Frankenstein, a novel written by Mary Shelley that tells the tale of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, and Wuthering Heights, a book authored by Emily Brontë that tells the story of a character named Heathcliff, both include the concept of nature vs. nurture. The pair of works include death, a passion-driven villain, and madness, which are all elements present in Gothic literature. The two novels both exhibit the prevailing theme of nature vs. nurture through the usage of these Gothic elements.
The usage of the Gothic element of death in both Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights assists in portraying the notion of nature vs. nurture. Whether it be Frankenstein’s monster or Heathcliff, both characters are shaped by death in some way, even though the ways they were raised varied. The
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monster, who was denied his creator’s love upon his inception, attempts to find people that will accept him but ends up turning to murder after he can find no one that will look past his terrifying appearance. Dr. Frankenstein comes to the horrifying realization that his creation has murdered his brother William when he asks, “could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother?” (50). Although the monster does ultimately resort to killing, it is only because of his nurture, which was seemingly nonexistent, overrides his nature, which was a kind creature that desired love. Meanwhile, unlike the monster, Heathcliff was raised as the favorite child in the family but eventually ends up resorting evil after the death of Catherine, the love of his life. His uncanny obsession with Catherine furthers his madness and reveals his true nature, which is exhibited when he states, “Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living” (183). This fixation with Catherine manages to veto the healthy childhood that Heathcliff experienced and causes his true barbaric and cruel nature to be revealed. Moreover, the concept or nature vs.
nurture is furthered by the inclusion of passion-driven villains throughout the course of both works. Frankenstein’s monster is driven by a desire to be loved and accepted by both his creator and others, which exhibits that he was born with a healthy and normal nature. However, after failing to introduce himself to a family, the monster claims that “for the first time the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom” (99). This experience outlines how the monster’s kind-hearted nature is overridden by his awful upbringing, since he tries to be kind to humans, but is led to despise them after they hurt him both physically and emotionally. Somewhat similarly, Heathcliff, although despicable by nature, also turns to villainy after being turned away by Elizabeth. Heathcliff’s true nature is revealed after Elizabeth chooses to marry Edgar Linton, even after telling her servant and an eavesdropping Heathcliff, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him” (87). After overhearing this conversation, Heathcliff becomes his true evil self and believes that he is justified in attempting to ruin the lives of the Linton
family. The element of madness, which is commonly found in Gothic literature, is a prevalent theme in the two novels and assists the author in establishing the idea of nature vs. nurture. The monster created by Frankenstein is driven mad by a lack of companionship and desires for Frankenstein to build him a wife, which he claims would cause him to go back to his original nature and stop harming humans. Nevertheless, the doctor believes that the monster is attempting to trick him and goes against the creatures aspirations for him to “create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being” (104). The monster yearned for a companion but was robbed of this demand by his creator, which led him to resort to the madness created by his faulty upbringing once again and kill Frankenstein’s wife Elizabeth on their wedding day. Comparably, the madness that Heathcliff possesses by nature is revealed when Catherine dies and he proclaims, “be with me always, take any form, drive me mad” (87). Although he demands that Catherine haunts him and drives him mad, Heathcliff actually possesses madness his entire life, even though he was raised ideally, and it is what leads him to commit such heinous acts throughout the course of his life at Wuthering Heights. The novels Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights both include the concept of nature vs. nurture among the main characters. The two works both include the Gothic literature elements of madness, death, and a passion-driven villain. The two novels both exhibit the prevailing theme of nature vs. nurture through the usage of these Gothic elements.
In Frankenstein, various themes are introduced. There are dangerous knowledge, sublime nature, nature versus nurture, monstrosity, and secrecy and guilt. I chose a main theme as nature versus nurture. Nature is some traits that a person is born with, and nurture is an environment that surrounds a person. The novel indirectly debates whether the development of individual is affected more by nature or by nurture through Victor and the Monster.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley introduces the change from good to evil with the attention that guardians give a child. William Crisman, in his critique of Mary Shelley’s work, identifies the “sibling rivalry” between Victor and the rest of his family. Crisman remarks that Victor feels as if he is the most important person in his parents’ lives, since he was Alphonse’s and Caroline’s only child. The Frankensteins adopt Elizabeth and Victor sarcastically remarks that he has a happy childhood. This prompts Victor starts to read essays about alchemy and study natural science. Anne Mellor, another critic of Frankenstein, proposes that Frankenstein’s creature was born a good person and society’s reaction to him caused him to turn evil. Victor’s makes the creature in his own perception of beauty, and his perception of beauty was made during a time in his life when he had secluded himself from his family and friends. He perceived the monster as “Beautiful!”, but Victor unknowingly expressed the evil in himself, caused by secluding himself from everybody, onto the creature (60). In this way, the creature is Victor’s evil mirrored onto a body. The expression of Victor onto the monster makes the townspeople repulsed by the creature. The theory of the “alter ego” coincides with Crisman’s idea of sibling rivalry (Mellor). Mary Shelley conveys that through Crisman’s idea of sibling rivalry, Victor isolates himself from society. Mellor describes the isolation during his creation of his creature leads to him giving the creature false beauty that causes Victor to abandon him and society to reject him.
“I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am” (Shelley 92). Frankenstein’s Creature presents these lines as it transitions from a being that merely observes its surroundings to something that gains knowledge from the occurrences around it. The Creature learns about humanity from “the perfect forms of [his] cottagers” (90). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.” Shelley believes that the nurture of someone, or something, in the Creature’s case, forms them into who they become and what actions they take. While this is true for Frankenstein’s Creature, the same cannot be said about Victor Frankenstein.
