Frankenstein Personal Relationships

Frankenstein: The Affect of Anticipation on Personal Relationships

“Nothing is more painful to the human mind, than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows, and deprives the soul both of hope and fear” (Shelley, 85). The anticipation of results or achievements can positively or negatively affect one’s personal relationship with another. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Walton narrates to the reader the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. At first glance, the novel seems to only include the relationships of Victor Frankenstein and how the monster affects it negatively. However, as the plot continues, the reader experiences the relationships

In the novel, Walton aims to find a passage to the North Pole. However, Walton also longs for a friend on the ship. Walton achieves the latter when Victor surprisingly arrives on board the ship. If Walton had not gone on this adventure in the first place, he would not have met Victor. This proves that Walton’s personal relationship with Victor positively affects Walton because he is expecting to find a passage to the North Pole. After Victor reveals his story to Walton, he asks Walton to kill the creature upon seeing him. “Yet, when I am dead, if he should appear, if the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live” (Shelley, 216). This demonstrates the importance of Walton to Victor, giving Walton the friend he longs for. Victor tasks Walton with killing the creature. Moreover, at the end of the novel, the reader recognizes the importance of Victor’s story to Walton’s life. “Alas! yes; I cannot withstand their demands. I cannot lead them unwillingly to danger, and I must return” (Shelley, 224). This gives the reader a sense of what Walton learns from Victor’s story. In this scenario, Walton anticipates the crew members’ deaths and decides not to take the risk. This proves that Walton learns a lot from Victor’s story since he considers the dangers of pursuing his dream. In addition, he thinks about the lives of his crew members. Similarly, Victor is

Victor’s relationship with the creature is one that is negatively affected by Victor’s anticipation. This is because Victor expects his creation to look beautiful. The reader can see this by examining the creature’s features. Victor gave his creation pearl white teeth and flowing black hair. However, upon first sight, Victor describes his monster as ugly using words like “horrid” and “hideous” and then he runs away from it. The reader can see how disappointed Victor is at the result of his work. “I had worked hard for nearly two years… [B]ut now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley, 50). Shelley reveals to the reader the disappointment of Victor and how long he was looking forward to the birth of his creation, telling the reader that he got his hopes up. However, Victor fears the face of his creation and abandons it, negatively affecting their personal relationship. Because of this, the creature goes on a path of his own and later vows to take revenge on the human species. He kills some of Victor’s friends and family members. This not only affects his relationship with Victor, but Victor’s relationship with his friends and family. Victor’s anticipation of the creation of his creature negatively affects their personal relationship with each