Social Outcasts In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Frankenstein is a gothic horror novel that explores what makes us human. What are the attributes of a human being and how do we become integrated into society. Are we born with human nature or are we conditioned and constructed to value each other. The old nature/nurture argument. When his creation turns against him, who is at fault; the creature or the society that rejects him? We know from a study of social customs that many people who feel rejected by society often turn into mass killers. Repeated negative experiences of social outcasts can lead to anti-social behaviour and the best way to socialise people is to include and value them as fellow human beings. Shelley has a serious moral message, about the dangers of trying to play God, and about the potentially destructive results that can occur when a creation becomes more powerful …show more content…

Some years ago he loved a young Russian lady of moderate fortune; and having amassed a considerable sum in prize-money, the father of the girl consented to the match. He saw his mistress once before the destined ceremony; but she was bathed in tears, and, throwing herself at his feet, entreated him to spare her, confessing at the same time that she loved another, but that he was poor, and that her father would never consent to the union. My generous friend reassured the suppliant, and on being informed of the name of her lover, instantly abandoned his pursuit. He had already bought a farm with his money, on which he had designed to pass the remainder of his life; but he bestowed the whole on his rival, together with the remains of his prize-money to purchase stock, and then himself solicited the young woman's father to consent to her marriage with her lover. But the old man decidedly refused, thinking himself bound in honour to my friend; who, when he found the father inexorable, quitted his country, nor returned until he heard that his former mistress was married according to her

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