Dangers Of False Hope In Frankenstein

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The Dangers of False Hopes Throughout history, hope has sustained mankind in times of misfortune by gifting them a prospect of a better future. Hope has been carried into literature as a universal truth as well, giving miserable characters optimism despite tough ordeals. Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost and Shelley’s monster in Frankenstein exemplify hope; however, they demonstrate the risks and dangers of hope. Satan has hopes of superseding God, and the monster has hopes of becoming loved and accepted by mankind. However, they are unable to recognize that their desires are impossible and their hopes are nothing but pure fancy, landing themselves in misery and severe consequences. Satan and the monster reveal that blindness to the falsity …show more content…

Satan aspires to rise above God in power, yet his ambition makes him unable to recognize the impossibility of such desires. Satan’s lofty position as God’s second-in-command raises his ambition: “lifted up so high/ I sdeined subjection, and thought one step higher/ Would set me highest” (Milton 4.49-51). The angel’s ambition drives his hope for absolute power and convinces him that he could fulfill such grandiose desires. However, God is unequalled in supremacy and can never be defeated; his absolute dominance renders Satan’s hopes futile. The angel will never be able to challenge God’s power, let alone defeat the omnipotent. Still, Satan is overly ambitious and thus blind to the impossibility of defeating God. Satan’s ambition parallels to the monster’s desperation for love in Shelley’s Frankenstein. As the monster observes the daily lives of the cottagers, he develops an ardent longing to enjoy the love and sympathy of mankind. He knows his desires are impossible to fulfill, but his desperation drives him to feign ignorance: “I persuaded myself that when they should become acquainted with my admiration of their virtues they would compassionate me and overlook my personal deformity” (Shelley

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