Light And Darkness In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In her classic 19th century novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley recounts the intense life of Victor Frankenstein, a devoted science student, and his creation, a hideous, yet fascinating, monster. Well detailed and grueling accounts of the events that occur let the reader experience the characters’ grief, isolation, and vengeance in a way that feels personal. Shelley accounts more than just a tragic monster tale in Frankenstein; she raises questions involving humankind and good versus evil that make a lasting impression on its readers.

Frankenstein has an extremely character driven plot. Shelley takes great care in crafting all of the main characters with a well developed backstory and clear personality traits. Victor Frankenstein is an intelligent

science student with an incessant need for knowledge. He has a certain arrogance to his ego, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Readers follow along as Victor gets increasingly wrapped up in his search for the “cause and generation of life”. Foolishly and without much thought of the consequences, Frankenstein creates a new life form after discovering the “secret to life”. Frankenstein’s arrogant attitude causes him to run from his hideous monster and avoid his problems. This causes major issues later in the novel and leads to the death many people important to Frankenstein, all on the account of him being stubborn. Due to the weight of all his burdens, Frankenstein leads a very guilty and isolated life. Though he loves his family wholeheartedly and is an honest man for that, he cannot form close connections with these people because what burdens him the most, the monster, is kept a secret. Frankenstein dedicates the rest of his time alive to getting revenge on the monster. This highlights the good in Frankenstein. What he cares most about is the wellbeing of those he loves. Victor Frankenstein dies in poor health and extremely bitter after his attempt at playing a sort of “God” figure.
The monster begins with a child-like innocence after being brought to life. Since Victor has abandoned him, the monster is left to his own accord. When he learns of Frankenstein’s betrayal, the monster is filled with rage and a need for revenge. This causes his learned morals to be completely forgotten. He kills people close to Victor in an attempt to anger him and make Victor regret his decision to abandon him. Readers can see that, behind his malice, the monster’s motives for such wrongdoings come from a place of utmost sadness; the monster feels betrayed and isolated. He was created an ugly creature and, because of this, cannot form any human connection. Much like Frankenstein, he leads a life of vengeance. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
Though symbolism is used sparingly in Frankenstein, Shelley makes the few present shine in complexity.

Light and darkness play a chief role in the novel. Light represents the positives. The prospect of new discoveries both in exploration and studies are often alluded to with mention of light by both Walton and Frankenstein. This directly contrasts with darkness as a symbol. Darkness represents ignorance in many instances. For example, Victor expresses to Walton that his creation of the monster is meant to bring “light into our dark world”. This relays Victor’s ignorance when it comes to such matters; he is foolish in this statement. The darkness is also reflected in the weather. When Frankenstein sees his monster after William's death, it is stormy and dark. In most instances in Frankenstein, it is rather stormy when the two

meet.
Focusing on the overall view, the novel itself is a symbol for the anti-industrialization thinking of the 19th century. Frankenstein presents the repercussions for large advancements in science in a very over dramatized fashion. This parallels the way society viewed industrialization in the 1800’s. Shelley was attempting to reach her audience of the time with this complex symbol.
Shelley focuses on specific ideas consistently throughout Frankenstein. A recurring motif presented in the novel is nature. Frankenstein often describes his love for nature. In many chapters, readers receive vivid descriptions of the serene outdoors that allow Victor to experience peace and happiness. This is why is comes as such an unexpected twist when Frankenstein attempts to play “God” and alter nature’s plan when creating the monster. After this event, Victor often views nature as terrifying. This is extremely dependent on his mental state.
Another motif made significant by Shelley is revenge.

Revenge is often the motives of either Frankenstein or the monster throughout the novel and is an extremely important driving factor of the plot. Frankenstein seeks vengeance because of the torment inflicted on him when the monster kills his loved ones. This is not only produced by resentment towards the monster, but also love for his family and friends. The monster’s vengeance is based on the isolation he feels. The monster experiences deep sorrow due to his lack of human companionship; he wants to punish Victor for causing him this pain. Despite both character’s actual intentions behind their rage, they mutually seek revenge towards one another, thus making revenge an essential motif in

Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is littered with many insightful themes to be discussed. One major theme is as follows: the repercussions of not owning up to one’s actions could cause more damage than if responsibility was taken. This theme is especially apparent in Frankenstein’s actions. He chose to ignore the monster’s existence rather than face him. This is essentially what causes all of the tragic events to occur, including the many deaths. If Frankenstein had put his pride aside, a lot of this plot could have been avoided. Victor caused more harm than good in his attempt to run away from his problems. His crisis to avoid responsibility caused, not only himself and a creature he created to suffer, but his loved ones as well.