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Moral implications frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein's obsession with natural science
Frankenstein and the dangers of science
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Obsession can lead to a dark mindset and an intense attraction to personal desires that can be detrimental towards others and the person themself. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, it is prominent how Victor has turned into a true monster due to obsession. With his obsession in science and making the dead alive again, it had changed other’s perspective of how they viewed Victor. It led to this compulsive mindset into his creation; even Victor’s creation has his obsession: revenge. Both of their own obsessions had turned them into despicable monsters. Mary Shelley had created these dark, twisted personas to emphasize what an obsession can do to a person, especially with people that have a relationship in the novel; Victor and his …show more content…
creation both share this dark relationship between themselves and obsession, creating sequences of disastrous moments throughout the novel caused by their own selfish desires. Victor had been a normal, young boy, interested in learning about science and alchemy while in university; his interest of science came from seeing lightning destroy a tree.
This normal tendency had quickly turned into a deep fascination and passionate desire to learn more. Surely enough, Victor immediately had an obsession with science. This eventually led him to the idea of wanting to create living from the dead, working extensively towards his goal. According to Neal Bukeavich, he said, “Lured less by "knowledge for its own sake" than by the promise of power that knowledge confers, Victor Frankenstein signifies the negative potential of science. He functions as a nightmarish counterexample to the idealized image of the Enlightenment scientist dedicated to cool, dispassionate observation and truth seeking.” He touches upon the negativity of what science has done to Victor: he has not communicated with his family, he has ignored his mental state and health, and has twisted with the nature of science for his own desire. This obsession to change science and make the impossible possible shows that it has turned him selfish and does not care if he messes with the aspects of science. Mary Shelley acknowledges the absence of morals within Victor. Shelley implies that Victor is so preoccupied into his work that he is trying to play the role of God; Victor says, “A new species would bless me as their creator and and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (Shelley 42). He believes society would praise him for his work and the ability he had to create the
impossible. The relationship between Victor and obsession ends up leading to the annihilation of humanity. The monster correlates to Victor within the realm of obsession. The monster is comparable to a newborn baby: clueless and unaware of what was going on. Eventually the monster learned how to read and write, but at the same time, he also know how to hate and how to get revenge. Rejected by Victor and shunned by the De Lacey family, his obsession to get revenge on Victor—for wondering why he created such an ugly monster—turns malevolent. According to Virginia Brackett, she assumes that “Victor enjoys the life from which he has barred his creation, causing the monster to fill with "impotent envy and bitter indignation" and "an insatiable thirst for vengeance." After coming face to face with Victor and knowing that Victor wants nothing to do with him, the monster takes it into his own hands and thrives for revenge. But the monster becomes obsessed with getting revenge and wants nothing more than adversity for Victor. And “without a companion, the monster's propensity for violence increases with each rejection, each shudder at his unwelcome visage” (Mary Ellen Snodgrass). The monster becomes extremely determined to want to get revenge on Victor that trying to neglect Victor, like how Victor neglected the monster, was not even an option for him. Instead of learning to forgive and forget, he learns to loathe and be obsessed. Mary Shelley shows how obsessed the monster is with revenge when the monster decides to kill Victor’s wife, Elizabeth, on their wedding night. That was the climax of the novel and the peak of the monster’s obsession. The relationship between the monster and obsession is hazy as the monster has an obsession he does not fully comprehend, yet persisted through with it anyways. The relationship between Victor, the monster, and obsession progresses towards the end of the novel. It finalizes with Victor wanting total and complete revenge on the monster for ruining his life. Obsession has become so absurd that Victor wants death in the end. Their obsession overpowers their conscience as both do not think logically of how their actions have already wrecked each other’s life. In the novel, Victor said, “Cold, want, and fatigue were the least pains which I was destined to endure; I was cursed by some devil and carried about with me my eternal hell; yet still a spirit of good followed and directed my steps and when I most murmured would suddenly extricate me from seemingly insurmountable difficulties” (Shelley 180). At that moment, Victor once again did not care about his mental being and was obsessed with wanting to end the monster once and for all. He did not care about being ill again because as long as it meant to him that the monster would be dead is all that mattered to him. Mary Shelley concludes the end of the novel, continuing with this journey Victor and the monster have been going through to accentuate how prominent obsession is for them. Shelley also concludes that the monster is satisfied and not obsessed with revenge anymore. After killing Elizabeth, Clerval, and William, he no longer feels the need to kill anyone else as everyone in Victor’s life is now gone; it is only Victor at this point who is still determined to get revenge on the monster. Shelley completes the relationship between Victor, the monster, and obsession with guilt and weakness. Both Victor and the monster feel guilty for their actions, which was caused by their own obsessions. The feeling of weakness by the monster—after Victor dies—shows that his obsession was a determination of wanting to hurt his creator, like he had hurt him. Yet, he was unaware of his consequences that came from the obsession and shows that an obsession can be harmful. Shelley ends the novel with the realm of darkness after obsession. When thriving towards a goal, the goal should not turn into an obsession. