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Literary analysis of mary shelley frankenstein
Mary shelley's frankenstein character analysis and development
Mary shelley's frankenstein character analysis and development
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Throughout the history of mankind, there has always been a vague gray area in determining innocent ambition, from unhealthy obsession. This uncertain divide is shown in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The story begins with Robert Walton, an endangered ship captain seeking uncertain fame, who meets a strange man in the middle of the sea. This man, Victor Frankenstein then relays his tale of misfortune and his unnatural creation of a monster unnamed and hated by all who saw him. The monster's point of view and journey, also represented through Victor’s story, directly contrasts that of his creator. Mary Shelley shows in this novel that a simple dream of success or achievement can quickly be overshadowed by selfishness and misplaced, or …show more content…
even harmful, ambition. Obsession and addiction of a goal often leads to the neglect of personal health and fundamental happiness.
The author’s use of zero sum game-like diction shows health and peace to be only obtainable through lack of obsession. Victor Frankenstein “deprived” himself of “rest and health” (47) in order to succeed in his deranged quest to create life. The word “deprive” brings to mind the refusal of a basic human need, which in fact was the outcome of Victor’s obsession. The term “rest” brings to mind peaceful and calming thoughts of relief which were not present within Victor due to his lust for creation. The word “health” brings thoughts of security and power which Victor lacked because of his over-ambition. Specific details demonstrate that over-obsession can be the direct cause of sadness or unhappiness. “Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness and tranquility and avoid ambition…” (182) If one were to seek happiness and tranquility it would have to be done through the absence of ambition. The unhealthy constant toil with a goal would deprive any human of a comfort such as calmness of mind. Therefore Mary Shelley shows that ambition is quite the opposite of peace and happiness and it in fact destroys it. As seen a dream can easily become a nightmare for the overly obsessed. Overall health in body and mind can deteriorate fast in the presence of a corrupt …show more content…
aspiration. The obsession with a goal often causes one to act selfishly and become negligent of the lives of others.
The authors negative and self-centered diction when addressing the monster shows Victors true feelings and thoughts as a result of his obsession. “But now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (47)The use of the words “I” and “my” show that Victor never thought of the monsters feelings or thoughts but rather he thought only of his own. “horror” brings to mind utter fright and hate, which Victor felt towards the monster. Victor simply wanted to get away from the monster to selfishly preserve himself. The term “disgust” implies that Victor wants absolutely nothing to do with his obsession and that he cannot even stand the sight of his own creation. Specific details show that ambition can blind one from seeing the viewpoints of others. “...I would rather die than return shamefully-my purpose unfulfilled. Yet I fear such will be my fate; the men, unsupported by ideas of glory and honour, can never willingly continue to endure their present hardships.” (180)Robert Walton was not concerned that his own crewmates were dying but rather that he would have to return home a failure. Walton did not consider how they were feeling but rather insultingly compared their lack of honour to that of his own. The phrase “I would rather die…” implies that Walton is willing to die to achieve his goals and that he selfishly
expects others to die for those goals as well. The common tendency of an obsession is to neglect the needs and feelings of others in the pursuit of said obsession. While originally a goal might have been intended to be innocent and non harmful, it can easily change and become selfishly corrupted. Ambition can quickly become the work of evil in the world if it becomes too important in a person's life. A person can become consumed by a quest for success and the wellbeing of that person and those around them get clouded and obscured when this obsession sets in. This has been proven throughout literature such as Frankenstein, but also through real world examples such as the vile rule of Hitler. Hitler strove for power much like Victor strove to create life. In the process, both Hitler and Frankenstein neglected the feelings of others and even the wellbeing of themselves. In the end both of their obsessions were the ultimate cause of their downfall and death. When harm comes to another by way of neglection the gray-area of innocent and deranged ambition becomes clear. Even though an aspiration may have started pure, it can be quickly manipulated and twisted into something unnatural and harmful.