Aidan Mougenot Platt English 4 Honors 13 May 2024 Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, and the Consequences of Selfishness Mary Shelley, an English novelist from the gothic period of literature, and her most notable work Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus are perfect examples of the natural human inclination to maximize either contentment or longevity. Through the early life experiences of Mary Shelley leading up to the creation of her novel and the content within, it is evident her masterpiece is a reflection on the consequences of selfishness. In order to explain why selfishness manifests into her writing, it is important to emphasize just how fitting of a word that selfish is for Shelley. Shelley’s mother died of puerperal fever just ten days …show more content…
In his pursuit, he endangers the lives of his crew and likely causes his sister, whom the letters are addressed to, a great deal of worry. But he cares not for this, frequently trivializing his potential death to her in blatant disregard of hers and his crew’s feelings, showing just how little matters to him other than his ambitions. Shelley is much like this man in the sense that they both took a journey by ship to a place where they hope to find happiness, but more so in that, just like Walton, she too disregards others for her happiness. In writing a character like Walton, it almost seems like Shelley subconsciously rewrites her own selfishness; recognizing that the inability to resist your desires in spite of circumstances that may falter you is part of being human. Further along his journey, Walton meets a man with a curious story. The man had found the love of his life, brought together a sum of money, and won her father’s approval to marry. However, just before their wedding, his betrothed cried to him, explaining that she was unhappy as it was not him that she …show more content…
In pursuit of this ambition, Frankenstein disregards everyone in his life, ignoring letters from his family and refusing to take breaks from his work. He becomes so focused on finishing the monster and becoming a godlike figure to it that his “eyes are insensible to the charms of nature” (Shelley 39). When he completes the monster and beholds what an unsightly being he’s created, he abandons it as he was so focused on the sole task of creating life that he was completely blind to the fact that his creation was so hideous and unnatural that it could never be accepted by society. Understanding that the creature would only serve to hurt his own image, Frankenstein instantly rejects all responsibility for it. The consequences of his ego and selfish desire for renown come in the form of the monster’s rampage of revenge on Frankenstein’s family, as he refused to take responsibility for its life and grant it the security of love and
We again view his ignorance and irresponsibility when after spending two years of work on his creature he disowns and abandons the creature. He runs out of the room after seeing the creature come to life. He fled the room because he thought the creature was so hideous, even though he had chosen all the best body parts for its creation. When Frankenstein returns to the house when he “became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy”(55). Even after all his work he is ecstatic that this horrible beast has left him.
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.
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
The fact that Frankenstein’s creation turns on him and murders innocent people is never overlooked; it has been the subject of virtually every popularization of the novel. What is not often acknowledged is the fact that Frankenstein himself embodies some of the worst traits of humankind. He is self-centered, with little real love for those who care about him; he is prejudiced, inflexible and cannot forgive, even in death. While some of these traits could be forgivable, to own and flaunt them all should be enough to remind a careful reader that there are two "monsters" in Frankenstein.
I can't believe that the creature killed himself. In Grus Grimly's Frankenstein, a creature was made by a man named Victor Frankenstein in a laboratory. The creature was created because Victor mother had passed, and Victor wanted to figure out the way of life and death. The creature ends up making Victor miserable since the creature was isolated from everyone and had a lot of indignation inside of him that Victor has caused. The creature didn't have a name he was just called "creature." In my opinion, Victor should have named him because of he, not a creature; if you think about it he was a human.
I had the opportunity to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley several years ago and it became one of my favorite books. My initial feeling was sorrow, what a wonderful story that has been slowly destroyed by Hollywood through the years. We think of Victor Frankenstein as a mad scientist trying to destroy mankind, and the monster having bolts in his neck with very little intellect. Mary Shelley’s book is completely different from the Hollywood version we are accustom to. The monster is intelligent and has emotions, the mad scientist or Victor was scared of his own creation due to his appearance. The monster initially showed no signs of evil in the novel, but where did he learn it from? Who is the real evil monster
Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the embodiment of the Greek titan, Prometheus. Victor is controlled by his desire for results but he ignores his path to getting those results. It’s helpful that he is able to ignore reality when doing so because then he is able to focus more on the developments. Being on the selfish side, Victor Frankenstein never bothers with the questions such as “Why” but focuses on the “Why not”. Victor Frankenstein is the modern Prometheus because of his realization when reality does not match what he imagined, brute strength to compensate for his ignorance and constant reluctant to take responsibility for his actions.
