In Mary Shelley’s work of literature Frankenstein many themes such as family, compassion, secrecy, and revenge are present throughout the story. Of all the themes, the one that stands out most is revenge. When revenge is brought up in any conversation the outcome is typically people saying revenge is not worth the outcome. Revenge is bittersweet but usually has an ugly aftermath because it can be dangerous in its own way. Throughout Frankenstein there are numerous examples of revenge and characters seeking revenge. The two main characters constantly pursuing revenge are Victor and the creature.
Victor is the one of the main characters in the story of Frankenstein. He has his own ways of getting revenge. Mostly his revenge occurs on his own creature, but it is because of his creature’s actions that makes him do what he does. One of the ways Victor got his revenge was when he destroyed his creatures mate that he was in the process of creating. This betrayal leaves the creature feeling lonely and angry. His actions are expressed when he says he does not want to worry about his creature and its mate repopulating, killing more people, and creating more damage. Victor justifies his action by saying, “I do refuse it," I replied; "and no torture
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shall ever extort a consent from me...Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint wickedness might desolate the world. Begone! I have answered you; you may torture me, but I will never consent." (Shelley, ch.17). The creature is also one of the main characters in the story. He was created by Victor and he has a unique life lived. The creature has many occasions throughout the story where he is murdering people. Is it even for revenge? His revenge on Victor puts him in a bad situation and greatly upsets him. A theory that it is believed that he killed Elizabeth to get revenge on his creator Victor. This came about and had arose because of curiosity, wondering if he was jealous of Elizabeth. The only reasoning behind that theory is because the creature was sort of what you would call a shadow to Victors. The creature was so jealous of Victor that he resulted in killing his only real love because the creature feels that if he cannot love then neither can Victor. “I have declared my resolution to you, and I am no coward to bend beneath words.Leave me; I am inexorable. It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding night” (Shelley, ch.20). Since Victor is the main character it seems fair that we bring up another one of his occurrence of his revengeful actions.
Now, there are two major ones that come to mind that fit and also corresponds to the previous paragraph above. To begin he vows to destroy his creature or die trying.”You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains—revenge, henceforth dearer than light of food! I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery.”(Shelley, ch.20). It is thought he did this for two reasons. First, one reason is obviously because he wants to retaliate and get revenge on his creature from killing his love Elizabeth. Secondly, the creature had also killed his best friend
Henry. As you can see in the examples provided each one had a bad turnout for the character. Revenge is a strong emotion of wanting to get retaliation for beliefs of someone doing you wrong. Just because you are trying to get back at them and get even does not mean it the right thing to do. We as humans know that some things are left better untouched, and it is better to leave things go and walk away. Yet it is easier said than done. It is said that “revenge is sweet;” however, it can be a destructive and uncontrollable emotion that could cause emotional, physical and psychological harm to all those involved. Revenge is never the answer because it can be harmful and have terrible results. In Shelley’s story of Frankenstein we see multiple cases of revenge occurring throughout the whole story. Those revenge cases involve conflict between the two major characters Victor and his creature. In the end, revenge is not something to result to.
As a romantic, archetype and gothic novel, Victor is responsible for the monsters actions because Victor abandons his creation meaning the creature is dejected and ends up hideous and fiendish. It is unfair to create someone into this world and then just abandon it and not teach it how to survive. The quote from the creature “Why did you make such a hideous creature like me just to leave me in disgust” demonstrates how much agony the creature is in. He is neglected because of his creator. The monster says “The hateful day when I received life! I accurse my creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?” Victor is wholly at fault for his actions, image and evil.
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.
The infamous accident on the voyage across the Atlantic left the Titanic in ruins and hundreds of people dead. After hitting an iceberg, the great vessel gradually split in half and descended to the depths of the ocean. Had the crew better understood their proximity to the iceberg and also been prepared with enough lifeboats for all the passengers, they would not have crashed and, in the case of other possible accidents, easily evacuated everyone from the ship safely. The personnel working the ship failed to fulfill their duty of keeping the passengers and the vessel safe from danger because they were not responsible enough to handle the massive ocean liner nor were they prepared for the worst-case scenario. The actions and lack thereof of the crew and captain resulted in the tragic deaths of many, just as Victor’s actions led to lamentable results in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Victor’s irresponsibility caused his downfall. His lack of preparation and abandonment of his creation turned the creature evil. Once Victor had the chance to prevent the monster’s actions, he did not.
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
In Frankenstein, everyone treats Victor’s creation like a monster, including Frankenstein himself. This leads to the creation accepting that title and going on a murder spree. His creation says “When I reflect on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation” (69). Victor’s creation shows that he did not ask to be created, and his existence is miserable.
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.
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
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.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is a novel about a man who lets the power of creating a paradox ultimately destroy his life as well as the lives of those he loved the most. The scientist, Victor Frankenstein, tells his story to a captain he meets by the name of Robert Walton to warn him not to meddle into the unknown. He tells him from the beginning that he was inspired by the thought of the creature looking to him as its God. His shallow ways drove him eventually drove him to his demise. He allows the power to take over his life, and ruin everything good he has going for him.
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.
Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature is brought through the killings which take place throughout the story. Regardless of his unfortunate upbringing and life, however, the creature is a being determined to ruin the life of Victor, through being the master of Victor’s life and every day existence, almost in a slave and master scenario, who feels remorse but continues to kill anyway and is therefore deserving of the title, "monster".
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.
While the monster gains a feeling of hatred and a desire for revenge after he is abandoned and treated pitifully, Frankenstein continuing reinforces the suffering of his creation, and likewise the suffering of himself. Frankenstein is completely to blame for the misery that he endures. Victor creates a being only for his own fulfillment, and afterwards abandons the great responsibility that he bears for it. To make it worse, Frankenstein intentionally ruins the monster 's happiness and gives him the same horrendous treatment that the rest of mankind gives the monster. Victor 's selfish actions cost him his family, bring him to the brink of insanity, and make a terrible creature out of a loving and compassionate being. Victor Frankenstein is a true