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, both Victor and the monster had goals and it was sweet revenge. Their dark, immoral mindsets had led into a turning point of destruction of each other and of humanity. Obsession had taken over their life and was the only task they had wanted to accomplish. Their twisted relationship with obsession had caused horrendous moments. All could have been avoided if Victor had not been obsessed with wanting to play the role of God and create life from death. Obsession can lead into a dark path that can ruin humanity and can restore selfishness. Brackett, Virginia. “The Monster.” Critical Companion to Mary Shelley, Facts On File, 2012. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=16830&itemid=WE54&articleId=474876. Bukeavich, Neal. “Science and Technology.” Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature, 3-Volume Set, Facts On File, 2010. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=16830&itemid=WE54&articleId=38343. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Bookbyte Digital, 2011, p. 42. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Bookbyte Digital, 2011, p. 180. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. “Frankenstein's Monster.” Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=16830&itemid=WE54&articleId=91212.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “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 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
When Frankenstein is at Ingolstadt, he “has a void of the soul'; so profound that he subverts Nature to fill it (qtd. in Renfroe, 2). He conceives, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me'; (Shelley, 32). Frankenstein decides to make a creature, to defy the powers of Nature and God -- a poor decision that ruins the rest of his life. When Victor finally succeeds in his quest to possess Nature, “horror and disgust'; fill his heart upon viewing his new creation (qtd. in Renfroe, 2). He sought companionship by capturing Nature and creating someone to honor him for giving them life; but it backfired and he sealed his fate to the wrath of his creature.
After bringing life to something seemingly horrible, Victor Frankenstein reveals his personality of avoidance and arrogance. Instead of facing the creature he created, he runs away from the problem. His motivations for the experiment vary, but there is one clear one that he even admits. "The world," he says, "was to me a secret which I desired to divine" (Shelley 18). Victor tells us that he's curious, and more importantly that he's always been this way. Victor has been raised in a very loving family. His father and mother were kind parents who loved all of their children, and even adopted some children. Victor, however, grows up a little indulged and perhaps because of this, he is selfish. He is stubborn and unyielding about many things. For
Victor Frankenstein: The Real Monster. & nbsp; Science is a broad field that covers many aspects of everyday life and existence. Some areas of science include the study of the universe, the environment, dinosaurs, animals, and insects. Another popular science is the study of people and how they function. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is an inspiring scientist who studies the dead. He wants to be the first person to give life to a dead human being. He spends all of his Frankenstein is to blame for the tragedy, not the monster he has created, because he is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and he is supposed to have everything under control, working properly as a good scientist should. & nbsp; Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that followed the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being.  something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and & nbsp; 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. (156) & nbsp; Victor is saying that he has isolated himself for two years and in the end, he is not at all happy because of the bad outcome. He also adds, "Winter, spring and summer passed.so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation" (156). By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, never going out, but mostly worrying about his success, he has got himself crazier. This has made him lose sight of his surroundings and judgment & nbsp; Moreover, the monster should not be held responsible for killing Victor's family members and friends as shown in the book and movie, because it is Victor who has brought a dead creature back to life. He expects the monster to know everything when he wakes up cool, calm, and collected. But when the monster is awakened, he does not know anything. He sees a world different from what he is used to, which makes him get nervous and scared, so he&nb has removed him from dead. With the dawning of life, the monster has to learn about his new environment. In the play of Frankenstein, the monster starts to gradually get used to things. The problems he encounters are with Victor's assistant, Peter Krempe, Victor's friend, Henry, and other family members, including Elizabeth, and these are reactions to how these people treat him. These reactions are clearly shown in the movie of Young Frankenstein, where Victor tries to teach the monster how to live like to show off the monster to an audience in a dance routine of sorts. But then people start to scream, panic and throw things at the monster, so he reacts by attacking them to defend himself. In this case, it is clear that Victor tries to push the monster too hard because he wants to be famous.
