Frankenstein was written during the 1800’s which is considered the period of Romanticism. During this period, there was an increased focus on ideas in the area of natural history and scientific studies. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, provides its readers with a scientific discovery using nature creating an ongoing feud between creator, Victor Frankenstein, and his monster. In growing up, Victor began studies in natural philosophy. In opposition to the beliefs of many scientists, Victor’s theory is “to examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death” (Shelley 36). Frankenstein‘s monster is a creature with both differences and similarities with that of other human beings. In this published work, it is clear that “Shelley’s …show more content…
Not wanting to look at his creation, Victor begins isolating himself from his creation; therefore, “the monster is clearly determined to visit the same injustice to which he has been condemned upon Victor and all those he loves” (Bloom 49). Victor Frankenstein is unable to end the monsters revengeful acts; therefore, things are getting out of control including the monsters upward growing feeling of abandonment, isolation, and loneliness. By linking William, Victor’s younger brother, as belonging to Frankenstein, he threatens to kill him in revenge. The monster made threat to his brother “Frankenstein! you belong then to my enemy--to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim” (Shelley 100). This making it apparent that his revenge was growing, and though the first, this would not be the last victim; therefore, its terrifying acts are destroying his creators’ life as well as the lives of those around him. Especially the people he loves and those that love …show more content…
Soon, Frankenstein began working diligently to recreate the life he’d given to the monster in his first experiment. This will now be his second creation, to which he would be seen as the creator, again challenging nature’s law of creation through the use of science for a second time. Suddenly, Frankenstein began thinking that if he actually creates a female for the creature, she may not agree to leave and they could possibly “breed a monstrous race together” (Caldwell 3). Frankenstein destroyed his partially completed work, and the monster began a rampage of horrific acts of destruction in retaliation against his creator. By taking blame and revenge on himself, not the monster, “as time passed away [Frankenstein] became more calm; misery had her dwelling in my heart, but I no longer talked in the same incoherent manner of my own crimes; sufficient for me was the consciousness of them. By the utmost self-violence I curbed the imperious voice of wretchedness, which sometimes desired to declare itself to the whole world, and my manners were calmer and more composed than they had ever been since my journey to the sea of ice” (Shelley
In Lisa Nocks article appropriately titled “Frankenstein, in a better light,” she takes us through a view of the characters in the eyes of the author Mary Shelly. The name Frankenstein conjures up feeling of monsters and horror however, the monster could be a metaphor for the time period of which the book was written according to Nocks. The article implies that the book was geared more towards science because scientific treatises were popular readings among the educated classes, of which Shelley was a member of. Shelley, whose father was wealthy and had an extensive library, was encouraged to self-educate, which gave her knowledge of contemporary science and philosophy, which also influenced Frankenstein as well as circumstances of her life.
The Enlightenment age encouraged everyone to use reason and science in order to rid the world of barbarism and superstition. In fact, Kant argued that the "public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among men" (Kant 3). Enlightenment thinking not only influenced philosophy and the sciences, but also literature (especially in Pope's Essay on Man). In reaction to Enlightenment's strict empiricism, Romanticism was born. In Frankenstein, Shelley argues (1) that Victor Frankenstein's role as an Enlightenment hero, not only pulled him out of nature, but made him a slave to his creation; (2) that Frankenstein's role as a revolting romantic failed, because he didn't take responsibility for his creation; and (3) mankind must find a balance between the Enlightenment and Romantic ideologies.
Which is more powerful science or nature? Author Mary Shelley shows us exactly what could happen when science and nature are pitted against each other in her novel “Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus”. In the novel the life of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein spirals out of control after the death of his mother. He consequently becomes dangerously obsessed with death. His mission becomes to go against nature in order to figure out the science of life. In his journey of giving a “torrent of light into our dark world” (Shelley, 61) Victor Frankenstein is faced with the consequences going against nature. I believe that Mary Shelley was against science that went over the bounds set by nature.
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.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. 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.