American psychologist and well renowned author Jerome Kagan states “Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form.” The topic of nature vs. nurture is highly known to the English literature community and is classified as a major aspect of gothic works. In the novel Frankenstein the author Mary Shelley uses the monster’s constant rejection from society to demonstrate that an individual’s traits are affected more by their environment and their surroundings than by nature.
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.
The literary elements of remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress, clearly show “Frankenstein” to be a Gothic Romantic work. Mary Shelley used this writing style to effectively allow the reader to feel Victor Frankenstein’s regret and wretchedness. In writing “Frankenstein” Mary Shelley wrote one the most popular Gothic Romantic novels of all time.
Are nature and nurture required when creating a person? In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the nature vs. nurture discussion is put to the test by the actions of the main character Dr. Frankenstein's creation: a monster. In the novel Dr. Frankenstein is enthralled with the scientific creation of life and creates what he thinks will be a human but actually turns out to have the makings of a monster. Dr. Frankenstein is terrified by his creation and abandons it by running away and leaving it locked up. The monster breaks out of Dr. Frankenstein's confines and goes into the world to explore in his surroundings and hates his creator for not caring for him. By looking at environmental effects on a child's intellectual ability to learn, and a child's inherent sense of direction it is apparent that at birth the human mind is a blank slate.
Andrew Lustig proposed a great question to the readers of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, “How far should we go in out efforts to alter nature, including human nature? As stewards of God’s creation what are our responsibilities?” (Lustig 1) This question results in theme of nature vs. nurture in the novel. The nature vs. nurture debate is an important topic in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The two central characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he creates; both, characters were raised differently. The nature and the nurture of their upbringing can be a cause of why they are, the way they are. Victor and his creature are subject to very different nurturing styles. Shelley also incorporates the representations of light and fire. This representation is key to the nature vs. nurture discussion in the novel.
The debate of nature versus nurture has been argued for a long period time. The concept of tabula rasa was popularized by John Locke; it stated that babies are born into this world without innate knowledge. Knowledge and personality are developed through experiences and environment, emphasising the nurture in the nature-nurture split. At first blush, Frankenstein avidly supports the theory but in some other parts it does not.
In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the relationship of external apperence and internal feelings are directly related. The creature is created and he is innocent, though he is seaverly deformed. His nature is to be good and kind, but society only views his external appereance which is grotesque. Human nature is to judge by external apperence. He is automatically ostracized and labeled as a monster because of his external apperence. He finnaly realized that no matter how elequintly he speaks and how kind he is, people will never be able to see past his external deformities. Children are fearful of him, Adults think he is dangerous, and his own creator abandons him in disgust. The creature is treated as a monster, therefore he begins to internalize societies view of him and act the like a monster.
Thematically, the divided self is one of the most interesting themes within both novels and is of great importance to the development or ruin of the characters in both 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Frankenstein.' Both authors when primarily exploring this theme focus upon the physical, mental or spiritual division within certain characters.
Philosophers and scientists alike have debated for centuries whether a person’s character is the result of nature or nurture. In the writings of Thomas Hobbes, it is expressed that humans are endowed with character from birth, and that they are innately evil in nature. John Locke’s response to this theory is that everyone is born with a tabula rasa, or blank slate, and then develops character after a series of formative experiences. The idea that true character is the result of experiences and societal interaction is a theme deeply explored throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Through different interactions with the monster, Shelley attempts to express that it is because of Victor’s failings as a parent and creator, because of the monster’s isolation, and because of society’s reaction to the monster that the monster has become evil. The monster’s character is a direct result of how he was nurtured, based on his experiences and circumstances, rather than his being innately evil from “birth.”
When authors write a story they “tell a particular story to a particular audience in a particular situation for, presumably, a particular purpose” (Phelan 4). Northanger Abbey and Frankenstein came out in the same year, were both gothic novels, and were both written by female authors. Despite these similarities, the two authors produced very different works of fiction and have very different authorial intentions for their stories. Austen and Shelley both use gothic elements to portray their purpose for their stories. The two authors create characters exhibiting powerful emotions and moralize through the usage of these emotions.
Wuthering Heights is a gothic novel that addresses themes such as intense passion, morality, and forgiveness, and the toll it takes on characters like Heathcliff and Catherine. Within the story there is strong juxtaposition between Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights and these differences cause strong opposition. There is Wuthering Heights, which is more in touch with the nature and weather of the moors. While Thrushcross Grange is more in tune with society and the proper way to act. Separation from morality is seen strongly in how each of the characters interacts with each other, because of the intensity of the weather in the moors and the auras of the homes. Heathcliff and Catherine’s love for each other is as intense and powerful as
The novel Frankenstein is a one of the first Gothic novels that entails both gothic and romantic elements in its plot. The novel explains how Victor creates Frankenstein, the process by which he collects body parts and how life is given to Frankenstein. Its plot is in old scary European buildings and is filled with war between good and evil. It also shows how the characters are able to connect both the mortal and supernatural world. This novel is about the war between good and evil that will eventually get to have Frankenstein on their side (Donawerth). On the other hand, the novel on Jane Eyre is a gothic novel that takes place in Europe. It is filled with old buildings and shows how a young orphaned Jane Eyre is neglected by her adopted family especially after her adopted father dies. She undergoes through periods of success and hurting in her life until she meets a man by the name Edward who later breaks her heart. This leads her to the quest of finding her spirituality (Adams). This novel shows how one gets to know their spirituality and how it leads to their strengths and succe...