In theory, the role of a parent is simple: to nurture and care for their child. In practice, the entire life of a parent must be devoted to this goal. A child is in constant need of nurturing and love. A good parent is one who does these things, and a bad parent is one who is neglectful and denies the child of care. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Frankenstein is an example of a bad parent which is someone who is not ready to take on the responsibilities but does so anyway without second thought as to whether it is the best thing for the child. Blindly, Frankenstein creates a child, and then leaves in horror as the poor monster takes its first steps in the world. This child is merely a product of Frankenstein's selfish and naive attitude. Without …show more content…
any language, understanding, or connections, the monster begins his life without any understanding that he is an abnormal addition to a normal world. After chaos continually ensues for the monster, Frankenstein is happily oblivious to the life of the thing he created. Neglected by his creator, the monster grows bitter and more sour of his position. The monster’s need for revenge and strong hatred for Frankenstein is rooted in the desire to be nurtured and cared for. Because the monster was born into a world that deserted him, he suffered from a constant neglect and suffered from the social effects of child abuse from infancy. Although being created as an adult form, the mind of the monster is one of a child and must be nurtured as a child’s mind should. Frankenstein denied the monster any of this opportunity. A child’s mind is a precious vessel that is meant to be molded and shaped as it grows. A child needs a protector and a teacher from the very beginning of consciousness in order to be able to grow up as a well thought creature. Walter Goldschmidt, the author of The Bridge to Humanity, writes that this natural need is called “Affect Hunger” which is “essentially insatiable; it continues as a wish for acceptance, approval, and influence in the ever-expanding community in which every child is to live” (Goldschmidt 37). Without this hunger satisfied, a child will endlessly search for approval and nurturing from any source that is willing. Frankenstein’s monster has been starved of any affection or attention and has suffered the most dangerous effects of this hunger. To satisfy such a hunger, simple things can be done such as a simple caress or a simple hold in someone's arms. Physical contact stimulates a baby's brain in a way that it is activated and begins to grow even more and more in accordance to how much it is physically and emotionally stimulated in the crucial beginning days. According to Goldschmidt, “to nurture is to respond to a call to give one’s time, energy and resources to the welfare of another” (Goldschmidt 35). Frankenstein does none of these things for the monster. He has the most responsibility to care for the monster, and does none of these things that would nurture him. The consequences of not having this hunger satisfied can be severe and result in emotional defects that affect one’s personality. Human instinct is to respond to neglect with neglect. Trying to make his creator feel as alone and desolate as he, the monster “snatched from [Frankenstein] every hope of future happiness; no creature had ever been so miserable as [Frankenstein] was” (Shelley). The monster’s extreme case of neglect is abnormal to one of an orphan.
In his case, he was left without any understand or knowledge of language and communication. With the mind of a baby’s, body of an adult’s, and deformities of a monster’s, all odds were stacked against his opportunities at an emotionally healthy life. From creation, there is an unexplainable connection to a creator. Mothers constantly caress, comfort, and cuddle the child as positive physical and mental associations form for both parties. The monster’s first meaningly physical interaction with another human being was being kicked and attacked by Felix, whom the monster loved: “I could have torn him limb from limb, as the lion rends the antelope. But my heart sank within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained” (Shelley). Meanwhile, Frankenstein has thought of this living being he created as only a burden and feels hatred, anxiety, and hope that he has terminated his own existence. Because Frankenstein chose to fear his creation rather than help assimilate it into the world, he is to blame for the monster’s misfortunes. Without subtlety, the monster also blames his creator for the wretchedness that has happened to him: “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred” (Shelley). It is up to the parent’s to equip their children with tools that shape personality, social skills, and emotions. As the monster had watched the DeLacey family, he realized how different his life has been from that of civilized humans. He had learned how to speak, how to read, how to write, and history all from these people who had no idea he existed. The DeLacey’s were the only nurturing figures in the monster’s life, yet
