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It is undeniable that the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, was influenced greatly by ideas of religion. Shelley drew references from various religions to drive her point, the majority of it formed from Christianity and Greek Mythology. While it is still debated, there is a great amount of evidence that leads readers to believe that Shelley wrote Frankenstein with the intention of promoting the belief in religion.
The most apparent connection between the book and religion is the comparison between Victor Frankenstein, the main character, and the Greek Titan Prometheus. The full title of the book is actually Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. Shelley was clearly influenced by myths that were popular during her lifetime. Prometheus was believed to be the creator of mankind, making it fitting that Frankenstein would be viewed as the new version after successfully bringing his creature to life. Much like Prometheus, Frankenstein held a fascination for fire―or in
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Frankenstein’s case, lightning. Both used their own form of fire to help their creations thrive, challenged the set boundaries in a pursuit of more knowledge. The two would also end up in a form of torture for their impulsive actions. Throughout the novel, readers can find references taken from The Bible.
It’s not surprising considering Christianity was one of the main religions during the 19th Century, the time the novel was written. In the novel, Frankenstein represented God while his creature represented Adam, the first man God created. “... I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…”(Shelley 114). Comparable to Adam, the creature had asked his creator for a female version of himself to have as a companion. Frankenstein would later deny the creature of a companion and any sort of sympathy. Consequently, the creature would more closely resemble Satan than Adam, actually becoming the monster Frankenstein believed the creature to be. Frankenstein lacked the compassion and empathy for his creation that God is said to have given to his creations. Religion is based on faith, faith that the creature didn't have in Frankenstein; the result would lead to disastrous repercussions that could have easily been
avoided. Indirectly, the novel conveys how humans are the cause of ethical problems in the world. Rather than a neglectful deity, Shelley addresses the complications brought upon by human beings. There was prejudice against women, people of lower status, and those of different race. “‘God knows,’ she said, ‘how entirely I am innocent. But I do not pretend that my protestations should acquit me,’” (Shelley 95). The character, Justine, understood that religion was not the reason she was being condemned; she knew it was the verdict of the townspeople that so wrongly accused her. The other half of readers might argue that the simple fact of Frankenstein creating life without any sort of help from a higher being proves that Mary Shelley wrote the book to deny the need for religion. What they fail to consider are the events that take place after the experiment. Yes, Victor was able to successfully create life, but he gave life to something that was also more than willing to destroy it. It’s also noteworthy that the creature may not even be considered a monster had Frankenstein been a father-figure of sorts that the creature expected. Frankenstein’s failure to accept his responsibility is the author’s way of telling others not to mess with something beyond their comprehension. The story is a warning of sorts, showing humans what would happen if they disregarded religion and presumed themselves a status higher than they deserve.
In the book of Genesis, God is creating the world and eventually creates his children Adam and Eve. Like Adam, the creature in Frankenstein was created by another being, in this case Victor Frankenstein. As a creation, the monster has had no choice in his own development just like Adam didn’t. Frankenstein abandoned his creation and left it to fend for itself and cope with abandonment as it learns the workings of the world. This is similar to Adam’s excommunication from the Garden of Eden as he himself was cast away from God. The creation says, “Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed,” (Shelley 84) which shows how even though Frankenstein is the parental figure he has disowned the creation similar to the story of Adam. In the book of Genesis, as a result of God’s negligence as a parent, Adam acts in rebellion towards God. Likewise, the creature’s abandonment leads it to act in a malicious manner towards Frankenstein and other human beings. The negligence of the parental figures led both of their children to have eccentric behavior as they had to develop their own understanding of the world without any guidance from a parental
The most important religious comparison in Frankenstein, are the outstanding similarities between Victor as God and the monster as Lucifer. This idea is proven by the monster in the quote where he states, " I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed." Broken down, this quote shows us that the monster feels that he is the neglected creation and that he has been created to be unhappy, although he has committed no wrongdoing, and he doesn't deserve to be mistreated by society. As it goes in the bible, God created Lucifer as the most brilliant and beautiful angel in the sky with good intentions, but Lucifer turned his back on his creator and began a notorious streak of evil as the "malignant devil." Now if the role of God is switched with that of Victor, and the role of Lucifer is switched with that of the monster, the story is retold in almost the same context. Now to prove that this is not just farfetched speculation, the monster even says in his quote that he ought to be Adam, God's successful creation, rather than the fallen angel (Lucifer). Among other quotes in which the monster deigns Victor as [his] creator, this is a powerful novel reference and this quote beautifully shows the direct motif of religious role-playing in Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley has created a subversive and grotesque God/Man relationship in "Frankenstein." Shelly sets up Frankenstein and, at times, Man in general, to be the monster's God. Shelley's integration with Paradise Lost creates opportunity for making such comparisons. When the monster gives his book review of the found classic, he states, "It moved every feeling of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting." This is reminiscent of the war he has with Frankenstein when his wishes are refused. He then goes on to relate the story's characters to his own situation.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a dramatic example of the ever-changing philosophies regarding creation, science, and the age-old question of a divine being’s presence in the world. When Shelley published the novel in 1818, the Age of Enlightenment was in full swing and left antiquated ideas of religion in exchange for newfound ideas based on science and logic. One of these philosophies of the modern era was humanism; humanism is the idea that human matters are of more importance than those of a divine being. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this new idea of secular humanism is brought into full effect with the monster being left almost entirely on his own to form beliefs and ideas, however, there are still curious traces of religious influence within the
Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" narrates a story about a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his creation of a monster set apart from all worldly creatures. Frankenstein's creation parallels Milton's "Paradise Lost" and God's creation of man; Victor Frankenstein is symbolic of God and the monster is symbolic of Adam. The parallel emphasizes the moral limitations of mankind through Victor Frankenstein and the disjunction and correlation with "Paradise Lost". Shelly links the two stories together through Victor's creation of the monster and his "fall" from humanity which I will focus on initially. More importantly, the main divergence of the two works lies in the representation of God in "Paradise Lost" and Victor in "Frankenstein". Both the correlations and disjunctions prove three human moral limitations: omnipotence, ambition, and (in relating to Christianity) human imperfection. Furthermore, each limitation relates to the author's warning to humanity of our progression as a society.
Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and is a gothic horror. It is an important book because it tells us about when scientists and doctors started to experiment with bringing back the dead. I will look at arguments for both sides of the question. This is an important question because there is a strong argument for both sides and in a lot of modern films about him he is portrayed as a villain who likes nothing more than killing and lightening. Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’ also known as ‘The Modern Prometheus’ in 1818, when she was seventeen.
Written in 1817 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a novel about the "modern Prometheus", the Roman Titian who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The story takes place in several European countries during the late 1700's. It is the recollection of Victor Frankenstein to a ship captain about his life. Victor is a student of science and medicine who discovers a way to reanimate dead flesh. In a desire to create the perfect race he constructs a man more powerful than any normal human, but the creation is so deformed and hideous that Victor shuns it. The creation then spends a year wandering searching for companionship, but everywhere he goes he is shunned and feared. Hating life the creature turns its misery on its creator, killing off Victors family.
It is safe to assume that Victor Frankenstein’s god is that of the Christian tradition,
In the Gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley integrates the rhetorical devices figurative language, imagery, and tone to impart the concept that the desire to acquire knowledge and emulate God will ultimately result in chaos and havoc that exceeds the boundaries of human restraint.
Although the language throughout the book stays true to its era, many of the ideas and imagery portrayed through it were too chilling to be conceivable in those times. It may have been that because Mary’s mother was the first feminist, Mary felt it was acceptable to ‘rebel’ against society with this terrifying book. It was apparently conceived by a nightmare, and written to win a competition with friends. However, it may have been the rebellious feminist traits in her blood that made her wish for it to be published. Mary Shelley seemed to be quite similar to Frankenstein in many ways.
Writers are often influenced by what's going on around the in that specific time period. Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” shows the influence of nineteenth century england. Throughout the novel, mary shelley incorporates the situations of the nineteenth century through cultural, scientific and social contexts, she paints a vivid picture of what progress society had made at the time. The government, the enlightenment and the dangers of science are represented. Therefore, frankenstein gives us an analysis of the 19th, the enlightenment, the roles of men and women at the time and science. Victor frankenstein is the main character and creator of the creature in the novel. Due to his obsession with science, victor creates this creature which he is pleased with, but he quickly becomes disgusted with his creations and abandons it, causing the creature to go through a range
Mary Shelley expresses various ethical issues by creating a mythical monster called Frankenstein. There is some controversy on how Mary Shelley defines human nature in the novel, there are many features of the way humans react in situations. Shelley uses a relationship between morality and science, she brings the two subjects together when writing Frankenstein, and she shows the amount of controversy with the advancement of science. There are said to be some limits to the scientific inquiry that could have restrained the quantity of scientific implications that Mary Shelley was able to make, along with the types of scientific restraints. Mary Shelley wrote this classic novel in such a way that it depicted some amount of foreshadowing of the world today.
Every artist draws inspiration from somewhere, and the inspiration shows in their work. When looking deeper into the life of Mary Shelley, it is easy to say that the inspiration she drew to create her novel Frankenstein, came from her own personal experiences. Frankenstein is riddled parallels to Marry Shelley’s own life. It was not just by mere coincidences either, Mary Shelley makes various references to family members (specifically by name), places she visited, and situations she faced, herself, all of these experiences are documented in her novel Frankenstein.
readers of the time, it did what many others did not, in that it focused on Frankenstein as an
Throughout Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein the question of morality is often demonstrated through the knowledge of existence. The knowledge of existence has a major effect on the monster in his attempts to discover who he is through approval and acceptance. In today’s world our morality and values system is very prevalent, and as shown through Shelley’s writing these morals and values are a result of our religious perceptions and humanistic relationships. It can be concluded that Frankenstein depicts the ability to develop spiritually and morally by eliminating a deity in order to reach a sense of self realization.