In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, scientist Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret of life and avidly works to carry out his discovery by building his own creature. His feverish experimentation, though successful, results in a disappointment; after the Creature opens its eyes, Frankenstein’s revulsion causes him to abandon this mockery of his original imagination to society’s brutality. Though made of human parts, the Creature is unable to present himself so, initially lacking both the verbal communication skills and aesthetically uniform appearance of humanity. The Creature’s desires for companionship, emotional needs, and capacity for empathy are consistent with human beings, but his outward appearance is inherently unnatural. …show more content…
His failure to separate visible physicality from inner morality is a complication that the sense of sight confers upon reasoning. Shelley emphasizes how Elizabeth becomes a criterion of virtue; notably the descriptions of Elizabeth center around her exterior, rather than justify this model by her actions. Elizabeth’s “cloudless blue eyes” lack obstruction, suggesting that she has no ulterior motives or secretive nature (20). This transparency is non-threatening and promises clear skies free of the troubling storms/lightning that accompany the appearances of the Creature in the novel. Furthermore, her “clear” brow reflects her clear conscience/soul, and her “expressive face” does not resist translation by her companions (20). This exterior appearance is what elevates her to the ephemeral, with a “celestial stamp in all her features”, conferring purity and praise without her ever having to speak through her actions (20). The religious visual imagery used to describe her contrasts the antithetical Creature repressed by his demonic hideousness. This lack of foundation for character highlights society’s perverted belief that integrity manifests in the appearance, which the Creature, in all his unsightliness, falls victim
Victor Frankenstein, a medical student spend two whole years trying to create a human out of body parts in his apartment while studying in Ingolstadt. Frankenstein focused his time and energy on his creation, isolating himself from his friends and family back home and he succeeded in making a human, albeit an abnormal human. Victor at seeing his Creation let his instincts take a hold of him which lead to his demise in the end. Victor flees the apartment in fear of the Creature, “Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and … I escaped and rushed downstairs” (59). Due to his appearance, which is grotesque and ugly with scarring and yellowish skin, Frankenstein’s instinct is to flee from the Creature.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a Complex Character "Frankenstein" is a gothic horror novel which was written by Mary Shelly in 1818. It was inspired by a biological scientist named "Luigi Galvani". He had experimented with electricity and deceased frogs, and discovered that a charge passing through a inanimate frog's body will generate muscle spasms throughout its body. Frankenstein is about a man on a pursuit to create a perfect being, an "angel" however his experiment fails and his creation becomes an atrocity compared to an "angel". The creature is created using Luigi Galvani experiments of electricity and dead corpses of criminals, stitched together to form this creature.
The Creature was born capable of thing such as love and sympathy though he lost these capabilities as a result of how he was treated. The creature’s heart was ‘fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy’ but wrenched with misery to ‘vice and hatred’. On a cold night in November, Victor Frankenstein brought his creation to life. This creation has thin black lips, inhuman eyes, and
Throughout the history of mankind, the question of what it means to be a human being has been contemplated for centuries. Numerous philosophers have read and debated this significant question and it is still reflected upon today. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley plumbs the depth of this question with the example of a creature who is spurned by humanity despite being human in character. The discernment of creature from man is still misconstrued as shown in this tale, but its importance lies in the message Frankenstein that appearances matter very little when it comes to being human. The creature’s human qualities of its emotions, desire for companionship, and intelligence set it apart as uniquely human from simply a base and barbaric monster
Have you ever wondered why there are heartless people in society? And what makes them behave that way? Well, if a person is isolated, mistreated and excluded from society what we could expect from them. The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley gives an example of how humanity itself is the cause of creating heartless and malicious people. Victor Frankenstein, whose obsession with playing god and his ambition to be glorified by humanity leads him to use natural powers. Like a mother, he brings a new life into the world, basically making him the father of the creature. However, disgusted and scared, he runs away from his “son”, illustrating the event of when a mother abort her child”. Victor immediately assumes his creature is an evil beast,
By the end of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley wanted the reader to discover that it was not Frankenstein’s creature that was the monster, but Victor Frankenstein himself. She was able to accomplish this fully by highlighting the absence of a single trait in Frankenstein; he has no empathy. Empathy, the ability to feel with another creature, is an integral part of what makes us human, what separates us from inanimate objects and animals. It is possible for a person to register another creature’s emotions without truly being empathetic. True empathy requires an individual to merge identities and act upon both their own and the others’ emotions.
