Victor Frankenstein’s life story is at the heart of science. He became fascinated with the “secret of life” discovers it, and then bring a hideous monster into life. Victor creates a creature with a life of eight feet tall and enormously strong, but with the mind of a newborn person. The reasons why he created the creature because he wanted to overcome death since the day his mother died. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, monstrosity is a theme that appears in many aspects of life. The novel is not only focus with the two characters Victor and the Creature themselves, but it is also focus on many different part of the story too such as knowledge, society itself with through unfairness of the time and the socially in a particular way. Shelley uses monstrosity in term of how it can takes many forms in the novel.
Knowledge is the key to success; however in the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is used to caution people that knowledge is not always the answer for good or evil purposes. When someone uses their knowledge in a wrong way, they tend to use it wrong. Knowledge is somehow being an invasion of how technology and
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science brought into modern life, scientist tends to use their knowledge to create things that sometimes can be a problem into the world. With these powers of knowledge is can connect to the nature in the face of unnatural events. When Victor strived for knowledge, he did seem to really care about it and try his best to observed many things in life. Throughout his study of reading many books and planned to have his own creation. When he stated that, “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”(Shelly, 28). Victor is using his knowledge to create a life which is somehow really impossible to even imagine how it will work. Before his study of science he stated “My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child's blindness, added to a student's thirst for knowledge”(Shelly, 21). Because of Victor’s thirst of knowledge lead him to finally obsess with science, he wanted to study more and more about it. “I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge. I had often. When I’m at home, thought it hard to remain during my youth cooped up in one place, and had longed to enter the world, and take my station among other humans”(Shelly,25). His desire for knowledge leads him into the study of science. According to Mary Shelley's life experiences are generally displayed in her writing of Frankenstein. Her use of science in the book directly relates to many discoveries of how science is really evil. Science causes Victor to forget about his family and other important things, it gives Victor’s knowledge but somehow in a wrong way. Victor’s intend to use it with his own creation. With his obsession with science leads him to start to create another life and more importantly he has entrusted into electricity which he never has so. “It was not a splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed”(Shelly, 22). The power of an electricity has catch Victor’s attention of creating something that use the power of it in order to bring a dead into life. He wanted to overcome death since the day his mother died. He started to engaged with many things that are on his mindful thinking when he stated, “discoveries in the improvement of some chemical instruments, which procured me great esteem and admiration at the university. When I had arrived at this point and had become as well acquainted with the theory and practice of natural philosophy as depended on the lessons of many any of the professors”(Shelley, 30). Victor is value his studies with excitement and, ignoring his everyday social life and stop his relationship with his family far away in Geneva which is also showing monstrosity since he is basically abandon his family. Somehow he makes a rapidly progress throughout his work on an experiment without any stopping from doing it.. With his interest of creating life from a dead body, Victor has secretly began his creation and keep learning more about how the human body is built and falls apart, “I must observe the natural decay and corruption of the human body. In my education my father had taken the greatest precaution that my mind should be impressed with no supernatural horrors”(Shelley, 30). Victor seems to not care about anyone else but himself, and his hope was to create life. Science is mainly made Victor into another person that is careless which is showing that inside of Victor there is somewhat monstrosity. Mary Shelley is trying to tell the readers that monstrosity can be represented in the character of Victor Frankenstein.
Victor is not a main religious guy, he would do anything that he wishes to do, “Darkness had no effect upon my fancy; and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life” (Shelley, 30). this is when Victor started to bring his creation together, his attempt to rob some part of the dead body from the graveyard. It is because of Science that lead Victor turn into a selfish person, irresponsible, and has no humanity. He uses science to become God, he wanted to play with God, “Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire, therefore, in this narration, to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science” (Shelley, 20). He believed that his fate is to become a
scientist. Being monstrosity is not always about who can show it, but it is also about who can hide it. Although Shelley’s intention for the reader to begin to form a negative opinion regarding of Victor’s experiment as well as his own mental capacity. With his crazy ideas with science causes himself into destruction. At one point he believed that, “A new species would bless me as its
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
When we are created into this world it’s not by the choice of our own. However, we are created most times out of love from our creator. Like a baby just newly born into this world needs to feel its mothers touch, scent, and security. The bonding makes you feel a connection to your maker of the world and without it a person may feel lost, abandoned, and unloved. From the beginning we hope to build our self-esteem through the love of our creator. Sadly, most people are not loved or accepted by their creator. This leads to a person lashing out in a number of ways that society views unconventional due to the lack of understanding that person suffers through abandonment alone. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley illustrates the theme of monstrosity
In this essay I will be looking at the differences between the creation of the first and second monster, how Mary Shelley portrays the feelings of Victor and the monster and the different myths and legends that she refers to within the novel. Victor Frankenstein had a wonderful life as a child: 'No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself' (p.39) He was loving and cared deeply for his family, especially for his foster-sister, Elizabeth, who he looked upon as his own, and saw as a 'more than sister' (p.37). Victor always had an 'eager desire to learn' (p.39) about 'the secrets of heaven and earth' (p.39). When he was thirteen years old he started studying the works of Cornelius Agrippa and the fact that his father called it all 'sad trash' (p.40) fuelled his curiosity and enthusiasm and caused him to study even more which was to him, 'the fatal impulse that led to my [his] ruin' (p.41).
