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Critical review of Frankenstein
Societal influences and identity in frankenstein
Frankenstein as a Gothic novel
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Recommended: Critical review of Frankenstein
The creature is described as a ‘fiend of unparalleled barbarity.’
Explore Shelley’s presentation of the creature in the light of this statement.
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
Written in 1818, the latter stages of the Gothic literature movement, at face value this novel embodies all the key characteristics of the Gothic genre. It features the supernatural, ghosts and an atmosphere of horror and mystery. However a closer reading of the novel presents a multifaceted tale that explores
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Victor Frankenstein describes his creation as a ‘fiend of unparalleled barbarity.’ The noun ‘barbarity’ connotes cruelty and someone who is monstrous; this shows how Frankenstein sees the creature as the ultimate symbol of a savage. Furthermore the use of the adjective “unparalleled” suggests that Frankenstein thinks that no one will ever be equal the levels of brutality that the creature exhibits. Victor indulges in a determined, almost compulsive hyperbole that distances himself and demonizes his creation. In the process Victor comes to identify himself with "the whole human race" against the anomalous alien being he would cast out from it. However throughout the novel the creature is an eloquent and rational character whereas Victor Frankenstein relies on passion bursts of rage often fainting in the process. Lee Sterrenburg writes “The monster speaks like a philosophe, while Victor rages in Romantic agony” , Mary Shelley uses these differences to blur the boundaries between the civilised and savage.as we are able to see that the creature is someone who we are able to sympathise with ; society has made him a fiend, it is not innate this is from a theory formulated by french philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau called the Tabula Rasa . M.A. Goldberg writes " …show more content…
Shelley chooses to highlight the psychological damage than can occur from continual isolation. Unlike his creator, Victor Frankenstein the creature’s isolation is not self imposed, rather he craves affection and friendship. The creature suffers two rejections in this novel firstly from Victor and secondly from the De Lacey family. This second rejection is far more painful because from afar the creature feels like he has become a part of their family; he merely knows Victor as his creator but nothing else, there is no time for them to create a paternal bond .The De Lacey’s are able to provide the Creature with skills that Victor never did. From them, he learns how to read and write , countless times in the novel we see the creature’s benevolence; as he tries to help the poverty stricken De Lacey’s “I discovered also another means through which I was enabled to assist their labours.” However when he tries to initiate contact they treat him with violence “Who can describe their horror… Agatha fainted... Felix darted forward… in a transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and with supernatural force tore me from his father...” The repetition of active verbs such as “fainted” are able to quicken the pace and builds the suspense of the events that are carried out. The noun “fury” suggests an idea of uncontrollable rage and passion, Felix reacts on instinct
Gothic literature, such as The Night Circus, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”, and “Masque of the Red Death”, are known for incorporating gothic elements such as the supernatural, death, and fascination with the past.
In conclusion to this essay, having examined these 19th century gothic texts, it is fair to say that normative gender behaviour and sexuality pervades them. This element gives the reader a deep insight into the culture context of the time in which these stories are situated. It enables the reader to delve into the darker sides of humanity at that time, that they would not have been able to do otherwise.
The creature goes on to say that “To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honor that can befall a sensitive being; to be base and vicious, as many on record have been, appeared the lowest degradation, a condition more abject than that of the blind mole or harmless worm.”(52) He is speaking of his creator, Victor Frankenstein, as he believes the “virtuous” part of him is the “god-like” way that he had permeated him with life but the “base” part of his creator is the violent way in which he shunned him and left him to fend for himself to the natural world.
First, Before the monster is created Victor says that he hopes this creation would bless him as his creator, and that the creature would be excellent nature and would be beautiful. After the creature is created Shelley creates sympathy for him by Victor’s description of him in a unique yet horrific way, “he’s ‘gigantic,” “deformed,” “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath” this makes the creature abhorrent to typical humans. When thinking of the descriptions together, Shelley has created a vivid, unnatural image of the monster in the mind’s eyes. The language Shelley uses is powerful and emotive “shall I create another like yourself, whose joints wickedness
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she writes about a hopeless romantic man named Victor, who is on a journey to create a perfect human race, starting with a monster he created out of mortified body parts named, “The Creature”. The fact of the matter is, that Victor’s mind was not clear on the fact that he was creating another life, unnaturally at that. Throughout this story, Victor finds himself distraught, and displeased with his work on this being, so he decides to abandon the living creature. As time grows upon Victor, he realizes the damage he has done, not only to the angry, distraught Creature, but on society, and himself. The behaviors in this story range from positive and negative attitudes, and actions that display rage, from a sentimental
People’s impression of the Creature has become so twisted and turned by time and decades of false film posters and article titles that most use the name “Frankenstein” to refer to the Creature itself, rather than the scientist who created him! It’s a shame, he said! An understanding of literary history is a necessity to comprehend the truth of the Creature’s tragic history and how decades of film adaptations changed him into the hulking beast most people know him as today. Illustration from the frontispiece of the 1831 edition of Shelley’s Frankenstein novel by Theodor von Holst. First of all, Mary Shelley describes the Creature as "yellow skin scarcely covering the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was luxurious black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight Despite his appearance of a "monster" the original Creature portrayal is that of a sensitive, intelligent being rather than a nonspeaking idiot and killing machine.