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
Mary Shelley, with her brilliant tale of mankind's obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankenstein's many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fiction novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literary movement of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a colleague of many Romantic poets such as her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, even though the themes within Frankenstein are darker than their brighter subjects and poems. Still, she was very influenced by Romantics and the Romantic Period, and readers can find many examples of Romanticism in this book. Some people actually argue that Frankenstein “initiates a rethinking of romantic rhetoric”1, or is a more cultured novel than the writings of other Romantics. Shelley questions and interacts with the classic Romantic tropes, causing this rethink of a novel that goes deeper into societal history than it appears. For example, the introduction of Gothic ideas to Frankenstein challenges the typical stereotyped assumptions of Romanticism, giving new meaning and context to the novel. Mary Shelley challenges Romanticism by highlighting certain aspects of the movement while questioning and interacting with the Romantic movement through her writing.
The main plotline of Frankenstein involves the lives of two major characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. Their relationship is a tumultuous one, mainly due to the fact that Frankenstein created the Monster out of a wish to be some sort of god and be able to play with the balance of life and death. Afterwards, he comes to deeply regret his action and abandons the Monster by throwing him out into the world without any education or guidance. Because of this, throughout the book, the Monster harbors resentment towards Frankenstein and dedicates his life to make Frankenstein’s a living hell. Out of the many horrible things that the Monster did to achieve this goal, the main evil action I will be focusing on is the murder of William, Frankenstein’s younger brother and the framing of his nanny for the murder.
In 1818 Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein brings a creature to life. The creature kills William, Henry Clerval, and Elizabeth. Victor had promised to make a female creature for the creature, but he did not fulfill his promise. This makes the creature enraged. The creature runs away and Victor follows him. Victor gets on a boat with Walton. Victor dies and the creature comes and is very sad that his creator has died. The creature says that he must end his suffering and he jumps into the ocean. In the novel Frankenstein, Shelley uses the theme of nature to show how it is like the characters of the story and how it affects the characters.
On his search for Victor he came across the little brother of his creator and kills him. “‘Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy—to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim’…and in a moment he lay dead at my feet” (Shelley, 131). He killed the little boy to force Victor to feel all of the pain that he had felt. He did not show anymore compassion because all he wanted was revenge from Victor and to make him feel the same way that he had felt. The desire for revenge only strengthened as he approached
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
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.
Locked in a perpetual struggle for dominance, both struggle to gain internal peace. Victor Frankenstein feels obligated to destroy his creation for the good of society, and the Monster wishes to come to terms with his abandonment – both are unable to find happiness. Here there is a contrast of power: Frankenstein’s intellectual power contrary to the Monster’s physical power (this is however, not to say the Monster lacked intellectual power, only that Frankenstein possesses greater fear of the physical aspects of the Monster). The first instance of this battle for power can be seen when the Monster demands of Frankenstein to “create a female…with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.” (p174) – here Frankenstein is in control. He is the only one that has the knowledge to create another being like the Monster, and thus, when the Monster asks this favour of Frankenstein he places his happiness in the hands of another. The Monster is dependent on the actions of another. However, there is a power reversal when Frankenstein denies the monster his ‘female’ (p174). Frankenstein dashes the Monster’s last hope at happiness, so the Monster threatens the life of his loved ones. Here, Frankenstein is at the mercy of his creation. For though “[Frankenstein is the] creator… [the Monster is his master” (p205) – here the Monster establishes his dominance over Frankenstein by outwardly stating his power over his creator. This power struggle is most effectively culminated in the chase around the globe. Yet it must be seen that neither Frankenstein and his Monster are in control. The Monster leaves clues for Frankenstein, demonstrating his need for Frankenstein to follow him, for without Frankenstein the Monster has no purpose in life. On the other hand, Frankenstein is following his creation all over the world, through desert, sea, and cold. Thus, it is clear that as a
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic science fiction novel written in the romantic era that focuses on the elements of life. The romantic era was sparked by the changing social environment, including the industrial revolution. It was a form of revolt against the scientific revolutions of the era by developing a form of literature that romanticize nature and giving nature godliness. This element of romanticized nature is a recurrent element in Frankenstein and is used to reflect emotions, as a place for relaxation and as foreshadowing. Frankenstein also includes various other elements of romanticism including strong emotions and interest in the common people.