Victor is so engulfed by his work that he is unaware of what is going on around him. He “bore onwards [with his work], like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success” and he wants to “pour a torrent of light into our dark world" (Shelley 55). Blinded by his yearning for making new discoveries, Victor thinks that his knowledge of the sciences will be enough for him to be successful. However, he does not understand that in order to create an auspicious relationship between him and his creation, he needs to have knowledge of society as well. Once his creation is animated, Victor is unable to see that all the creature wants is to be loved and accepted. The creature craves the maternal love that Victor denies him. From the beginning, Victor is unable to realize the significance of his creation. He describes how the creature’s “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath... [and] his hair was of a lustrous black... [and] his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 58). He immediately focuses on the negative features of his creation, and does not even attempt to learn the positive qualities. If Victor uses more social skills, rather than his knowledge of the sciences to manage his creation, all of the destruction the creation causes could have been
Mary Shelley brings about both the positive and negative aspects of knowledge through her characters in Frankenstein. The use of knowledge usually has many benefits, but here Shelley illustrates how seeking knowledge beyond its limits takes away from the natural pleasures of known knowledge. She suggests that knowledge without mortality and uncontrolled passions will lead to destruction. Victor and his monster experience this destruction following their desires and losing self control. Walton, on the other hand, becomes of aware of the consequences and is able to turn back before it’s too late. Shelley also suggests that without enjoying the natural pleasures of life, pursuing knowledge is limited, but how can knowledge be limited if it is infinite?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
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 monster of the novel is often misattributed with the name, “Frankenstein.” However, Victor Frankenstein can ultimately be considered the true monster of this tale. His obsession would lead to the corruption of his soul and the creation of two monsters—one himself, and the other, the creature. In attempting to take on the role of God, nature would become a monster to Victor and destroy his life. These elements of monstrosity in Frankenstein drive the meaning of its story.
In the gothic novel Frankenstein, humans have a bottomless, motivating, but often dangerous thirst for knowledge. This idea was clearly illustrated throughout the novel by Mary Shelley. The three main characters in the novel shared the thirst for knowledge that later lead to their downfall. In the novel knowledge is a huge theme that led to atrocious life to anyone that tried to gain it. Knowledge is hazardous; therefore, I support Dr. Frankenstein’s warning about knowledge being dangerous and that knowledge shouldn’t be gained.
Albert Einstein once said, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”. So is a lot.” Einstein believes that there is a point where the acquisition of knowledge becomes dangerous for humans. Mary Shelley extensively explores the effect dangerous knowledge has on the characters in her book Frankenstein. Throughout the book, Frankenstein and the creature are corrupted by knowledge that changes their outlook on life.
"I felt as if I had committed some great crime, the consciousness of which haunted me. I was guiltless, but I had indeed drawn down a horrible curse upon my head, as mortal as that of crime" (Shelley 127). Victor knew that in his actions he had created wrong. He himself implies it that of a "mortal" sin, one in which completely cuts off the relationship that man has with God. The creation of man to the catholic faith is the essence of a mortal sin. God creates man and all that man does. It is God's job to create life and by Victor creating the monster, he completely disrespects that. This is what made the feat of creating man so appealing to Victor. "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (Shelley 39). Creation by man had yet to be explored and he was the first to cross into that impossible ...
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones.
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
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the motif of monstrosity to convey the theme that a person’s outward appearance is not what makes them a monster but rather their actions or inactions that classify true monstrosity. Despite the fact that the monster Victor Frankenstein creates is a literal example of monstrosity in the novel there are many parts that give meaning to monstrosity within character’s actions. Although Victor appears normal, since he is human his ambitions, secrets, selfishness, and inaction makes him a monster himself. Along with monstrous characters the pursuit of knowledge that is seen in Victor, his monster, and Walton in Frankenstein prove that knowledge can be a monstrosity. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is created using the life stories of different characters in the novel. The novel itself could be seen as a monster created similarly to Victor’s monster.