In the novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley the motif of cruelty functions as a motive and mode of retaliation. Both Victor and the Creature portray the roles of the perpetrator and victim of cruelty as seen through the rejection the Creature receives from the humans, Victor’s betrayal to the Creature, and the revenge sought out by the Creature.
Victor’s cruel and hostile actions toward his creature demonstrate his monstrous characteristics. One example of Victor’s inhumane cruelty is when he decides to abandon his creature. When Victor realizes what he has created, he is appalled, and abandons his creature because he is “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created” (42). This wretched action would be similar to a mother abandoning her own child. Victor’s ambition for renown only fuels his depravity; he brings new life into the world, only to abandon it. This act of abandonment accurately depicts Victor’s cruelty because it shows his disgust toward his own creation, as well as his lack of respect for life. An example of a hostile action is when Victor destroys the creature’s
Despite loathing themselves for different reasons, Frankenstein and the creature both face many internal conflicts. Frankenstein despises himself for creating a creature that is threatening all of mankind. “I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price perhaps of the existence of the whole human race.” (315) Victor destroys the half-finished creation of a female monster and feels disgusted with himself that he ever thought to create another creature. “I shall be with you on your wedding night.” (149) When the female monster
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, monstrosity is defined as an inexorable sense which demonstrated by intense revenge, prolonged isolation and the dangerous pursuit of knowledge. Firstly, the revenge between Victor Frankenstein and the creature initiates their insanity or monstrosity. When Victor destroys the female creature, the creature is extremely wrathful and says, "You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains-- revenge, hence forth dearer than light or food! I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery" (Shelley 205-206). Thus, Victor and the creature show their willingness to fight against each other. It is evident that they leave far away from love and companionship which causes them suffer sorely in a dire consequence. Mary Shelley conveys an idea
The creature and Victor Frankenstein are both evil in similar and different ways. Victor created life into an inanimate object. Victor shaped the monster in an image like no other: a giant. The author tells the reader that Victor regrets what he had done by, “I beheld the wretch-the miserable monster whom I created” (Shelley 35). He tried to play the role of God, after he the monster was created, as the Oates states, “Frankenstein is a demonic parody of Milton’s God” (69). The creature was murderous,
It is from being consumed by his drive for greatness that Frankenstein creates a being which “filled [his] heart with great horror and disgust”, illustrating it is the irrationality of desires that lead to self-mutilation and destruction. Moreover, the wretch symbolically attempting to join man reflects the ways in which Victor attempts to join gods, as it clearly conveys the tragic protagonist is too demonic and corrupted by the destructiveness of man to be anything greater. The wretch’s ambition to join humanity to satisfy its unwanted existence only to be excluded and beaten provokes its realisation that it must ultimately be “lost in the darkness” and descend back into the depths it derives from. It in this death with its creator that it finally achieves meaning in its existence: the teaching of Robert Walton that he will not commit the same mistakes the wretch and Victor has. From this, Shelley conveys the destructive nature of ambition serves as impetus behind tragedy and despair, the beast yearning only to be accepted in a society in which he is the only one of his kind. Being denied joy, acceptance and love, it is only justified that a force of nature such as the creature would deteriorate into savagery and hatred - fully developing into a lifeless husk of pain and anguish. In presenting
The Creature, Victor Frankenstein’s creation, is shaped into a monster through its experiences, instead of the nature of itself, which is more expected. Victor Frankenstein, on the other hand, is shaped into a monster because of his mind’s power-hungry nature. Victor treats his creature poorly and he himself becomes wicked. While the Creature also becomes wicked in the end, its actions are more justified because multiple people treated it poorly, causing the Creature to lash out. Even though Victor Frankenstein and the Creature both turn into wicked monsters, to some extent, only one of
A monster is usually viewed to be a supernatural creature that humans judge based on looks and not necessarily on personality. In the novel, Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the monster is a creature Victor creates but abandons immediately because he is horrified by his own creation. Due to the monster’s appearance, society does not give the creature a chance to show his true self. Therefore, the monster faces an external conflict because of Frankenstein’s and society's rejection, making it difficult for him to blend into his new life. Victor creates the monster because of his unusual compulsion of aspiring to be like God. However, Victor does not know how to treat or be responsible for his creature. Victor Frankenstein is the true monster
Punter David, ‘The Literature of Terror’, in A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day, The Modern Gothic. Harlow, eds. (UK: Pearson Education, 1996)