Mary Shelley, the renowned author of Frankenstein, explores the consequences of man and monster chasing ambition blindly. Victor Frankenstein discovered the secret that allowed him to create life. His understanding of how bodies operated and the science of human anatomy enabled him to make this discovery and apply it to the creation of his monster. Walton wished to sail to the arctic because no sailor has ever reached it. The monster was created against his will, his ambition was to avenge his creation as a hideous outcast. These three characters were all driven by the same blind ambition.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein centers around a creator who rejects his own creation. The plot thickens as Victor Frankenstein turns his back on his creation out of fear and regret. The monster is cast out alone to figure out the world and as a result of a life with no love, he turns evil. Shelley seems to urge the reader to try a relate with this monster and avoid just seeing him as an evil being beyond repentance. There is no doubt that the monster is in fact evil; however, the monster’s evilness stems from rejection from his creator.
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.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, one of the key themes is loneliness. For many, most of their time is spent with people, whether it is friends, family, coworkers, or strangers. Many of the characters in this book break that norm and spend countless hours alone. Having time to reflect and think about everything. Sometimes, the characters are still lonely, even with people, and sometimes friends around them.
Victor Frankenstein is originally a happy character that loves to learn and read a large variety of books. He was a fiery individual who sought to understand all knowledge; regardless of how practical the information was. Evidence of this is when his father tells him not to worry about fictional writers like Cornelius Agrippa. Yet, Frankenstein states, “But here were books, and here were men who had penetrated deeper and knew more. I took their word for all that they averred, and I became their disciple” (21). Frankenstein embodies the movement in science to understand everything, and that is not necessarily a good thing (Storment 2). Frankenstein only understands that this train of thought is bad when he reaches the pinnacle of knowledge and produces the creature. The fruits of Frankenstein’s labor end up costing him the lives of his friends and family, as well as his own sanity. The feeling of guilt thrives in Frankenstein because he knows his work was the direct cause of the chaos in his life. In Frankenstein’s case, his goal of total enlightenment led to his pitiful demise. Frankenstein’s creature was not originally a monster. He is born with good intentions and is a gentle- although atrocious looking- being until he learns of the sins of the human race. The ultimate factor in the creature’s progression from harmless to
Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time ("Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography."). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place (Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.”). Her purpose, though possibly unconsciously, in writing the novel was to resolve both her feelings of abandonment by her parents, and fears of her own childbirth.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (sometimes also known as The Modern Prometheus) is the classic gothic novel of her time. In this eerie tale, Dr. Victor Frankenstein – suffering from quite an extreme superiority complex – brings to life a creature made from body parts of deceased individuals from nearby cemeteries. Rather than to embrace the Creature as his own, Frankenstein alienates him because of his unpleasant appearance. Throughout the novel, the Creature is ostracized not only by Frankenstein but by society as a whole. Initially a kind and gentle being, the Creature becomes violent and eventually seeks revenge for his creator’s betrayal. Rather than to merely focus on the exclusion of the Creature from society, Shelley depicts the progression of Dr. Frankenstein’s seclusion from other humans as well, until he and the Creature ultimately become equals – alone in the world with no one to love, and no one to love them back. Frankenstein serves as more than simply a legendary tale of horror, but also as a representation of how isolation and prejudice can result in the demise of the individual.
When I step into the alleyway a shadow casts over the wall, there’s a light glaring over the cars in the street as they pass by. The street is old with potholes and dumpsters, a church with windows shattered from thrown stones and a collapsed ceiling. The memory of home lurks in my mind, but I can't look back, I hear someone shout “Zander!” I start to bolt, running as fast as I can. Repeating in my mind “you can't go back!” As the thoughts run through my head, I decide I need something to eat and sit down to clear my mind. I sit down in a booth, I start to order but I fall back dizzy as my hands turn numb. The next thing I know I’m laying down with an IV hooked up to me.