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein explores the downfall of certain human characteristics, set to the backdrop of creation, destruction, and preservation. The subtitle denoted by Shelly herself supports this idea, by relating the fact that the title can be viewed as either Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. One scholar, Marilyn Butler, also maintains this by noting, "It can be a late version of the Faust Myth"(302). Shelly uses the story of the main character, Victor Frankenstein, to produce the concept of a dooming human characteristic of which Frankenstein states, "I have . . . been blasted in these hopes"(Shelley, 152). The reader finds, as a result of his thirst for knowledge and infatuation with science, Victor creates a living being by whom he has "suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes"(Shelley, 17). Eventually, Victor realizes this self-destructive trait, but he is not able to save himself stating, "I have lost everything, and cannot begin life anew"(Shelley, 16). Although everything in his life that is dear has been lost, Victor is able to convince one in his same position--Robert Walton--to not "lead [his crew] unwillingly to danger"(Shelley, 151). While addressing the concept of characteristic and self-discovery, it is possible to realize that the monster also possesses the characteristics held by both Victor and Walton; except in his learning, the monster is driven to continue to cause destruction. Most important about the thirst for knowledge is that, as a form of human characteristic or downfall, it leads to large, critical pieces of self-discovery. In obtaining these critical pieces, Frankenstein finds satisfaction in j...
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, values of society are clearly expressed. In this particular society and culture, a great value is placed on ideologies of individuals and their contribution to society. In order to highlight these values, Shelley utilizes the character of Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the main character of the novel, and with his alienation, he plays a significant role that reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values of individualism and use in society. This is done through Victor’s actions of self-inflicted isolation.
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.
Being isolated and separated from other people for a prolonged amount of time, can gradually make a person miserable. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is a martyr for Shelley’s view that a lack of human connections leads to misery. Victor being from a highly respected and distinguished
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.
“Allure, Authority, and Psychoanalysis” discusses the unconscious wishes, effects, conflicts, anxieties, and fantasies within “Frankenstein.” The absence of strong female characters in “Frankenstein” suggests the idea of Victor’s desire to create life without the female. This desire possibly stems from Victor’s attempt to compensate for the lack of a penis or, similarly, from the fear of female sexuality. Victor’s strong desire for maternal love is transferred to Elizabeth, the orphan taken into the Frankenstein family. This idea is then reincarnated in the form of a monster which leads to the conclusion that Mary Shelley felt like an abandoned child who is reflected in the rage of the monster.
Isolation is one of the major motifs that resonates throughout Frankenstein. Tying into the romantic style of the novel, Shelley uses this element all the way through the work to show a repetition of isolation, an aspect that is present in almost every character in the novel and expressed primarily in Victor and the monster. But even some other minor characters such as Justine, Caroline, and Walton deal with isolation in one way or another.
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 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...
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.
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones.
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...
This request angers Frankenstein who had been content in his returning heath and tranquility (105). Although Frankenstein displays apprehension about working under the watchful, hidden eye of his creation, he “toil(s) day and night” (118) to recreate the experiment that yielded his first Creation. Frankenstein is subject to obsession with his work regardless of the environment. His employment becomes a source of thrill or terror, making it difficult for him to pull away. During his second exile, Frankenstein is conscious of the decision he is making to cut himself off from society in order to resume his work on a new Creation. He leaves his family, Elizabeth, his friends, and his tranquility “to pass two years of exile,” (110) and exile he has placed upon himself. By exiling himself from the surrounding world, Frankenstein effectively pushes aside all possible distractions, allowing his mind to wrap itself completely around the puzzle of his work. Although he is no longer obsessed with achieving artificial life, Frankenstein’s obsession manifests itself in new ways and habits. He becomes re-immersed in his work, describing his feelings towards its completion as “tremulous and eager hope,” (118) he is clearly re-engaged with his work on the same level as he was previously, except now he is aware of the consequences