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Elizabeth Frankenstein character analysis
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“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves” is a quote from Chinese philosopher, Confucius, that immaculately describes the knowledge the characters in the story of Frankenstein lacked. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main character, Victor Frankenstein, creates a creature whom he abandons soon after. After the abandonment the creature gets treated horribly by other humans, feeling alone in a world where there was no other like him. This causes the creature to feel hate towards his creator, whom he continuously tries to seek revenge from. The desire for revenge transforms the creature into a true monster that has no feelings or aspirations beyond destroying Victor, leading to his miserable death. Early in …show more content…
On his search for Victor he came across the little brother of his creator and kills him. “‘Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy—to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim’…and in a moment he lay dead at my feet” (Shelley, 131). He killed the little boy to force Victor to feel all of the pain that he had felt. He did not show anymore compassion because all he wanted was revenge from Victor and to make him feel the same way that he had felt. The desire for revenge only strengthened as he approached …show more content…
On the night that Victor got married the creature killed his wife, Elizabeth, in order to get revenge from Victor. “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down” (Shelley, 186). The moment when he killed Elizabeth was not the same as when he killed the little brother. When the creature had murdered Elizabeth it had been much more violently than the first, showing that his desire for revenge had become much more stronger, as it was the only feeling he showed. He had begun to act like the monster that everyone had believed he was, showing no more of the humane feelings he had showed previously in the
When Victor Frankenstein breaks his promise to the monster, it threatens him by saying that he’ll return on Victors wedding. Victor assumes that it’s his life that’s being threatened but the night of the marriage, Victor finds his Elizabeth. “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and… running with the swiftness of lightning, plunged into the lake.” (Chapter 23) This quote conveys that the monster didn’t feel bad for killing Victor’s bride, he believed that it was a justified murder because he was repaying the heartache that he felt for his lost mate. This act of cruelty helped develop the monsters sense of right and wrong. The monster was born innocent but after being treated so cruelly for so long, his moral compass was corrupted. He felt as if it was his right to do this to this to Victor.
Mary Shelley’s idea of friendship is very important throughout the novel because it is the goal of Walton throughout the beginning, as well as the monster Frankenstein created throughout his narration period. In chapters fourteen through sixteen the creature learns that he is the only man of his kind, the only monster created on this Earth and he himself is much like Satan and Adam. He stumbled across three novels in which he reads and interprets differently. Paradise Lost having the most impact on the creature made him realize that he is utterly alone, and wretched. Adam was created from God, and was protected, whereas the creature who was created by Victor, was the complete opposite. He was dragged into this earth. The creature states, “But
In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley displays revenge. She does this by making the being turn its back against his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Victor is traumatised with the guilty knowledge that the monster he has created is responsible for the death of two loved ones, William, his younger brother and Justine Moritz, a girl who had been adopted by the Frankenstein household. The monster kills Elizabeth, Victor’s wife, on their wedding day. This is because the monster begged Victor to create a female friend for him but Victor destroyed it when he remembered what a danger they both could have been to themselves and to everyone around them.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818 about the scientist Victor Frankenstein who committed sin-filled crimes of pride for his own personal benefit, but redeems himself by confession. Shelley wrote this novel for the sole purpose to warn “all men make mistakes, But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repair the evil; the only crime is pride” Man should not play God and should apologize for his mistakes committed. In the work, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley drives Dr. Victor Frankenstein to pursue morally wrong, selfish, and prideful crimes that eventually lead to his redemption; however, not without compromising his life, the lives of others, and his immortal soul.
Throughout Frankenstein, nature is considered to be a healing remedy in the process of Victor Frankenstein’s recovery.
The thirst for power and knowledge is what drives the characters in this novel. Victor Frankenstein comes off as a sincere person but only because of the state in which we find him but, overall he is driven by his work and his appetite for power and knowledge. Dr. Frankenstein is a man crazed with his own ambition that recklessly desires the god-like powers of creation. In the beginning of the novel, the audience does not have a lot of information on Victor. The reader’s first impression on Victor is that he is vulnerable, weak, and favorable but something about him was just not right. The audience’s opinion differed from Walton’s, for example in this quote: “My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my admiration and
Literature often works as depicted act of betrayal. Many people, friends, and family may portray a protagonist, but they will likewise be guilty of treachery or betrayal to their own values. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is acts of betrayal between Victor Frankenstein and the monster. In the Novel Victor Frankenstein is a betrayal of life itself because it should be given naturally and not created by a scientist man. The monster is actually the one who is majorly betrayed, he may look like a hideous dangerous monster on the outside but, not one within himself. From the beginning of the novel, Victor betrays the monster, and this betrayal is seen on many levels throughout the novel. The tragic figure in Mary Shelley’s horror novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, is truly the instrument of betrayal to his creation of the monster because life should be given naturally not by creation of suffering and horrific which is made by man.
