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Psychoanalytic interpretation of Mary Shelley's frankenstein
Analysis Shelley's Frankenstein
The influence of freud
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Victors Psychological Conflict Human behaviors can be hard to understand, thankfully there are many ideas that contribute to the study of what controls them. Sigmund Freud, a psychologist, is widely known for his many contributions and theories to the understanding of human behaviors. One of his most accepted theories is the idea that humans have three psychic zones which are in charge of fulfilling desires, considering morals, taking in emotions, and making a decision. The three zones consist of the id, ego, and superego. This Freudian theory can be seen woven throughout Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein. Shelley creates her main characters with strong psychic zones, but many of them contain unbalanced and unhealthy zones. Victor Frankenstein …show more content…
The monster, enraged by the fact that Victor destroyed his female companion, kills Henry and Elizabeth. These deaths causes Victor to fall deeply into despair; his hatred for the monster and his deep grief grows until it completely controls his personality. Victor’s id took hold of his decisions in the form of revenge. Victor states that, “revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my adversary in being.”(171). His id made the decision that Victor should hunt down the monster and kill him at all costs. Without thinking rationally or about the dangers he rushed after the monster into a land of ice and snow. As he chased after the monster he didn’t think rationally or use his superego and ego. His id had overpowered his two other psychic zones and this caused his personality to be unhealthy and unbalanced.Watson was with Victor on his deathbed and he wrote, “His voice became fainter as he spoke; and at length, exhausted by his efforts he sunk into silence...he pressed my hand feebly, and his eyes closed for ever.”(182). Victor unhealthy psychic zones and the stress he put on his body during his chase lead to his …show more content…
His weaker id and ego fight against his stronger id. Sigmund Freud’s ideas concerning the three psychic zones can be seen through Victor’s life. He starts out with a healthy personality, but as he grows up his selfish desires and his relentless pursuit of knowledge cause his id to get stronger. At the end of his life his id takes over and overpowers both his ego and superego; which leads to his death. Victor’s failure to have balanced and healthy psychic zones not only lead to his misery and destruction, but also the death of the people around
Upon the many observances that can be seen throughout the story of Frankenstein, one of the main focus points would be that of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This is a psychological pyramid that consists of the basic needs of the subconscious human. These needs consist of self-actualization needs, esteem needs, social needs, safety needs, and psychological needs. Once one need on this period is met, the human body will subconsciously seek to fulfill the next item it feels is missing (McLeod). There are many circumstances within the novel that concern this hierarchy, and it is made apparent that this gives reason for many of the actions of the monster that take place. It can be justified in the sense that his actions were committed for a feeling
Victor makes several attempts to stop the monster but all fail it solidifies the monster as a dangerous force that cannot be stopped. Every attempt Victor makes or every chance he misses it ends with another death as stated in the article: “Frankenstein believes he saw his creature in the area and concludes that he must be the real culprit. Justine is put on trial, condemned and executed. Frankenstein, who does not intervene, is overwhelmed by guilt”(Cornillon 4). The few attempts Victor makes to save his family are either stopped by the monster or Victor’s own fear. Not only does it result in a loss of a love one for Victor but it also makes severe problems to his own
Victor experiences very little joy at all after the creation of the monster. He suffers from numerous bouts of depression, he most tolerate the deaths of his brother, best friend, and wife, all of which were murdered at the hands of the monster. His friend Justine is executed because of the death of William, for which she is falsely accused and convicted. His father also dies after the murder of Elizabeth, Victor's ill-fated bride. With so much death surrounding his life, how is it possible that Victor could still be cognizant of his actions when he decides to pursue the monster and end its violent fury? He can't. Victor's mind is so clouded by the sorrow and pain of his past that he is blinded to the fact that he is attempting to destroy a creature with far greater physical strength and speed than any mortal. Much of his conflict appears to be created by the monster, when in fact the torment comes from Victor's own hands because he himself created and gave life to the monster.
Victor could have easily betrayed the monster he created out of pure fear and horror, but it doesn’t make a difference to the matter of him betraying something that has no one else to depend on but its own creator. This act of betrayal shows a lot about Victor’s personal characteristics; it reveals the true monster inside of him. The Creature himself is also innocent: deserted by his fickle creator, he must fight for his survival in a hateful world. In classic tragic style, the novel ends with the tortured protagonist’s downfall and an ominous, unknown future for the remaining
Throughout the story, Victor’s life is in peril due to the monster’s extreme vindictiveness. Although the monster is justified in showing anger towards Victor, his killings of Victor’s friends and family is overly brutal. Years of neglect by Victor, which leave the monster fatherless as he grows up, drive him into a vindictive rage, or according to the monster, an "uncontrollable passion". Instead of going after Victor directly and immediately, however, the monster acts to complete what he calls a "demoniacal design". He carries out this plan by methodically killing Victor’s friends and family. This he...