they strongly rejected him. Upon comparing their situations, the monster says this: “They loved and sympathized with one another; and their joys, depending on each other, were not interrupted by the casualties that took place around them. The more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures; to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition. I dared not think that they would turn them from me with disdain and horror.” (Shelley). Adults who experienced neglect and abuse as a child often will attempt to fill their hunger affect with superfluous relationships throughout their life. The monster acts very human in this way. Initially, upon entering the world, the monster is only filled with curiosity. Angrily, the monster begs for companionship to Frankenstein: “Shall each man," cried he, "find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn” (Shelley). Filled with misery and grief, the monster fills this void of sadness by inflicting his own pains on other people. By bringing other people into his own misery, he attempts to fill this void. Curiously enough, Frankenstein, who is his object of misery, is also the only person he has ever had any type of relationship with. The monster, even after hating his so viciously, wants and needs to horrible relationship with Frankenstein. As they chase each other across Europe and Russia, the monster seems to be playing a game with Frankenstein. He leaves notes for him in tree trunks, and dead hares for him to eat. He even gives him guiding points to make sure Frankenstein stays on track in his chase to kill him. Frankenstein may be miserable, yet the monster is the most alone and miserable of any living creature, and Frankenstein is to blame for the neglect he gave him. In considering having a child, or creating a monster, there has to be an understanding of the responsibilities and necessities for teaching a person how to live in society. These responsibilities range from simple caresses or can be more complicated like giving proper attention in order to tach things like language and social cues. Frankenstein did not take any of these responsibilities or repercussions into consideration before bringing new consciousness into this world. If Frankenstein had not run from his creation, but had chosen to nurture it, as one would a child, the monster’s psyche, which originally had so much happiness and warmth, would not have soured into a pit of jealousy and revenge. The monster, himself, also labels Frankenstein as being the evil in his life. If Frankenstein had a mentor or a protector from the harsh unknown world, the lives of all those who he killed would have been spared. The monster kills because a deep emotional trauma that came from the neglect he experienced as a young mind and unknowing innocent soul.
Every parent has their own opinion on the best way to raise a child. Victor Frankenstein, however is a perfect example on how not to raise a child. Unlike Victor’s parents, he was not a good caretaker of the creature that he created. Victor’s parents were compassionate people not only to their children but to the poor and the rest of their family as well. Victor can recall his childhood as being grateful for what he had and for the way his parents treated others. Victor's monster on the other hand, would not describe his first months of being alive as anything close to happy. Not only was victor fortunate enough to have had such caring parents, he also had his best friend Clerval and his adopted sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was there to comfort
In a world full of novelty, guidance is essential to whether a being’s character progresses positively or negatively in society. Parents have a fundamental role in the development of their children. A parent’s devotion or negligence towards their child will foster a feeling of trust or mistrust in the latter. This feeling of mistrust due to the lack of guidance from a parental figure is represented in the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his creation in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The creature created by Frankenstein was shown hatred and disgust from the very beginning, which led to its indignant feelings toward his creator and his kind.
In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein the protagonist Victor Frankenstein creates a monster. The monster in the novel is deprived of a normal life due to his appearance. Like the creature, some serial killers today are killers due to the same rejection. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley warns that a childhood of abuse and neglect will often result in evil actions.
