The Different Meanings of Monstrous in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In the 19th century, Mary Shelley wrote the text ‘Frankenstein’. Many
different themes are explored in this text; one of the main themes was
‘Monstrous’. In this book a doctor named ‘Victor Frankenstein’ makes a
being out of different body parts he had stolen from graveyards. Mary
Shelly came up with the basic idea of the book from a dream, but this
was then developed into a story when she was challenged by ‘lord
Byran’ to write a ghost story while she had gone to visit Lord Byran’s
villa. The outline of the story was parallel to her own life, as in
her own life, Mary Shelley has seen a lot of deaths; Mary Shelley’s
Mother died giving birth to her; Mary Shelley lost two of her children
after being born; she also lost her husband ‘Percy Shelley’ who was a
poet, and the book ‘Frankenstein was originally published under his
name as women were not allowed to publish books, this is because this
didn’t go along with the women’s role, women were expected to stay at
home and work., also because if it was published in her name, as most
women didn’t under the philosophy of science, she would’ve been though
of as a witch, so all these precious lives taken away from her
could’ve given her the idea of bringing back the dead. Mary Shelley
uses embedded narrative, this means a story inside another story; at
first we se that Robert Walton is the one telling the story and then
another story about Victor Frankenstein is started. In this text, it
is not clear as to who the actual monster is; there are many monsters
e.g. the creator created by Victor Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein
himself; the society of Geneva. Therefore Mary Shelley explores the
mean...
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...he was from the inside. I believe that Victor
Frankenstein is the real monster as, if he hadn’t abandoned his
responsibility, ay of this wouldn’t have happened, but I don’t blame
him for curiosity and ambition to find out about science, he was doing
everything right but for the wrong purpose; he should have been
finding a way to bring back life to tissues to help mankind develop,
he cannot be called monstrous for that, as just recently the doctors
had carried out a face transplant to a woman whose face had been
bitten by a dog, these doctors had also brought the tissues back to
life to replace it, the only reason Victor Frankenstein could be
called Monstrous is for using it for the wrong intentions. Overall
Mary Shelley uses a lot of different ways to explore the meaning of
‘Monstrous’ but the main way in which she does this is though Victor
Frankenstein.
Sinister predators within gothic novels are often similar to the “femme fatale”, a mysterious and seductive female character whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. However, this is contrasted within ‘Frankenstein’ by the female creature. Many of the sinister predators found within ‘Frankenstein’ are male, however Mary Shelley’s female creature is presented through the eyes of Victor Frankenstein as “malignant” and a “daemon”, suggesting that it is sinister. Despite the fact that the monster’s companion never has a chance to live as she is cruelly
abandoned; this made him feel as if he was the only person with out no
Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein, deals with the major dilemma of the creation of man. Rousseau deals with the topic of abandonment in Emile, which stemmed the thoughts of creation for Shelley in 1816 upon reading Rousseau's opinions. Rousseau blames the problems that children inhibit solely upon the parents shoulders (Mellor). Mary Shelley is able to relate to this statement on a personal level due to the parenting (or lack of) within her life. This in turn leads to a broader question concerning Shelley's Frankenstein; is the monster really the sole person to blame for his murderous actions? According to Rousseau's theory, the monster is not the sole problem. Victor Frankenstein is his creator or "father" figure thus giving him the responsibility of his monster.
and in this essay I will explore who the monster is in the novel. The
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of the famous novel Frankenstein, was born in Somers Town, London to William Godwin, a philosopher and writer, and Mary Wollstonecraft, a feminist philosopher, who died eleven days after her daughter’s birth. Even at a young age, Mary was highly encouraged to write by her father and she immensely enjoyed it. At age twenty-one, she released her most famous novel, Frankenstein (Mary Shelley - Biography). In this novel, Victor Frankenstein uses his extensive medical knowledge to create a new human species. At first, Victor is pleased with his creation until it mysteriously comes to life! Afterwards, the creator is horrified with his creation. There are many parallels between the novel and the creation account of mankind in Genesis, where God is equivalent to Victor and Adam is parallel to the monster. Mary Shelley, with her novel Frankenstein, exposes the fragile relationship between a creator and the creation, which parallels the creation account in Genesis.
