In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, she tells a tale that is not a verdant one, but rather a dreary one about abandonment, creations and relationships. At the exordium of the tale, it may seem that scientist Victor Frankenstein lack of abstaining himself from forbidden knowledge, may be his fault. Yet, once Victors replays his story to Walton it is evident that his hunger for knowledge was just the tip of the iceberg that he fell off of. In Frankenstein, Victor's makes imperious decisions about creation, but his real fault was his inexorable choice to pour all himself into his creation and neglecting his family; only to abandon it as if it were a dross object.
Once Victor gains his thirst for creation, he does not take any respite, not even to
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connect with his family or friends. In fact Victor’s neglect came to the point where he points out that, “My father made no reproach in his letters, and only took notice of my silence by enquiring into my own occupations more particularly than before” ( 875 Mary Shelley).
Nevertheless, he conjectured that when he was finished it would be worth the destination, even if it meant that he would not see his family for six year. Making the death of important people in his life cut deeper, than if he had spent more time with them. Further, in the novel Victor has multiple fluctuations in his physical and mental health . It may seem like a pedantry detail, but it something that comes up on multiple occasions and can be connected to his downfall. Further, it is something that everyone sees in the story, especially the people in his family, his father even said, “ my dear son, that you have resumed your former pleasures and seem to be returning to yourself. And yet you are still unhappy, and still avoid our society” …show more content…
( 925 Shelley). His farther gives a false illusion that Victor is going to continue a salubrious lifestyle, but in reality Victor is still getting ill, like he did back when he originally finished creating the creature. this is illustrated when he said, “ A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death: my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval” ( 934 Shelley). In this quote, one can truly see that he is regretfully of not spending enough time with his family and the fact that he did not confess that he was the real reason, his family went through agonizing pain. Throughout, the novel Victor, soon realizes that his choices are affecting his life, and instead of dealing with them with is ephemeral time with them.
Victor acts as if nothing is wrong and allows his situations to worsen. After, the creature has taken everything that could matter to Victor, he states, “My life, as it passed thus, was indeed hateful to me, and it was during sleep alone that I could taste joy” ( 954 Shelley). This is the point where Shelley shows that Victor has accepted the fact that the reason that he is in this predicament, but he still put the creature over the people in his life, allowing the creature to have power over his
life. Even after his laborious efforts to create the creature, he does not carry any solicitude for it and promptly abandoned it without teaching him any skill of life. This mistake will come out in the actions of the creature that he did not prognostic would happen in the future. Leading him to gain a deep antipathy for him, which only leading to more issues. This is not something that is just noticeable in her words, but other reliable sources also state, “Shelley’s monster is not evil by inherent constitution. He is born unformed- carrying the predispositions of human nature, but without the specific behaviours, that can only be set by upbringing and education” ( Gould 975). This is just another proof that, Frankenstein's creature is merely a child who was abandoned and never taught how to properly control his emotions. Therefore, when the two first meet his actions are seen as (), but he does realize what happened to him and for that it fills the monster with hate that would not be there, if Frankenstein would have had love for him. The creature expresses this multiple times like when he said, “ Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from, your fellow-creature, who owe me nothing ?” ( 898 Shelley). As, seen here even before the creature learned, about humanity and how to correctly express his emotions. He felt the abandonment, and the only way he could express his emotions were through vehement actions. Leading, to Frankenstein realising that his actions were not inherently good and that he is know paying for not caring for the monster, but rather Even with Victor Frankenstein's attempt to avoid what he has done, he is confronted with multiple times and is given opportunities to make his mistakes transitory, by helping the creature grow. Yet, the only moves he makes are empty promises, that only bought him more time to fix things with his family. Which, he was able to accomplish rebuilding relationships, but this fraught their future and the creature. Mainly, because since Victor was not able to deliver on his promise and the creature was not satiated with his life, he went back to his indignation. Moreover, the real cause of all of their hurt was neglecting Victor neglecting to notice what he had, then neglecting the actions that, might have helped. Victors was an imperfect human, who made many irremediable mistakes, leading to his demise, but his fatal mistakes were pouring too much time into his creation, only to leave him on his own.
