert Walton, despite being surrounded by a crew of sailors, feels isolated. He writes to his sister, “I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection” (Shelley 4). This is comparable to the monster’s and thus the murderer’s feelings of crippling isolation. The murderer is trying to convey that isolation is not exclusive to violent criminals, rather it is experienced by everyone- even those with the passion of Robert Walton. Mary Shelley would likely include Robert Walton’s letters in order to convey his human