This philosophical analysis focuses on the main character of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Monster, and how his crime of killing a young boy and framing an innocent bystander is explained through the arguments made by Mengzi concerning evil natures. This parallel will be made by showing the progression of the Monster from good to evil nature and how his motivation to ruin his creator’s life tainted his fundamental heart. I will first briefly address the action as portrayed in Frankenstein and then discuss how Mengzi’s ideas explain the change in the Monster’s nature.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or; The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818, is a product of its time. Written in a world of social, political, scientific and economic upheaval it highlights human desire to uncover the scientific secrets of our universe, yet also confirms the importance of emotions and individual relationships that define us as human, in contrast to the monstrous. Here we question what is meant by the terms ‘human’ and ‘monstrous’ as defined by the novel. Yet to fully understand how Frankenstein defines these terms we must look to the etymology of them. The novel however, defines the terms through its main characters, through the themes of language, nature versus nurture, forbidden knowledge, and the doppelganger motif. Shelley also shows us, in Frankenstein, that although juxtaposing terms, the monstrous being everything human is not, they are also intertwined, in that you can not have one without the other. There is also an overwhelming desire to know the monstrous, if only temporarily and this calls into question the influence the monstrous has on the human definition.
Monstrous is a term that carries a lot of meaning. Monstrous means something or someone who is evil by having inhumane morals, values, and obligations. The word carries the meaning of something that is great or to an extreme extent, but monstrous also carries a negative connotation. Hitler was considered an extremely monstrous person for conducting mass genocide and treating people inhumanely in his concentration camps. Mary Shelley views the Creature’s actions as most monstrous in Frankenstein because his conscience and his intuition clearly demonstrate his understanding of right and wrong, yet the Creature fails to live by this moral code despite how he is treated.
Monstrosity lives within people and it can be as ugly as a monster. The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has this theme. The theme of monstrosity is portrayed through many acts of hideousness that the characters in the novel portrayed. Monstrosity is present throughout the physical journey of the monster, when the monster was made in Ingolstadt and is abandoned. When the monster watches the De Lacey’s in Germany and is ridiculed for the way he looks. Also when Victor destroys the monster’s one true hope at happiness in Orkneys.
How would you feel if you were abandoned as a newborn in a forest with no one to guide you or take care of you through the most vulnerable stages of life? In Frankenstein, a horrific, gothic science fiction written by Mary Shelley, a scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein abandons his creation of life who now must try to survive and learn about the world around him on his own. Through the use of various literary techniques, Mary Shelley is able to convey the impression of the creature as a baby just learning about life and his world.
A monstrosity can be defined as a malevolent, inhuman entity. A key trait of monsters is their lack of humanity, or the lack of empathetic emotional projection. Monsters have permeated culture for as long as stories have been told. The concept of monsters reveals several traits within human nature, including a penchant for order and organization, fearfulness, and imagination.
A true monster is evil, inhumane, and lacks remorse or caring for other things that a normal, emotional human being should care for” (Chandler). A monster can be perceived in many ways depending on a person’s opinion of what a monster is, anyone can be a monster. Shakespeare's Macbeth and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein both allow the characters of the Monster, Victor, Macbeth and Witches to show their Monstrosity. Victor and Macbeth pursue their ambitions with hopes and dreams. Victor’s first scientific invention is a horrible mistake and Macbeth’s Kingship is very short while being plagued with atrocities. The Monster and the Witches are characters who do not interact with society. The Witches isolate themselves while the Monster has a horrible
Explore the ways Mary Shelley presents the character of the monster in Frankenstein We are prepared for the arrival of the monster in many different ways, before he is created we know the monster is going to be a repulsive figure of a human being, but the reader is still intrigued into reading further, and because of Shelley's descriptive language we already feel disgust towards victors creation, and in doing so, we our-selves become just as callous as those people in the book that neglect Frankenstein's monster. Also because the monster was created by Victor using parts dug up from graves and morgues, and we associate graveyards with horror and death, there is immediately something sinister about the monster and to a point, Victor. The reader can already see the problems with creating artificial life in this way, and in the beginning of the novel, the reader is almost willing victor not to pursue his quest for knowledge, but victor is blinded by his own arrogance to stop and think carefully about what he is about to do. This is when Victor the man becomes separated from Frankenstein the scientist. "I saw how the fine form of man was degraded and wasted" Victor despises death, and his mind is occupied incessantly with it, and after the demise of his mother, victor cannot escape it, and subconsciously he dedicates his life towards combating the process.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the motif of monstrosity to convey the theme that a person’s outward appearance is not what makes them a monster but rather their actions or inactions that classify true monstrosity. Despite the fact that the monster Victor Frankenstein creates is a literal example of monstrosity in the novel there are many parts that give meaning to monstrosity within character’s actions. Although Victor appears normal, since he is human his ambitions, secrets, selfishness, and inaction makes him a monster himself. Along with monstrous characters the pursuit of knowledge that is seen in Victor, his monster, and Walton in Frankenstein prove that knowledge can be a monstrosity. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is created using the life stories of different characters in the novel. The novel itself could be seen as a monster created similarly to Victor’s monster.