“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly is a novel about the beginning and the end of a life. Victor Frankenstein creates a creature for his own ambition and abandons him. The creature falls in despair and promises himself to revenge to his creator. When his creator dies, the creature falls in a water. “Frankenstein” was a feminist work and those works occurred broadly in the Romanticism period when people focused on imagination rather than reason. Also this period was when people became more intelligent and acknowledged their rights. French Revolution, a revolution of French people to make a constitutional government, occurred during the Romanticism period. Change in society also affected literature. Writers started to write their works that was against …show more content…
the formal, public verse of the 18th century and focused on imagination and the power of nature. Therefore, literature of new form such as the gothic novel appeared. Changed in literature included women writer’s freedom to publish. Mary Shelly and Mary Wollstonecraft were a good example of feminist writers and women who undergone harsh life that only women could understand. Mary Shelly, in her novel “Frankenstein”, tried to criticize people’s selfishness, argue that life is cruel and emphasize the power of love. She being a women, influenced these messages because most messages that she tried to say were based on her younger life and her life as a women. She was able to strongly influence audiences with these messages because she was a women who lived a harsh life. Mary Shelly wanted to criticize people’s selfishness.
Victor Frankenstein created a creature to experiment and when the creature awoke, Victor abandoned him and hated his creature. The creature was at first pure and he love the world. However, when he found out that his own creator abandoned him he became angry and swore to make a revenge to his creator. The creature’s emotion was well represented when he said, “For the first time, the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom, and I did not strive to control them; but allowing myself to be borne away with the stream, I bent my mind towards injury and death.”(Chapter XVI, page 137). This resentment was made when the creature figured out that his creator abandoned him and when he was betrayed by the DeLacey’s. The creature was very mad and that is what made him to determine to search his creator and afterwards, to make a revenge. Also, Victor once more became selfish when he did not follow what creature has required him to do which was to make a female for the creature. Therefore, when Victor tore the other female creature, the creature got very angry and said, “It is well I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding night.”(Chapter XX, page 167). The creature swore to revenge when Victor tore the female creature apart. This sentence that the creature said eventually led to the outcome of Victor’s selfishness. Victor’s friend, father and his wife died as result of his selfishness. At the end of the novel, …show more content…
Mary Shelly ended Victor Frankenstein’s life lonely. Mary Shelly criticized people who were selfish like Victor and implied to not be self-centered. This message was one of the characteristics of feminist novels and Mary Shelly as a women highly resented people who were selfish. Women at this point of time were distinguished as under men and were treated poorly by selfish males. Mary Shelly was not an exception. She was betrayed by her father and people criticized her because she was a women author. Therefore, she applied her resentment to her novel to criticize selfish people and made the outcome of those people poorly. Another message Mary Shelly wanted to assert was that life was harsh and cruel.
Her early life was very unfortunate. She was abandoned by her own father when Mary declared that she was going to marry Percy Shelly. She had to leave her father’s house and had to live very poor and unfortunate for the rest of her life. This was also represented as the creature from “Frankenstein”. The creature sought for love from his creator. However when he figured out that his creator abandoned him, he grew angry and became a devil who killed innocent people. Victor Frankenstein tore apart his other female creature and said, “Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.” (Chapter XX, page 166). To test Victor Frankenstein’s affection towards the creature, the creature itself required Victor to make a female creature for him; however, Victor at the last moment, tore his creature apart and made the creature very angry. The creature wanted his creator’s love but what Frankenstein gave him was coldness and cruelty and it eventually led to the creature’s anger and murder towards people whom Victor loved. Mary Shelly also lost her husband, and her children. She knew what desperation was and by representing her life similar to the creature, she was able to describe the creature’s emotion vividly. By losing her father, her husband, and her children, Mary Shelly had to do anything to survive. All that Mary Shelly went through was too
much for a women to bear and her desperation led to her criticism of the cruelty of the world. Therefore, by well knowing how harsh and cold the world was, she wrote “Frankenstein” and represented her life with that of the Frankenstein’s creature. When people saw the ugly looking creature, they threw stones and kicked him out of the Village. When the creature first opened his eyes he was so pure and curious. It very represented the life of the young Mary Shelly. However, when the creature found out that he was betrayed by his creature, he turned into a devil and killed innocent people whom Victor loved. When the creature encountered William Frankenstein, he shrieked, “Frankenstein! You belong with them to my enemy-to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim” (Chapter XVI, page 141). The creature found out that his creator betrayed him and was very angry at the Frankenstein’s when he met William. He accidentally killed William Frankenstein and this incident signaled the creature’s emotional change from curious and happy creature towards a devil. Mary Shelly also acknowledged the harsh world of factory workers. During Romanticism period people became very cruel because in England, Industrial Revolution was taking place and people earned a lot of money. As they got a lot of money people got selfish and world became cruel. Children were sent to factories and had to work a lot and they were not well paid. Being betrayed by her father, seeing her children die, and observing