How Does Frankenstein Show Courage

In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” the matter of courage is heavily emphasized through the text. One could assume, using the text as a reference, that some are simply more courageous than others. To assume that some are simply more courageous than others is to ignore how courage is displayed and the many shapes that courage takes. In “Franknestein” the character Walton possess a very traditional form of courage. Walton is brave in the face of danger and willing to take risks. Walton possess physical courage whilst Victor posses a more unusual form of courage.

Victor Frankenstein posses what could only be described as mental courage. Victor displays his courage at multiple times throughout the story. The first time, in chronological order, is when Frankenstein creates the monster. When Victor is creating the monster he begins to fall ill. An aspect of courage is to continue on a task even in the face of sickness, danger or death. As the process of creating the monster continues Frankenstein slowly become more and more ill, yet even with the crippling sickness that he faces he continues on his work. His will to continue despite his illness shows a physical courage, the more traditional idea of courage.

The time that Frankenstein shows the unusual form of courge that he possess is his encounter with the monster.

When the monster convinces, though not out of kindness, Frankenstein to create a second monster for him to live with. Frankenstein shows a huge amount of mental courage and almost foolishness by destroying the work on the second monster causing the first to rage. However the destruction of the second monster is not what shows Victors immense courage. It is his refusal to obey the more powerful monster. Victor declines every wish of the monsters, despite being physically weaker, showing his courage in the face of immense danger. Victor Frankenstein shows a mixture of physical courage and mental courage but what is the difference between the

two?

The primary difference between physical courage and mental courage is not in the words themselves but the way the courage is displayed. Walton shows physical courage, along with the entirety of his crew, when he travels to the Arctic Circle to face a harsh and dangerous environment just to go where no man has gone before. This type of courage is the most common and most easily recognizable. Physical courage is so recognizable because physical danger is, as the word suggests, physical. The danger it self can be seen by an individual. Thus people can identify and see that it is courageous to, in the case of Walton, to venture to one of the most dangerous places on earth. Mental courage is not a visible entity and thus hard to identify with.

It can be hard for an individual to see the danger in simply speaking to someone. In the case of Frankenstein the danger is visible, in the form of the Monster, and can be identified by the reader. However there is far more fear of the monster than simple physical pain. Frankenstein’s life has been torn apart by the actions of the monster, he has lost friends and family to those actions. He fear the mental pain that could be inflicted by the monster potential actions. Frankenstein taking the monster on face to face and refusing to comply with the monsters requests of him. The refusal to comply shows he has the courage to decline the wishes of a creature that could not only destroy him physical but mentally.

Ultimately some may be more courageous in the face of physical danger but once faced with mental pain and anguish can falter. There is no way to see if one is truly more courageous than others as there is no way to see how one copes with mental danger or what they perceive to be a risk to themselves.