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
Shelley’s mother died eleven days after Mary was born ( Britton 4). Like Mary Shelley, the monster was born motherless, and this deeply affected him. The monster proclaimed, “no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses” (Shelley 86). Just as the monster longed for a family connection, so did Shelley. Barbara D’amato wrote, “The unconscious conflicts and psychic experiences of loss and of longing for connection are captured and revealed in the orphaned character of Mary Shelley’s fictional story, Frankenstein (118). Shelley and the monster also share the struggle of feeling abandoned and hated by their fathers. Shelley’s father abandoned her twice during her life. The first time was when Shelley was a young child. Shelley believed that her stepmother was interfering with Shelley’s and her father’s relationship, and this jealousy caused conflict between the family members. Shelley’s father later sent her to live somewhere else. When Shelley was older, her father disapproved of her decision to elope with Percy Shelley which resulted in him disowning Mary. This abandonment left Shelley with the feeling that there was something terribly wrong with her (D’Amato 126). The monster was also abandoned by Frankenstein, or the man that can be considered his father. The monster explained to Frankenstein why he had become the violent being that he was, when he told Victor, “Believe me Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?” (Shelley
Throughout Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein pursues, with a passion lacking in other aspects of his life, his individual quest for knowledge and glory. He accepts the friendships and affections given him without reciprocating. The "creature," on the other hand, seems willing to return affections, bringing wood and clearing snow for the DeLaceys and desiring the love of others, but is unable to form human attachments. Neither the creature nor Victor fully understands the complex relationships between people and the expectations and responsibilities that accompany any relationship. The two "monsters" in this book, Victor Frankenstein and his creation, are the only characters without strong family ties; the creature because Frankenstein runs from him, and Victor because he runs from his family.
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s inevitable evilness. Victor was not predestined to failure, nor was his creation innately depraved. Rather, it was Victor’s poor “parenting” of his progeny that lead to his creation’s thirst for vindication of his unjust life, in turn leading to the ruin of Victor’s life.
In Frankenstein, Victor’s monster suffers much loneliness and pain at the hands of every human he meets, as he tries to be human like them. First, he is abandoned by his creator, the one person that should have accepted, helped, and guided him through the confusing world he found himself in. Next, he is shunned wherever he goes, often attacked and injured. Still, throughout these trials, the creature remains hopeful that he can eventually be accepted, and entertains virtuous and moral thoughts. However, when the creature takes another crushing blow, as a family he had thought to be very noble and honorable abandons him as well, his hopes are dashed. The monster then takes revenge on Victor, killing many of his loved ones, and on the humans who have hurt him. While exacting his revenge, the monster often feels guilty for his actions and tries to be better, but is then angered and provoked into committing more wrongdoings, feeling self-pity all the while. Finally, after Victor’s death, the monster returns to mourn the death of his creator, a death he directly caused, and speaks about his misery and shame. During his soliloquy, the monster shows that he has become a human being because he suffers from an inner conflict, in his case, between guilt and a need for sympathy and pity, as all humans do.
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly explores the concept of the body, life, ‘the self’ and most of importantly humanity, which is repeatedly questioned throughout the novel. The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane or in other words someone that can feel or possess compassion. Despite all the facts against the “monster” in “Frankenstein” he is indeed what one would consider being human. Humanity isn’t just about ones physical appearance but also includes intellect and emotion. Some people argue that the “monster” is not a human for he was not a creature that was born from “God” or from a human body. That being said, the “monster” is not only able to speak different languages, he can also show empathy - one of many distinct traits that set humans apart from the animals. Both the “monster” and his creator, Victor, hold anger and feel a sense of suffering throughout the novel. Victor is a good person with good intentions just like most individuals, but makes the mistake of getting swept up into his passion of science and without thinking of the consequences he creates a “monster”. After completing his science project, he attempts to move forward with his life, however his past – i.e., the “monster” continues to follow and someone haunt him. While one shouldn’t fault or place blame on Frankenstein for his mistakes, you also can’t help but feel somewhat sympathetic for the creature. Frankenstein just wants to feel accepted and loved, he can’t help the way he treats people for he’s only mimicking how people have treated him, which in most cases solely based on his appearance. Unlike most of the monsters we are exposed to in films past and present, the character of the “monster” ...