the poor factory workers, she grew angry and wrote “Frankenstein” to shout out what she went through. In her novel, she used dark and emotional words such as lightening, and death which not only showed the overall tone of the book but it also vividly described Mary Shelly’s real emotion. Mary Shelly’s early life as a young and curious women and her later unfortunate life was put in her novel and herself resembled the creature from “Frankenstein”. Having too much for a women to bear, she was able to impact her message on the readers that the world is full of cruelty and coldness. Finally, Mary Shelly last message was that she wanted to emphasize that love is a strong emotion and some people will do anything to protect it. This is also one of major themes of Romanticism. During the Romanticist period people pursued emotion and imagination rather than reason. When Victor Frankenstein lost his wife Elizabeth, he became raged and tried to revenge her death towards the creature. Quote. When the creature saw Victor tear apart the female creature he became angry and swore revenge at Victors wedding night. One common thing that the creature and Victor pursued is love. Victor love Elizabeth and the creature wanted a female creature. Elizabeth also devoted her life to Victor. She helped Victor to go to the right way and guided him to the right way. Elizabeth’s love influenced Victor and that is what made Victor to follow the creature’s request. After Victor lost Elizabeth he followed the creature and tried to kill him. Through this Mary Shelly tried to emphasize love and emotion and that people can do anything when they fall in love. For the conclusion, Mary Shelly wanted to give freedom to the other feminist writers to publish their work, wanted to argue that the world is full of cold and cruelty and emphasize love and emotion. Her message also depicts Romanticism period and triggered new perspective towards how people could understand literature in various ways.
When Victor Frankenstein breaks his promise to the monster, it threatens him by saying that he’ll return on Victors wedding. Victor assumes that it’s his life that’s being threatened but the night of the marriage, Victor finds his Elizabeth. “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and… running with the swiftness of lightning, plunged into the lake.” (Chapter 23) This quote conveys that the monster didn’t feel bad for killing Victor’s bride, he believed that it was a justified murder because he was repaying the heartache that he felt for his lost mate. This act of cruelty helped develop the monsters sense of right and wrong. The monster was born innocent but after being treated so cruelly for so long, his moral compass was corrupted. He felt as if it was his right to do this to this to Victor.
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.
In Frankenstein, Victor’s monster suffers much loneliness and pain at the hands of every human he meets, as he tries to be human like them. First, he is abandoned by his creator, the one person that should have accepted, helped, and guided him through the confusing world he found himself in. Next, he is shunned wherever he goes, often attacked and injured. Still, throughout these trials, the creature remains hopeful that he can eventually be accepted, and entertains virtuous and moral thoughts. However, when the creature takes another crushing blow, as a family he had thought to be very noble and honorable abandons him as well, his hopes are dashed. The monster then takes revenge on Victor, killing many of his loved ones, and on the humans who have hurt him. While exacting his revenge, the monster often feels guilty for his actions and tries to be better, but is then angered and provoked into committing more wrongdoings, feeling self-pity all the while. Finally, after Victor’s death, the monster returns to mourn the death of his creator, a death he directly caused, and speaks about his misery and shame. During his soliloquy, the monster shows that he has become a human being because he suffers from an inner conflict, in his case, between guilt and a need for sympathy and pity, as all humans do.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
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
Frankenstein spent nearly two years devoting his life to giving life to an inanimate body. Frankenstein was so excited about finishing his work until he brought it the creature to life. Once the creature came to life Frankenstein abandoned him. Victor said, “Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bedchambers, unable to compose my mind to sleep (Shelley, 43).” Victor cast aside his creation simply because of his looks he could not get passed them. If Victor would have accepted and embraced the Monster than the outcome of their relationship could have been very different. Frankenstein’s rejection was the start of his future and happiness being stripped away from him. He had a chance to redeem himself to the Monster and he promised him he would create a companion for him and again he denies him that right as well. Victor spends months creating a companion for the creature and once he was almost finished he “tore to pieces” the Monsters companion. Victor now not only betrayed his creation once, but twice. First Victor left him and then he breaks his promise that he made
The creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein is a man full of knowledge and has a strong passion for science. He pushes the boundary of science and creates a monster. Knowledge can be a threat when used for evil purposes. Though Victor did not intend for the being to be evil, society’s judgement on the monster greatly affects him. As a result he develops hatred for his creator as well as all man-kind. Victor’s anguish for the loss of his family facilitates his plan for revenge to the monster whom is the murderer. While traveling on Robert Walton’s ship he and Victor continue their pursuit of the monster. As Victor’s death nears he says, “…or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, swear to me Walton, that he shall not escape, that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death…Yet, when I am dead if he should appear, if the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live-swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes and survive to add to the list of his dark crimes” (pg.199). Victor grieves the death of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth and his father. Throughout the novel he experiences the five stages of grief, denial/ isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Victor denies ...