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, is dr. Frankenstein a god? God is the all being who creates everything, but also looks after what He has created. If dr. Frankenstein is Mary Shelly’s “god” figure, then dr. Frankenstein is a very irresponsible and carefree “god.” He is very irresponsible because he does not look after his creation. God looks over everything, dr. Frankenstein can not even look over one creation. Victor runs from his creation throughout out the whole novel and he is also trying to run away from the fact that he made his “mistake.” When the creature and his “god” meet up, and by meet up it is really implied that the “mistake” tracked him down, the creation tells his creator how bad of a “god” he has been and tries to make him realize how he has abandoned his duties. The creatures lectures him by saying, “remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but i am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drives from joy for no misdeed”(Shelly). This quote is showing that the “mistake” has more
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.
Since the fall of Adam, humanity has always been keenly aware of the existence of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and injustice. Any person who has been betrayed or abused has felt the weight of injustice. Anyone who has been mistreated has experienced the desire for vengeance. However, opinions begin to differ when defining the boundaries of justified revenge. Varying perceptions prevents humans from viewing and validating the motives of others. In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, the two main characters were driven to madness by their desire for revenge against each other. In the book, Victor Frankenstein and his creature both relayed the same story; however their individual perspectives drastically shift the roles of the perpetrator and the victim. Mary Shelly’s brilliant juxtaposition between the Creature and his Creator demonstrated the relativity of justified revenge.
He toils endlessly in alchemy, spending years alone, tinkering. However, once the Creature is brought to life, Frankenstein is no longer proud of his creation. In fact, he’s appalled by what he’s made and as a result, Frankenstein lives in a perpetual state of unease as the Creature kills those that he loves and terrorizes him. Victor has realized the consequences of playing god. There is irony in Frankenstein’s development, as realized in Victor’s desire to destroy his creation. Frankenstein had spent so much effort to be above human, but his efforts caused him immediate regret and a lifetime of suffering. Victor, if he had known the consequences of what he’s done, would have likely not been driven by his desire to become better than
The creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein is a man full of knowledge and has a strong passion for science. He pushes the boundary of science and creates a monster. Knowledge can be a threat when used for evil purposes. Though Victor did not intend for the being to be evil, society’s judgement on the monster greatly affects him. As a result he develops hatred for his creator as well as all man-kind. Victor’s anguish for the loss of his family facilitates his plan for revenge to the monster whom is the murderer. While traveling on Robert Walton’s ship he and Victor continue their pursuit of the monster. As Victor’s death nears he says, “…or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, swear to me Walton, that he shall not escape, that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death…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-swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes and survive to add to the list of his dark crimes” (pg.199). Victor grieves the death of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth and his father. Throughout the novel he experiences the five stages of grief, denial/ isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Victor denies ...
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
The main plotline of Frankenstein involves the lives of two major characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. Their relationship is a tumultuous one, mainly due to the fact that Frankenstein created the Monster out of a wish to be some sort of god and be able to play with the balance of life and death. Afterwards, he comes to deeply regret his action and abandons the Monster by throwing him out into the world without any education or guidance. Because of this, throughout the book, the Monster harbors resentment towards Frankenstein and dedicates his life to make Frankenstein’s a living hell. Out of the many horrible things that the Monster did to achieve this goal, the main evil action I will be focusing on is the murder of William, Frankenstein’s younger brother and the framing of his nanny for the murder.
He had asked Victor to create him another monster as a companion and if he doesn’t keep his promise, then he will be miserable. When Victor goes to England with the intention of creating this promised monster, his friend Henry follows him. After several months, Victor destroys the half created creature and this upsets the monster very much so because he wants this companion. When he kills Henry, the monster distinctly planned it so that Victor would be blamed for the murder. Through all this confusion on who killed Henry, Victor knew all along that the monster did it. At this point, Victor knew that he must return to Geneva to protect his family whom he loved very much (Shelley 181). Since this monster killed Henry, Victor knew that his family was now is in danger. The monster is very happy that Victor is having to suffer because, Victor is now feeling the loneliness that he feels all the time. Though the monster’s character is not evil, the pain he feels is what he wants his creator to feel. His revenge only increases throughout the book because he is only longing for a fellow companion that Victor can only give him, but yet he is choosing not to create it. The anger that is within the monster is only growing and this is increasing the possibilities of him hurting more