The creature in "Frankenstein" is first wrongly judged by his own creator which sparks the hatred he has of all humans by the end of the novel. He is abandoned by the one who made him and is left confused and clueless. The creature quickly learns many things, most definite though, the unjust prejudice people have towards him because of his unfortunate ugliness. His hopelessness and hatred of humans is solidified when he learns of his creator's feelings of disgust towards him. When speaking to his creator he explains, "instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind,"(Shelley 170). The society in the novel "categorized him as being a danger to society just because of his monstrous appearance," (www.studymode.com). Eventually he meets one character who he believes may not run from or misjudge him. He befriends DeLacey, a blind man, and has a glimmer of hope that he will not be alone forever. However, all his hope is stripped away when he is immediately rejected by DeLacey's children who, like everyone else, judge the creature unfairly. The prejudice and discrimination the...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a comparison of Nature vs. Nurture. Some critics argue that the Being is a monster from birth, while others claim that it cannot be limited to such a narrow category. The argument lies in the education of the Being. He is not a born killer, but is created by the rejection of society. The Being is born an innocent creature with ability to appreciate the sublime, but after learning about human emotions, he is transformed into a monster through the emotional rejection he receives from a human family.
...luding intelligence, compassion, and emotions. The monster attempts to make friends with his peer humans, despite his continuous rejection. His efforts show that even the monster experiences vulnerability and desire for companionship. The monster proves his intelligence as he devises a plan to learn the English language by observing his neighbors. Meanwhile, Doctor Frankenstein lacks the human quality of intelligence as he fails to foresee the effects of taking creation of life into his own hands. The doctor also lacks compassion when he abandons his creation, the equivalent of a parent leaving his child. Frankenstein flees from his monster because he actually fears the monster as much as the rest of society due to its frightening stature. Doctor Frankenstein and his creation exemplify the qualities people should exude to consider themselves members of the human race.
Once he is horrified by his invention, the monster, he abandons it. He was born into the body of an adult but had the thought process and heart of a child. His ugliness caused others to hate him. This is the reason that the monster acts in such a violent yet childish manner. All of these facts contributed to how the monster’s life played out. When he was shown love, he gave love, but when he was given hatred, he acted irrationally and often times did things without realizing the weight that it had on others. Of all the examples of lost innocence in Frankenstein, the monster is the one exception, because his loss of innocence is due to human interaction. While Dr. Frankenstein and the other characters are compromised, the monster always tries to act out of a simple desire to be loved. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the theme of innocence that we see throughout literature, most notably in the story of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, like Victor Frankenstein, know the difference between good and evil, but choose the poisonous fruit like Victor chooses ambition. The monster is a victim of Victor's ambition, and since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, we all have the capacity to destroy innocence with our creations.The monster retains the innocence of a child because he was never offered the nurturing that would give him the ability to interact with humans. He remains in his natural state of innocence, which leads to tragic consequences as he is misunderstood by
In Frankenstein, Victor’s Creation is depressed, due to the fact that he has no friends, and no family. He desires to be like unto man, but has no opportunity to. He compares himself to Adam, from the biblical book of Genesis, as he is, “Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with, and acquire knowledge from, beings of a superior nature: but I was wretched, helpless, and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (Shelley 18). The creature wants to be like the rest of humankind so much, but he can’t. He realizes he is more like Satan, the devil of all things, than Adam. When a person, creature, animal, etc., likens himself unto the worst character on Earth, he does not think highly of himself. The creature is in a state of despair. Mary Shelley gives the creature these thoughts to show how important it is that he becomes human. The monster can’t become mankind, which is enough to make him a murderer and have dark thoughts
What do parents owe their children in terms of education? In modern times, belief of society is that parental influence is a key factor to a child’s educational success. Parental and authoritative figures serve as role models and provide discipline and resources that are essential to a child’s educational development and prosperity. Mary Shelley refutes this notion in her novel Frankenstein, where she examines the educational success of characters without proper parental roles and who rebel against the authoritative figure’s guidance. Said characters include Frankenstein’s creature and Robert Walton, who become masters of their discipline without any parental nourishment. Moreover, Victor Frankenstein becomes a master of a philosophy which