Victor plays the role of God and creates his “Adam” but unlike the Adam from the bible, the creature is not designed in a perfect image or guarded by the care of his creator. The creature compares himself to Satan when he says “I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; …like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (228). The creature was forsaken his first days of living and learned about the society of humans through observation and reading. God introduced Adam to the world with everything provided and guided him his early days of life. He saw Adams loneliness and granted him a mate. The creature asks Frankenstein for a companion as a last chance to become happy and good hearted. Victor destroys his hope and brings more tragedy among him by doing so. God creates all things good, Victor took his Job as a creator and his creation became malignant because unlike God he was ashamed of his creation. From that point on the creatures’ heart becomes cold and makes sure to destroy his creator. When Victor dies the creature repents for the damage that he has done and would live with continuing pain till his death. “…My agony was still superior to thine; for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever” (380).
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 conclusion, Victor Frankenstein is to blame for the actions of the creature, which was brought about by its rejection. Victor became obsessive in his work, but when his creation was complete he fully rejected it causing the creature to lead a life of solitude. The monster also attempts to seek acceptance from society and fails. The creature, also aware that it has been rejected by Victor, pursues a life of revenge killing those dear to him. Hence, if Victor would have never abandoned his creation the multiple deaths of the innocent could have been prevented.
As a romantic novel Victor is responsible, because he abandoned his creation. As an archetype novel, Victor is the villain, because he was trying to play god. Finally, Victor as a Gothic novel, Victor is at fault, because, he and the creature are two different parts of the same person. If Frankenstein is looked at as a romantic novel, Victor, not the creature, is truly the villain. When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. The creature was miserable, and just wanted a friend or someone to talk to. On page 115, the creature said, "Hateful day when I received life! Accursed the creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust." This line shows the agony the monster was in, because of how he looked when he was created which led to even Victor running away from him. If Victor didn't run, he could have taught the monster and made his life happy. After the creature scared the cottagers away he said, "I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter ...
He created a life, and then spontaneously he quickly decided to run away from his creation. Victor’s actions after creating what he created were really irresponsible, and did not correctly took care of the circumstance’s he put himself in. The creation was never actually evil, but he felt abandoned by what could had been called his father. Frankenstein, the monster, was only a seeker for companionship. He strongly desired to feel loved, rather than abandoned. Society’s evil behavior toward the monster is what altered the monster’s conduct and followed to how he acted.
While the monster gains a feeling of hatred and a desire for revenge after he is abandoned and treated pitifully, Frankenstein continuing reinforces the suffering of his creation, and likewise the suffering of himself. Frankenstein is completely to blame for the misery that he endures. Victor creates a being only for his own fulfillment, and afterwards abandons the great responsibility that he bears for it. To make it worse, Frankenstein intentionally ruins the monster 's happiness and gives him the same horrendous treatment that the rest of mankind gives the monster. Victor 's selfish actions cost him his family, bring him to the brink of insanity, and make a terrible creature out of a loving and compassionate being. Victor Frankenstein is a true