Monstrosity in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus
Merriam-Webster defines monster as a threatening force, and a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty. Currently in pop culture monsters are dangerous and fatal creatures. For example, the 80s classic of the small-feisty gremlins, and 2017 renewal of the menacing clown named “It.” Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus sparks a revolutionary vision of the illustration of what monsters are today. While Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus is initially thought to follow the melancholy nature of the creature, Victor himself develops a maniacal insanity. Victor’s internal pressure and pursuit to possess the ability of being “God-like”
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Moreover, the rage that builds over within the creature causes dire consequences. The death of Elizabeth causes the town to use fire to hunt down the culprit of this murder and keeps the town lit with an indefinite flame from the torches. Additionally, Victor also exudes madness when he attempts to kill the creature. Following the death of Victor’s wife, his emotions intensely overwhelm him. Victor exclaims, “I rushed towards the window, and drawing a pistol from my bosom, fired; but he eluded me, leaped from his station, and running with the swiftness of lightning, plunged into the lake.”(Chapter 23) The speed of the creature’s escape from Victor compares to that of lightning, which is a frightening bolt of light from nature. The lightning is a short burst of light that is discernibly seen in any darkness. The text also mentions a flash of lightning in Victor’s disappointed introduction to the creature as being scary and inhumane. Additionally, in the evolvement of the staggering darkness and shadow that overcomes Victor. Also, in this instance the reader finds Victor left in a desperate state, longing for someone to blame for the horrible misfortunes of his present. For example, after Victor fails in capturing the
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’ the creature is presented through many narrative voices, it is through Victor's narrative that we see the Creature as a 'wretch', 'daemon' and a 'fiend'. Mary Shelley chooses to present the creature as a ‘fiend’ due to circumstance beyond the creature’s control
In chapter seven, Victor witnesses a flash of lighting over the mountain Mont Blanc. Lightning is a reminder of Victor’s childhood that mankind will never understand nature.
In the novel, Frankenstein, a doctor named Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Victor’s monster was created using old human parts, chemicals, and a “spark.” Victor wanted to create this monster in order to benefit mankind, and for the purpose of playing God. Victor thought his creation would turn out great, but in all actuality, his monster ended up terribly wrong (Shelley, 145). The monster was a deformed man, standing eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, black hair, black lips, and skin that did not conceal his internal features (Shelley, 144-145). Even though the monster was very grown, he had the mind of a newborn child, and he was very kind and gentle (Shelley, 327). The monster’s appearance terrified Victor, and he immediately abandoned it. Dr. Victor Frankenstein also never named his creation because he disliked it that much. The monster was longing for love, and since no one loved him, he became very violent. He ended up killing Victor’s brother and best friend out of pure revenge (Shelley, 193). Anytime the monster tried to help people, he was bea...
We are all born into this world with innocence, but due to our human nature and the ways of society we don’t stay this way. Some people let the world corrupt them and others manage to find peace. However, none of us are been as liars and killers. Victor Frankenstein’s monster is an example of such corruption and how someone so innocent can be manipulated based on how they’re viewed by others. In the monster’s early days he is shown to be innocent without knowledge of his appearance and the effect that it will have on people.When he first encounters humans he has faith in them and is confident that he will befriend them. Then, with each human encounter his faith is destroyed. The monster is young and doesn’t understand
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.
While watching the lightning, Victor sees the “deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed [him] that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon, to whom [he] had given life.(73)” Therefore, lightning identifies with both qualities of the beauty as it destroys the objects it strikes which symbolizes the creature’s destructive powers on the people that Victor loves. Even though the creature is not beautiful, the lightning represents the creatures desire for the beautiful things in life, but since he does not get them he resorts to ruining other individuals lives especially that of his creator. Like the lightning, the creature is like a child because he does not know much about the world, since his creator just created
and in this essay I will explore who the monster is in the novel. The
When we are created into this world it’s not by the choice of our own. However, we are created most times out of love from our creator. Like a baby just newly born into this world needs to feel its mothers touch, scent, and security. The bonding makes you feel a connection to your maker of the world and without it a person may feel lost, abandoned, and unloved. From the beginning we hope to build our self-esteem through the love of our creator. Sadly, most people are not loved or accepted by their creator. This leads to a person lashing out in a number of ways that society views unconventional due to the lack of understanding that person suffers through abandonment alone. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley illustrates the theme of monstrosity
Can corruption of the innocent can lead to the unwanted destruction caused by the individual that was once innocent? It is evident in books such as Macbeth, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Brave New World, and Lord of the Flies. Each one has examples some better than others but all of them once had an innocence that got ripped from their bare hands all while they still thought they had it making confusion for those around them.
Victors allure into darkness began when he decide to go against the ethics of science and create a creature just like him to all worship him. Once Frankenstein had built the creature and gave it life as soon as it opened its eyes Victor saw a reflection of himself in the creature and hated ; He hated the imperfections of the creature and what he had done with science just so he could please himself “the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”. Victor became paranoid with his own creation and that made himself centered, he put his hatred for the ‘daemon’ first before the safety of his family. His obsession with the demise of his creation made him
Monsters can come in various physical forms, but all monsters share the same evil mentality. A Monster is a being that harms and puts fear within people. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of how appearance does not determine whether a creature is a monster or not. In the story, Victor Frankenstein tries to change nature by creating a super human being. The being appears to be a monster. Victor becomes so obsessed with his creation and then rejects it. Victor is the real monster because of his desire for power, lack of respect for nature, and his stubbornness.
I had the opportunity to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley several years ago and it became one of my favorite books. My initial feeling was sorrow, what a wonderful story that has been slowly destroyed by Hollywood through the years. We think of Victor Frankenstein as a mad scientist trying to destroy mankind, and the monster having bolts in his neck with very little intellect. Mary Shelley’s book is completely different from the Hollywood version we are accustom to. The monster is intelligent and has emotions, the mad scientist or Victor was scared of his own creation due to his appearance. The monster initially showed no signs of evil in the novel, but where did he learn it from? Who is the real evil monster
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.
A common way to describe a modern day monster can be described within the soul and mind. Many people have a complex and confused mind. Stephen King states, “ I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside asylums only hide it a little better- and maybe not all that much better, after all.” Monsters can overpower the mind. Many people struggle to listen to themselves, and they let their monstrous conscience take over their actions which will cause harm to them or people around them. It is common for people to battle monsters within their souls. Many people feel too weak to stand up and be free from
A monster is defined as an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening. By this definition, Victor’s creature who is depicted to be eight feet tall and hideous