The relationship between Frankenstein and his monster can be used as a metaphorical map to understanding Sigmund Freud's conception of the "super-ego," or in other words, the human sense of guilt and conscience. Frankenstein's sense of guilt develops around the violent, aggressive way he creates his monster. The monster causes the ripples of guilt to grow by causing him to fear losing his love ones, losing his source of protection, and punishment for his sins. After it is fully developed, Frankenstein's guilt and the monster's overshadowing presence serves as guides for understanding how the super-ego works to punish a soul through a constantly aggressive, nagging feeling of anxiety. Viewing Frankenstein through Freudian lenses as well is George V. Griffith a professor of English and Philosophy at Chadron College in Nebraska, he points out in his critical evaluation of the novel that "Victor and the monster are the same person" (3).
The central idea surrounding Freud's notion of the super-ego is that guilt begins to become developed as a result of a violent, outward aggression that eventually turns inwards to punish a person from the inside. Frankenstein's problem with the monster, or in other words, the basis of his sense of guilt, begins with the aggressive, horrifying way in which he creates him. He works day and night, battling "incredible labor and fatigue"(38), to try and realize the "desire of the wisest men since the creation of the world"(37). Frankenstein thought he was doing a service by creating a new human. He says, "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. I might in process of time renew life where death had apparently devoted the body...
... middle of paper ...
...nster and Freud's super-ego is that neither is a natural occurrence. Freud goes to great pain to explain that humans are not born with a sense of guilt, but that it must be learned instead. Frankenstein's creation was not a natural one either. He pushed the limits of science and morality and in short, tried too hard to advance in society. As Freud points out, "the price we pay for our advance in civilization is a loss of happiness through a heightening of the sense of guilt"(Freud 97).
Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. New York:
Putnam, 2005.
Griffith, V. George, An Overview of Frankenstein, in Exploring Novels.
Gale. 1998.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus. 1999. Forward James
Miller. Afterword Harold Bloom: New York: Signet Classic and by New
American Library, 1999.
After hearing the monster’s side of the story Frankenstein started to show some compassion for the being and agreed to it’s desire for a mate. Now that Frankenstein has learned the full story of his creation he feels the need to take responsibility for it now with the line, “did [he] not as his maker owe him all portions of happiness” (Shelley 125), less the monster start to attack humanity out of
In a psychoanalytic view of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Walton develops, during a “dreadfully severe” trip through the Arctic, a type of schizophrenia; this mental condition enables him to create a seemingly physical being representing each his superego and his id (9). In his mind, Walton creates Victor as his very own superego and the monster as his id. The superego and the id battle throughout the story to produce the final result: Walton, the ego.
In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein the protagonist Victor Frankenstein creates a monster. The monster in the novel is deprived of a normal life due to his appearance. Like the creature, some serial killers today are killers due to the same rejection. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley warns that a childhood of abuse and neglect will often result in evil actions.
In the first chapters of the book, Shelley describes a scientist who was obsessed with "doing something great" for mankind. Victor Frankenstein, an educated man of science, was completely involved with his work, which happened to be the creation of another living being with human qualities. Once Victor’s work was finally completed, he realized that he had created a “monster”, and he was terrified. Mary Shelley, supporting Rousseau's theory, definitely believed that people are born essentially with good intentions and feelings, and she shows this from the first few moments of the creature’s life. When Victor was lying terrified in his bed, the creature came i...
The wise Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker, “remember, with great power. Comes great responsibility.” There is no greater power than that acquired by the infamous Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein when he discovers the secret to creating life. Shelley’s Frankenstein is a tale of creation that depicts acts of human conception and discovery. The Oxford English Dictionary defines creation as “the action or process of bringing something into existence from nothing by divine or natural agency; the fact of being so created.” It defies the natural order of things and creates a world of its own. The multiple acts of creation and discovery bring upon a certain set of responsibilities and implications as depicted by David Collings who analyzes the responsibilities that come as a result of these acts in his essay “The Monster and the Maternal Thing: Mary Shelley’s Critique of Ideology”. The main act of creation is evident through Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the Being which is depicted most prominently in the novel. However, there are multiple other acts of creation and discovery that may not be apparent at first sight. One of the most important being, Victor’s discovery of the knowledge required to create life. Apart from initially creating the Being, Victor also plays a critical role in the Being’s evolution into a raging and vengeful creature. Perhaps above all other acts of creation and discovery is Victor’s personal creation of himself into a monster. As stated by Collings most of these acts of creation on Victor’s part are subconsciously brought upon because of their lack of a maternal figure but also in part because of his desire for fame and glory. However, he is blinded by his motives and forgets that with his...
terror but I couldn’t understand why my creator was horrified at my sight I was devastated all I remember was charging at him My farther was running for his life when my farther thought I was dead he left town without me keeping his secret in his attic.
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.