Throughout the year Professor Prudden has been teaching us the idea of the individual and when and how it came about. We have studied The French Revolution, Scientific Revolution, Colonialism, and Reformation, all stressing what made this time period important to the individual. We finished the class reading the novel Frankenstein with does a great job of demonstrating a man or “monster” creaking his own being. We have already determined that an individual is; the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant. Mary Shelley demonstrates individuality through Frankenstein and leads to his internal isolation and loneliness. She shows that uniqueness is the most important aspect of individualism not only through Frankenstein but Victor
Because of Victor’s need for fame and desire for power leads to Victor becoming a monster. Victor begins his quest to bring life to a dead person because he does not want anyone to feel the pain of a loved ones death. At first he is not obsessed with his project. As he moves along in the project he thinks about what will happen to him. "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me." (Shelley 39) He realizes that he will become famous if he accomplishes the task of bringing a person back to life. The realization that he will become famous turns him into an obsessive monster. He wanted to be admired, and praised as a species creator. He isolates himself from his family and works on the creature. “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 156) By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, he has no time to write or contact his family. He puts fear within his family because they fear for him.
In Frankenstein the creature seem to reveal that he has ways like a human being. At first when he stumbled upon the DeLacy family he wondered why they were such an unhappy family. He realized he was the problem to their poverty. The creature felt sorry so decided to help them. For example , the creature says “ During the night I often took his tools...and brought them home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days “ ( Shelly 12 ) . This shows that the creature has sense of emotion. In addition ,The creature mentions that when he saw himself for the first time in the pool of he was horrified the same way as any human would reacted. To demonstrate , he comments “ How I was terrified when I viewed myself in the transparent pool
Victor frequently doesn’t consider the monster, and only thinks of self-benefit. In fact, Victor’s purpose in creating the monster was self-benefit: to have a race that considers him their god. This plan doesn’t work out for obvious reasons, and the monster runs. When Victor encounters the monster again, it is an unexpected encounter on Mount Blanc. Victor assumes the monster killed his son though no real proof existed at the time. Victor sees the monster, and “A mist came over (his) eyes, and (he) felt a faintness seize (him)”(80). This is Victor's reaction to simply seeing the monster. He feels as if he needs to get revenge against the monster who could be innocent. Victor says later “I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach and then close with him in mortal combat”(80). He is willing to die if it gets this possibly innocent creature off of the earth. This is an evil and selfish thing of him to do, simply to get out the rage of losing two of his family members. Actions like this are what cause the monster to want to continue ruining Victor. The monster asks for a compromise; a bride so that he has someone who he can befriend. Victor agrees to this only out of self defense, and not out of goodness. After realising he is being spied on by the monster, he destroys the bride. Victor said “I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore
Throughout this unit, surprisingly, I learned a lot about perspective and middle ground. As we progressed along in Frankenstein, I found myself in many instances where I would ask the question, “Who’s side am I on?” with a tag along question, “Who is right?”. I would get stuck and ponder over these questions for long before I realized: I couldn’t pick a side. It just wasn’t that simple for me to choose that one person is right over the other. It felt like I was torn because I could see in both ways. Half of me was siding with one person while the other half pulled me in another direction. Struggling to choose, I chose to stay in the middle.
Why should we justify something that has been drilled so deep into our brains not to do?
The creature and the reader, like myself, have many traits or feelings in common. The talks mainly talks about learning new things. New things about humans and their emotions. He’s learning about happiness, sadness, anger, and more. The creature also notices when the cottagers are feeling now that he knows about emotions. The reader and the creature can now relate because of the emotions they both feel.
Personalities Form and its Ability to Change From the minute we are born we are told what we are supposed to do and what is right or wrong. Sometimes it is our parents who tell us and sometimes its the society we live in. We are always told who we are, then we hit our teenage rebellion years and we try to rebel against what society and our parents tell us to do, but our we really changing who we are? The answer is no. People 's formative years strongly dictate who they become but society can further shape them as they age.
Although no castle happens to appear in Frankenstein, the supernatural, madness and mysterious elements of the novel make up for how Frankenstein's ability to create the monster as a whole. Mary Shelley explores human nature by making the monster seem to be more "human" than his creator. Her writing shows how the varied and dramatic settings of Frankenstein can create the atmosphere of the novel. The monster becomes Victor's forthcoming doom. His superhuman strength and speed make him seem to follow everywhere Victor goes, waiting, watching, and threatening. The monster’s unimaginable character and his human emotions make him a doppelganger for Frankenstein, who becomes more like a monster as the novel progresses. The monster haunts Frankenstein
Sigmund Freud is best known for his development and use of psychoanalysis. The theory of psychoanalysis focuses on the concept of how our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and emotions play an active role in our daily lives. The id, ego, and superego are the three mental zones that encompass our psyche. Each zone has a specific function: The id functions on the pleasure principle; the ego on the protection of the individual; and the superego on protection of society. The degree of which each zone has been developed can be broken down and then analyzed. These three zones can be visualized by imagining a pie cut into three slices.