“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.
Upon first discovering how to make life, Victor is overwhelmed with excitement and pride, feeling as though he has unlocked the greatest power on earth. His imagination is “too much exalted” by this newfound ability, and thus determines there is no “animal as complex and wonderful as man” for him to attempt as his first creation (Shelley 43). Frankenstein does not contemplate how he will react to or interact with the human he gives life to, or that he has created an extremely twisted parent-child relationship by creating a human from dead bodies. His general lack of concern regarding the consequences of his remarkable yet dangerous power is the root of the rest of the conflict between him and his monster throughout the rest of the novel, and it exemplifies Shelley’s underlying theme that science should not be pushed past morally and psychologically safe boundaries.
After Frankenstein discovered the source of human life, he became wholly absorbed in his experimental creation of a human being. Victor's unlimited ambition, his desire to succeed in his efforts to create life, led him to find devastation and misery. "...now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished..." (Shelley 51). Victor's ambition blinded him to see the real dangers of his project. This is because ambition is like a madness, which blinds one self to see the dangers of his actions. The monster after realizing what a horror he was demanded that victor create him a partner. "I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was like torture..." (Shelley 169). Victor's raw ambition, his search for glory, has left him. His eyes have been opened to see his horrible actions, and what have and could become of his creations. As a result, Victor has realized that he is creating a monster, which could lead to the downfall of mankind. His choice is simple, save his own life or save man.
He toils endlessly in alchemy, spending years alone, tinkering. However, once the Creature is brought to life, Frankenstein is no longer proud of his creation. In fact, he’s appalled by what he’s made and as a result, Frankenstein lives in a perpetual state of unease as the Creature kills those that he loves and terrorizes him. Victor has realized the consequences of playing god. There is irony in Frankenstein’s development, as realized in Victor’s desire to destroy his creation. Frankenstein had spent so much effort to be above human, but his efforts caused him immediate regret and a lifetime of suffering. Victor, if he had known the consequences of what he’s done, would have likely not been driven by his desire to become better than
Obsession is a state of troubling preoccupation, and is a mental state prominent in both Frankenstein and Rebecca; one which has extreme causes and effects. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with creating life, which later turns to obsession with destroying his creation. While in Rebecca, the main antagonist Mrs De Winter is obsessed with the deceased Rebecca. This unhealthy obsession later consumes the second Mrs De Winter.
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...
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, one of the main themes surrounds the idea of defining obsession and classic obsessive behaviors. Obsession itself is a force of devastation for one’s social, personal, mental, and physical life. At one point, obsession must be a passion, of which has amazing side effects. The synonym, passion, may resemble obsession in the beginning, though the main difference between the two is that obsession consumes the life that it holds. In the end, obsession ruins us.
Victor Frankenstein, the main character in Mary Shelley’s novel, is the creator of the monster. When Victor created the monster, he believed he created the monster for the betterment of humankind, but he actually created the monster because he desired to prove to the world that an average human can do Godly acts. The desire to create the monster goes back to Victor’s childhood. As a young kid, Victor’s passions always lied in science and chemistry and in college; he became obsessed with the idea of creating life out of inanimate objects. He then decided to specialize in Alchemy. Within Shelley’s book Frankenstein, Victor said:
The most prevalent theme in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is that of obsession. Throughout the novel there are constant reminders of the struggles that Victor Frankenstein and his monster have endured. Many of their problems are brought upon by themselves by an obsessive drive for knowledge, secrecy, fear, and ultimately revenge.
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.
Shelly communicates to the readers that powers belonging to a higher deity should remain with it and that science should not equal or surpass these powers. When Victor first sought animation, he believed that he could, “[…] renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (Shelley 39), thus playing god and creating a new “Adam”. Victor’s first blunder was to leave to Creation to be in solitude. By putting himself in the role of the creator, Frankenstein assumed the responsibility to care for and enlighten the Creation, so the Creation thought. However, Victor was disgusted by it and he fled from his lab and abandons the Creation. Nevertheless, one must tend to their investigations, or consequences will occur. After reading John Milton’s Paradise Lost and viewing how Adam was guarded by the special care of his creator, the Creation loathed Frankenstein for the lack of paternalism he showed his Creation. God provided Adam with Eve, and the Creation wished the same, for a female companion. When Victor destroyed the almost created companion, the Creation vowed revenge and stated, “[…] you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your miser...