The Destruction Of Innocence In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein’s recollects his past before his mind in youth was plagued by his self destructive passions later on in his life. By reflecting on his past, he becomes keenly aware of the poor choices he has made which inevitably lead to the decimation of the innocence he used to possess in the past. The simile in this text compares the beginning of when he discovers his passions for natural philosophy, and his eventual demise caused by it, to the flow of a river which source was in the mountains. The serene nature of the mountain and river foreshadows the purity of Frankenstein’s being before the discovery of his passions, and the peak of that mountain symbolizes the height of this innocence. The many sources of water at the peak represents

all of Frankenstein's aspirations that influenced him to follow the path of natural philosophy. The downward flow of the water and the accumulation of it, creating a torrent, symbolizes his descent into madness from studying the destructive nature of his passions, and leading to corrupting his innocence and any hope of gaining happiness again in the near future. The passage brings into light the fact that Frankenstein feels scarred by his past, and believes that he will never recover to what he was once like due to the fact that he now feels that his mind is “tainted” and no longer is pure. His resentment towards himself for pursuing down a path that wrecked him mentally in every which way, foreshadows the fact that he lost his ability to be passionate about anything ever again, and is now instead full with self hatred.