Comparing Innocence In Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe And Mary Shelley

1785 Words4 Pages

Innocence can often times be acceptable, such as when a young child breaks an expensive item, or if a friend were to feed someone food that she did not know would cause an allergic reaction. Though innocence can be a typical label for someone that is uncorrupted by negative experiences or unaware of consequences, it easily becomes destructive because it can be used as a tool to construe a situation in a way that’s beneficial to one person. Both Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Mary Shelley’s characters idealize innocence in ways that justify their actions, no matter how horrid, through downplaying the existence of other traits and factors that may exist in a complex situation besides innocence alone.

In Goethe’s work, Werther sees innocence …show more content…

He sees Lotte not as the unfortunate young woman bearing the burden of raising her siblings, but the innocent and ideal “virgin mother” that is even joyful to be the role she had no choice but to take. He even compares her to “a prophet who had by holy rituals taken away the sins of a nation,” (Goethe, 30). This extreme and unreasonable use of innocence to make a depiction of someone who is actually fairly normal serves to set a basis for Werther’s idea that he alone experiences great suffering and emotional pain, and it is justified to be so destroyed over his inability to attain Lotte because she is so ideal. He even asks “Oh, have there been people before me who were so wretched?” (Goethe, 79). Goethe makes Werther intentionally oblivious to the realities other people have faced in order to show how easy it is to use innocence as an excuse to disregard the other dimensions of human existence. While normal people may indeed be innocent, they still experience the full range of emotions, and cannot be reduced to just one facet of themselves, though this is what Werther does in order to make the situation benefit him to its fullest extent. Innocence, for Werther, is a tool to minimize others and strengthen his argument that he is much worse off than anyone, regardless of their …show more content…

Victor, impassioned and excited by science, does not realize the power of his actions because he sees himself as truly innocent. When recounting the beginnings of his tragic experience, he calls the words of the professor who inspired him “… the words of fate – enounced to destroy me,” (Shelley, 49), and even claims that “…none but those who have experienced them can conceive the enticements of science,” (Shelley, 51). Victor sees himself as innocent for creating the Creature, and does not care that any terrible deeds the monster performs would ultimately be the product of his own actions, as is he the creator. He claims, “I was surprised, that among so many men of genius who had directed their enquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret,” (Shelley, 51). In all of these cases, Victor blames the wonder of science for the creation of the Creature, and assumes no true responsibility as he could not control his passion and drive. Shelley shows the audience how using innocence in this way is extremely destructive, because it creates a realm in which excuses can be used to rectify just about any deed. Victor is abuses the concept of innocence by using it as a personal tool to gloss over his many mistakes so that he can aim his rage at

Open Document