Controversy Of Victor Frankenstein

As the class has read the famous novel of Mary Shelley, “Frankenstein”, much controversy has come up concerning both the monster and Victor Frankenstein, the main characters of the book. One point of controversy is whether or not Victor remains the “true parent” after his dissertation of his own creation. What parent would desert their own child, their own creation? With that being said, after the initial “conception” of the monster, it is this student’s perception that Victor does not remain the parent of the monster because of reasons such as: he abandons the monster immediately after creation (Pg. 44 of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley), he is absolutely disgusted with the appearance of the monster (Pg. 44 of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley)

, and he claims his own creation to be a demon or a devil of some sort (Pg. 86 of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley).
All throughout his life, Victor is intrigued with science, specifically death.

At the age of seventeen, after the loss of his mother Caroline, Victor travels to a university to further his studies on the subject of life and death. At Ingolstadt, Victor's passion for science increases greatly. He interns under a very well-known professor to further his knowledge and ultimately changes the history of science (Grdesaver.com Paraphrase). During the two year period at the university, Victor conducts a horrifying and questionably unethical experiment. The experiment consisted of taking pieces from different corpses to make a “super” human. When Victor finished piecing together his experiment, he used lightning to electrically charge the heart and body of his creation to life. Unfortunately, Victor did not take ‘Parenting 101’ class and fled from the horrifying creature he had created. “The monster was full of sorrow, and cursed his creator and his own hideousness. He therefore determined to revenge himself upon Frankenstein” (Gradesaver.com

Quote).
A true parent is one who loves and cares for their child no matter what the situation is. Many children suffer from special needs, yet their parents still love them. Victor selfishly deserted his child or creation because of his special needs. If Victor was a decent parent, he would have stayed with the monster no matter what. This is what a true parent is like.
Something that was very interesting to this student was the comparison between Victor creating the monster and parents desiring to choose the characteristics of their unborn child so that it may be the “perfect child”.

How is this any different from what Victor was trying to do? It is no different. If what Victor (who by the way is a fictional character) did is unethical then so is real people trying to create the perfect child. Unfortunately, Victor learned through much pain and sorrow that the fame and fortune of trying to create the perfect child was not worth it. Maybe society should try and learn from Victor’s mistake.

Victor did not know what he was getting himself into by trying to create the perfect child. Consequently, for himself and the monster, his plan backfired. The monster needed love, support, compassion, and guidance just as every child does. Victor was too disgusted by his own creation to provide it with these essential needs. Victor was not a good father to his creation. He abandoned him at the most crucial time of its horrid life. Throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, Victor reaps what he sows through his actions. In the end he is dead and the monster is about to commit suicide out of pure misery out of Victor’s

doings.
As one can see, Victor suffered much throughout his life, but then again so did the monster. A lesson one can take away from Victor’s mistake, is to always make sure one is ready for parenthood. If not, it can reap havoc on both yourself and the child. Not one person wishes that, for parenthood is difficult enough. Be a true parent and love one’s child unconditionally. It will save one from much trouble that Victor had to face.