After abandoning the Creature, it vows “eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” which ends up being in direct correlation with Victor’s life (Shelley 143). The Creature is able to carry out this deed by not directly attacking his creator and abandoner, but the one’s of his creator’s affections. The Creature not only makes Victor feel pain through the killings, but also through the guilt that Victor experiences since he knows that he (Victor) is the reason that all the people are now dead. After all the killings had happened, “yet one duty” remained for Victor, to silence the Creature and all feelings of sorrow rooted from death (Shelley 176). This was Victor’s act of revenge in which only one of the two could live while the other was dead. Victor was so influenced by all the death he had experienced, that his revenge took him to his deathbed. The ending years of Victor’s life had been spent focusing and caring for the matters concerning the Creature and himself, which differs of how Zeus felt about his revenge, as it was only of current importance and had no impact on his
Victor is weak and it is only near the end of the novel that he
Your insightful argument statement must “get outside” of the book (it CANNOT mention character names; must apply to life in general, not just the novel). Avoid the obvious -- move beyond the simplicity of Victor being happy the first time and unhappy the second time.
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.
In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shows readers how irresponsibility and the excessive need for knowledge can cause suffering among others as well as oneself. Victor never intends to cause such harm; however, he is not cautious and observant with his actions, which ultimately leads to his classification as a tragic hero. The desire to learn is most definitely a wonderful trait to have, as long as one’s knowledge doesn’t reach the extent that Victor Frankenstein’s unfortunately does.
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s inevitable evilness. Victor was not predestined to failure, nor was his creation innately depraved. Rather, it was Victor’s poor “parenting” of his progeny that lead to his creation’s thirst for vindication of his unjust life, in turn leading to the ruin of Victor’s life.
He not only turned away the being he had brought into the world; he also denied the creature companionship, friendship, and happiness while continuing to seek his own. Victor gained new purpose and even on his deathbed holds to the principle that he is justified in desiring the death of his enemy. Moment before his death he turns to Captain Robert Walton and says, “I feel justified in desiring the death of my adversary. During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blamable” (156). He even begins to lose the small amount of compassion he had for the creature’s struggle.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
Victor Frankenstein, the monster’s creator, is the victim of his own pride. An ego unchecked is a dangerous thing. But in truth, it really just shows Victor’s humanity. He is privileged, educated, talented, loved, adored, but he is not perfect. His flaw is his own ego and pride. Without doubt, this is the result of a childhood where he was overindulged. Overindulged to the extent he was given a little girl “Elizabeth” as a “present”, whom he considered from childhood “mine only” (Shelley 21). Little wonder the twenty year old Victor would think he could create, control and command life. But Victor as with any indulged child did not take the time to learn much from his parents about parenting and fath...
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.
Victor Frankenstein is ultimately successful in his endeavor to create life. This, however, does not stop the underlying theme of obsession. Shelley’s shift from Victor’s never-ending quest for knowledge is replaced with an obsession of secrecy. “I had worked har...
Because of Victor’s need for fame and desire for power leads to Victor becoming a monster. Victor begins his quest to bring life to a dead person because he does not want anyone to feel the pain of a loved ones death. At first he is not obsessed with his project. As he moves along in the project he thinks about what will happen to him. "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me." (Shelley 39) He realizes that he will become famous if he accomplishes the task of bringing a person back to life. The realization that he will become famous turns him into an obsessive monster. He wanted to be admired, and praised as a species creator. He isolates himself from his family and works on the creature. “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 156) By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, he has no time to write or contact his family. He puts fear within his family because they fear for him.
The monster from the novel Frankenstein was brought into society without any sense of intelligence causing him to be a social outcast. The monster was a result of a science experiment conducted by Victor Frankenstein who was striving to achieve greater intelligence. As the monster grows intellectually, it develops a desire to gain more knowledge similarly to its creator. It gains more knowledge allowing it to understand and respond to the way society rejects it leading to the destruction caused by the monster. Walton also experiences the same craving for knowledge which puts many people's lives at risk. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley demonstrates that an obsessive thirst for more erudition may ruin one's life through the book's characters.
Thereupon, Victor is unaware of how his actions have sparked the feeling of helplessness in a world which to him is “replete with wretchedness”. Further to the point, Victor is seen blaming his creation by letting the Monster “drink of his pain” and feel the “despair that torments him.” Through this, Shelley positons the reader so they can know the implications regarding what a lack of initial responsibility can lead to. Furthermore, this viewpoint outlines Mary Shelley’s dominant message throughout Frankenstein: the obligation to one’s own creation and how one’s downfall can be embarked from a compelling