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, contains the story of young scientist Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature he creates as a part of a scientific experiment. Frankenstein spends months tirelessly working to craft the creature out of old body parts; however, when the monster finally comes to life one night, Frankenstein immediately regrets his efforts and feels the act was a disaster. Frankenstein says: “I saw the dull yellow eyes of the creature open. (…) How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” (42). Frankenstein was no longer inspired by his efforts, instead, he was disgusted: “I had worked hard for
When the monster dwells on the fact that he has no friends, money, and property because of the way he looks he claims, “I was besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man”(Shelley 102). With the monster’s emotion toward his first encounters, he struggles with accepting who he is because he feels the hatred from others. The words “deformed and loathsome” express the disgusted and discomfort that clouds the thoughts of each human during their first encounter. He recognizes his differences in comparison to others and begins to become self-conscious when he attempts to come out into the community. In the same aspect, humans today feel the same way when they look different than the ones around them.
Society is a concept found in all aspects of life; it is a slant which is impossible to avoid. For instance; sadly in life society labels things or people as good or bad, poor or rich, ugly or pretty. The literary piece of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley clearly reflects this act of society in which they classify all things. The novel reflects how society labels everything; by being judgmental from the way the family is seen, how people view Frankenstein as a monster, and how the monster is affected, his conduct gets altered by all of society judgmental actions.
In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the relationship of external apperence and internal feelings are directly related. The creature is created and he is innocent, though he is seaverly deformed. His nature is to be good and kind, but society only views his external appereance which is grotesque. Human nature is to judge by external apperence. He is automatically ostracized and labeled as a monster because of his external apperence. He finnaly realized that no matter how elequintly he speaks and how kind he is, people will never be able to see past his external deformities. Children are fearful of him, Adults think he is dangerous, and his own creator abandons him in disgust. The creature is treated as a monster, therefore he begins to internalize societies view of him and act the like a monster.
..."She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair. Everywhere I turn I see the same figure--her bloodless arms and relaxed form flung by the murderer on its bridal bier" (Shelley). However in the image a goblin like creature sits upon Elizabeth's chest and a horse stands in the background.
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly explores the concept of the body, life, ‘the self’ and most of importantly humanity, which is repeatedly questioned throughout the novel. The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane or in other words someone that can feel or possess compassion. Despite all the facts against the “monster” in “Frankenstein” he is indeed what one would consider being human. Humanity isn’t just about ones physical appearance but also includes intellect and emotion. Some people argue that the “monster” is not a human for he was not a creature that was born from “God” or from a human body. That being said, the “monster” is not only able to speak different languages, he can also show empathy - one of many distinct traits that set humans apart from the animals. Both the “monster” and his creator, Victor, hold anger and feel a sense of suffering throughout the novel. Victor is a good person with good intentions just like most individuals, but makes the mistake of getting swept up into his passion of science and without thinking of the consequences he creates a “monster”. After completing his science project, he attempts to move forward with his life, however his past – i.e., the “monster” continues to follow and someone haunt him. While one shouldn’t fault or place blame on Frankenstein for his mistakes, you also can’t help but feel somewhat sympathetic for the creature. Frankenstein just wants to feel accepted and loved, he can’t help the way he treats people for he’s only mimicking how people have treated him, which in most cases solely based on his appearance. Unlike most of the monsters we are exposed to in films past and present, the character of the “monster” ...
Sometimes, in novels like Frankenstein, the motives of the author are unclear. It is clear however, that one of the many themes Mary Shelley presents is the humanity of Victor Frankenstein's creation. Although she presents evidence in both support and opposition to the creation's humanity, it is apparent that this being is indeed human. His humanity is not only witnessed in his physical being, but in his intellectual and emotional thoughts as well. His humanity is argued by the fact that being human does not mean coming from a specific genetic chain and having family to relate to, but to embrace many of the distinct traits that set humans apart from other animals in this world. In fact, calling Victor's creation a `monster' doesn't support the argument that he is human, so for the sake of this case, his name shall be Phil.
Frankenstein’s monster was a horrid creature, Frankenstein described him as “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.” (Shelley, 58) Symbolically, the monster represents evil incarnate, a living representation of
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein becomes consumed by his desire to make advancements in the field of science, and upon animating dead tissue he becomes overwhelmed by the power of bringing life to the lifeless. He debated what he should do with that power, but he soon decided. “It was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being.” (Shelley 81), what is really important in this statement Victor makes is his use of the term human being, because what it means to be human is a debate that is present throughout the novel. Victor quickly realizes that finding the materials for his creation was quite difficult, so he altered his original idea and made his creation much larger, around eight feet tall. The night