Similarities Between Frankenstein And Macbeth

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein has the misfortune of losing his beloved mother, which provokes him to create life. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is a highly regarded warrior, who is brave and loyal to his king, but is corrupted by supernatural forces and driven to murder for what he wants. Adversity and hunger for power are not the only traits Frankenstein and Macbeth have in common; they both have a strong ambition, are lonely characters, and are tragic heroes.

Victor and Macbeth are blinded by their ambition. Victor desires to create life in the form of a science experiment which became the

creature. He is consumed by grief as sees the creature as an escape, and as a way to obtain god like glory. His life while creating the creature consists of only his drive to finish it as soon as possible. Victor realizes his ambition and when he encounters Walton, Victor sees parts of himself in Walton and tells him, “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been,” he wishes to keep Walton from making the same mistakes he once did. Macbeth wants to be king, and will stop at nothing to obtain the title. He clearly wishes to be king when he says, “Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires,” and he knows in order to achieve his goal he will have to commit dark acts when he says “black.” also already has a highly regarded position within his kingdom, but once he has a taste of this newfound power, his desire for more cannot be stopped. Victor and Macbeth did not foresee any repercussions of their ambitious actions in the end.
Each character suffers from self inflicted loneliness through guilt and misery. Victor’s guilt is self inflicted because he is interested in himself rather than anyone else, and he is generally surrounded by friends and family who would seek to comfort him if he would only let them. Victor is the cause of his loneliness because he creates the creature that rids him of the friends and family that surround him,
“My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement. The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. And the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent, and whom I had not seen for so long a time”
It also seems when Victor is isolated, he becomes mentally and physically ill, so isolation has a negative effect for him.

Moreover, Macbeth becomes distant with Lady Macbeth, after he kills Banquo, one of those people closest to him. When Lady Macbeth dies, Macbeth has no one to go to with his ideas or concerns. Even his servants are afraid of him. At the end of the play, even Macbeth’s normally faithful soldiers desert him because of their fear of him. Macbeth understands this as he says, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time.” Time drags on for him, and there is nothing left for him to live for. The arrogance displayed by Macbeth and Victor eventually drove away all those around them, causing both of them sorrow and

loneliness.
Though the reasons for their eventual downfalls are different, Macbeth and Victor are both tragic heroes.

Victor’s downfall is that he wants to know too much, and he tries to compete with forces beyond his capabilities. He is curious how to stop death and bring back those that have died. Victor is so driven by passion and ambition, that he even refers to himself in the third person when he says, “So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, I will achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” He is naive, as he continues his pursuit of knowledge without thinking of the consequences. Macbeth’s tragic flaw is he is greedy for power. He believes in the witches prophecies and even tries to rationalize murdering King Duncan, but realizes there is no real justification for the crime when he says, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, and falls on th’other,” and Macbeth sees no motivation for this murder, other than an intense desire for power when he talks about “vaulting ambition.” He is driven by his own madness, or his belief in his own ability to make his destiny. Macbeth’s lust for power and his obsessiveness all contribute to his demise, just as

Victor.
Macbeth and Victor and tragic heroes led astray by ambition. They suffer the consequences through loneliness, madness, and their eventual deaths. Victor is an example of how men can not play the role of God. Both characters demonstrate how power can be dangerous when it is abused by man, and the evils that can take place, such as revenge and murder. While they come from different stories, Victor and Macbeth are linked by faults of their true character.