In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the relationship of external apperence and internal feelings are directly related. The creature is created and he is innocent, though he is seaverly deformed. His nature is to be good and kind, but society only views his external appereance which is grotesque. Human nature is to judge by external apperence. He is automatically ostracized and labeled as a monster because of his external apperence. He finnaly realized that no matter how elequintly he speaks and how kind he is, people will never be able to see past his external deformities. Children are fearful of him, Adults think he is dangerous, and his own creator abandons him in disgust. The creature is treated as a monster, therefore he begins to internalize societies view of him and act the like a monster.
In the novel Frankenstein, the author, Mary Shelley writes about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who brings to life a human- like creature. Viewing this book through a psychoanalytic lens uncovers the many layers that make up this text and the characters. The psychoanalytic theory deals with a person’s underlying desire, most famously, the oedipal complex. The oedipal complex is the belief that all people possess the desire to partake in affectionate relations with a parent of the opposite sex. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses Victors conscious and subconscious to suggest that Victor possesses the oedipal complex, and that he feels intense guilt for the monster that he has brought to life.
Education is a tool to advance an individual and a society; however, education can become a means to gain power when knowledge is used to exercise control over another. In Frankenstein, knowledge becomes the downfall of both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. The novel explores the consequent power struggle between Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the dichotomy of good and evil, and the contrast between intellectual and physical power. Finding themselves in mirroring journeys, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster are locked in a struggle for dominance. Through these two characters, Mary Shelley explores the consequences of an egotistical mindset and of using knowledge to exercise power over others.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein explores the downfall of certain human characteristics, set to the backdrop of creation, destruction, and preservation. The subtitle denoted by Shelly herself supports this idea, by relating the fact that the title can be viewed as either Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. One scholar, Marilyn Butler, also maintains this by noting, "It can be a late version of the Faust Myth"(302). Shelly uses the story of the main character, Victor Frankenstein, to produce the concept of a dooming human characteristic of which Frankenstein states, "I have . . . been blasted in these hopes"(Shelley, 152). The reader finds, as a result of his thirst for knowledge and infatuation with science, Victor creates a living being by whom he has "suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes"(Shelley, 17). Eventually, Victor realizes this self-destructive trait, but he is not able to save himself stating, "I have lost everything, and cannot begin life anew"(Shelley, 16). Although everything in his life that is dear has been lost, Victor is able to convince one in his same position--Robert Walton--to not "lead [his crew] unwillingly to danger"(Shelley, 151). While addressing the concept of characteristic and self-discovery, it is possible to realize that the monster also possesses the characteristics held by both Victor and Walton; except in his learning, the monster is driven to continue to cause destruction. Most important about the thirst for knowledge is that, as a form of human characteristic or downfall, it leads to large, critical pieces of self-discovery. In obtaining these critical pieces, Frankenstein finds satisfaction in j...
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein centers around a creator who rejects his own creation. The plot thickens as Victor Frankenstein turns his back on his creation out of fear and regret. The monster is cast out alone to figure out the world and as a result of a life with no love, he turns evil. Shelley seems to urge the reader to try a relate with this monster and avoid just seeing him as an evil being beyond repentance. There is no doubt that the monster is in fact evil; however, the monster’s evilness stems from rejection from his creator.
Imagine being brought into the world to be completely thrown away by whoever created you, for being born. Now, this is the perspective of the Monster that Frankenstein created. The Monster was immediately hated as soon as he came to life. His own creator found him to be repulsive: “ 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.” Pg 59 PP 3. This hatred caused the monster to feel awful and run away in despair. Victor Frankenstein felt that he was justified to give up on his creation because it was ugly. This is completely unfair to the Monster because it has not done anything wrong, yet Victor Frankenstein feels he has the right to immediately turn his back on his creation. This is something that is frowned upon in society, but is sometimes the case. If this betrayal had not have happened, the Monsters nature could have been completely different. The Monster merely acted out because he was so greatly betrayed. In all honesty, the monster had good intentions in his heart, and he had a great soul. This great soul became diminished by the instant rejection as soon as he came to life. Now the Monster tried to keep it's spirits high but then things just seemed to get worse for him. Once the Monster
The pop culture version of the novel Frankenstein depicts Victor Frankenstein’s need for science and creation, a need that results in him creating a monster. An ingenious and inventive scientist, Victor mastered everything he learned from his professors. Unfortunately, he ultimately created something he regrets and pays for until the day he dies. Victor Frankenstein takes his interest in science and creation to an unhealthy and extreme level, and plays God. In playing this God figure over his creation, he creates this being with no intentions of giving it love or happiness. He is selfish and creates it for himself, and he brings the unliving to life out of old used parts.
The abnormal behavior of Victor Frankenstein simply could not be explained by anyone. He was obsessed with building his monster, no matter what the morality or the outcome of his actions were. Consequences wreaked havoc on the creator when the monster turned on him and took his anger out on Victor’s family. He was so focused on building his perfection that he overlooked some factors. After further research, it is concluded that Victor suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder during the creation of his monster, which resulted in a rigid following of the ethics and morals of science and technology.