The purpose of "Frankenstein” edited by Diane Telgen is to give insight to readers on how the novel, Frankenstein, is written in the Romantic period and what the story teaches by the various characters, themes, and styles of writing. It is published in Novels for Students, which is an Academic Journal that is intended for students in higher education. "Frankenstein” is valuable to my research because it highlights Victor's character reflecting his monster capabilities to the behavior of the characters surrounding him.. In "Frankenstein", editor Diane Telgen argues that, "Usually those characters who take responsibility for others and for their own actions are considered fair and just." Editor Diane Telgen further finds, that "Capable of both …show more content…
great good and evil, we had, it seemed, a "monster" always potentially within us and not always under our control. ...See the monster as the outward expression of Victor's id or his demoniacal passions. In other words, Victor and the monster are the same person. Hence, Victor must keep the monster secret. His hope to create a being "like myself is fulfilled in the monster whose murders we must see as expressions of Victor's own desires.
Victor calls himself "the true murderer" of Justine, who, along with his brother William, he labels "the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts."" This article relates to my claim because the author identifies the relationship of Victor Frankenstein and the creature. The only evidence of identifying the creature as a monster is, his hideous appearance. “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries…his hair was of a lustrous black…his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes…his shriveled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 45). The creature's actions or killings were a direct response from being created and abandoned from Frankenstein. More specifically, I find that the creature is not evil nor hateful on its own but a mirror image of Victor Frankenstein. A monster has no regards for anyone's emotions had Frankenstein spoken up at Justine's trial and had he took control of the creature at hand, he would have been seen as having a more caring spirit for at least admitting his mistakes and trying to fix them before it was too …show more content…
late. Therefore, I conclude that because of the actions of Victor Frankenstein taken before and after the creation, he is seen as a monster or threat to others than the creation itself. Anyone willing and knowingly allowing a creature to kill and does nothing to stop it including, owning up to the creation, is considered in humane or a monster. Society was afraid of the creature's nature but they should have been afraid of the creator. Source 2 Article in an Online Journal Kestner, Joseph. "Narcissism as Symptom and Structure: The Case of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, edited by Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker, vol. 170, Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GLS&sw=w&u=txshracd2561&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1420072654&it=r&asid=71a01812f8570af42d14728535f6a8d0. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017. Originally published in Frankenstein, edited by Fred Botting, Macmillan, 1995, pp. 68-80. The purpose of "Narcissism as Symptom and Structure: The Case of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein" by Joesph Kestner is to identify the narcissism that drives Victor Frankenstein's actions.
It is published in Nineteenth Century- Literary Criticism" which is an Academic Journal that is intended for a literary audience with previous knowledge on the novel, Frankenstein. "Narcissism as Symptom and Structure: The Case of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein” is valuable to my research because it shows how little he cared for his creation and the people he hurt. When Frankenstein went off to Ingolstadt he became so consumed in his own interest and studies that he forgot to make time for his own family back home. Even when the creation gave him a chance to create a companion for the creation Frankenstein got frustrated and destroyed it. His reasoning behind destroying the future companion was, he did not want them to create more destruction together and possibly create a spawn. Frankenstein does not want anymore destruction however he has failed to realize the killings the creature did was due to the feeling of abandonment. Hence the creature wanted a companion to be with unlike how Frankenstein was with the creature. He only thought of himself when he sought to create, he only thought of himself when he abandoned the creation, and he only thought of himself when trying to get away from the responsibility of managing his creation. In "Narcissism as Symptom and Structure: The Case of Mary
Shelly's Frankenstein", Kestner states that Sennett's analysis of the Narcissus myth illustrates that there is rarely one type of individual involved in this pathology: in reality, there are two, one whose reaction evolves an hysterical 'demon', another whose symptoms induce a solipsistic, benumbed self-projection. In this consideration of the narcissistic condition, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) constitutes one of the greatest explorations of pathological narcissism. Kestner further finds that "Although Frankenstein promises to create a female counterpart for the Creature, he fails to do so, ostensibly because of conscience....The narcissist, argues Freud in the Twenty-Sixth Lecture, has a peculiar kind of conscience: 'He senses an agency holding sway in his ego which measures his actual ego and each of its activities by an ideal ego that he has created for himself in the course of his development'.22" This article relates to my claim because with the reasoning behind Frankenstein destroying the future companion was, he did not want them to create more destruction together and possibly create a spawn. Yes, Frankenstein does not want anymore destruction and realizes with him creating life from death is wrong he destroys the creation's request of a companion. However, his ego fails him to realize the killings the creature had done was due to the feeling of abandonment that Frankenstein inflicted upon the creation. Hence, the creature wanted a companion to be with unlike how Frankenstein did not want to be with the creature. More specifically, I find that Frankenstein only thought of himself when he sought to create, he only thought of himself when he abandoned the creation, and he only thought of himself when trying to get away from the responsibility of managing his creation and his consequences. Therefore, I conclude that, the reason the creation was created was out of conceit for one's own capabilities. He played with the morals of life to prove he can create a living organism out of dead parts and for that he suffered the horrible consequences he was not able to handle.
Victor Frankenstein and the others who have encountered the creature all recoiled in horror at the mere sight of him. He is described by Victor: “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!—Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion, and straight black lips” (Shelley, 35). Even his creator shuns him based solely on his looks. Another attribute of the creature that makes him monstrous is his thirst for revenge against Victor and the hateful attitude he develops toward humans throughout the book. While he has not developed the emotional intelligence and experience of other human beings, he has learned to differentiate between right and wrong. Therefore, the murders he has committed are taken into consideration when labeling the creature as a monster. If anything, as I will later demonstrate, the creature is an antihero. He is mostly monstrous in appearance but his thoughts, feelings and circumstances create the ingredients of an antihero, who has doubtlessly committed
Everyone can see that the Creature is guilty of the murder of Justine, Elizabeth, and William. There is no doubt in my mind that the creature was guilty of murder. Just because Victor Frankenstein brought the creature to life does not make the Creature responsible for these murders. The Creature is a person with a heart and a brain who is capable of making his own decisions. So I hope that everyone that heard this story of these horrible murders would see that the Creature is guilty of these murders and not Victor Frankenstein.
The creature displays his hatred toward Frankenstein for leaving him immediately and not providing guidance and protection in this harsh, new world by murdering his family and friends. While seeking his creator, the creature first murders Victor Frankenstein’s youngest brother William and exclaims, “I too can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him” (Shelley 144). The creature wishes for Victor Frankenstein to suffer taking his own companions away, forcing him to be miserable as well by destroying his personal relationships with others by murdering loved ones. Through the rejection of the creature because of his physical appearance, he learns what is accepted as well as how you can treat another being as he succumbs to his anger and proceeds with his crimes. The creature tells Frankenstein, “your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish your happiness forever.
Although the Creature later went on to commit crimes, he was not instinctively bad. Victor’s Creature was brought into this world with a child-like innocence. He was abandoned at birth and left to learn about life on his own. After first seeing his creation, Victor “escaped and rushed downstairs.” (Frankenstein, 59) A Creator has the duty to teach his Creature about life, as well as to love and nurture him. However, Victor did not do any of these; he did not take responsibility for his creature. One of the first things that the creature speaks of is that he was a “poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, (he) sat ...
The fact that Frankenstein’s creation turns on him and murders innocent people is never overlooked; it has been the subject of virtually every popularization of the novel. What is not often acknowledged is the fact that Frankenstein himself embodies some of the worst traits of humankind. He is self-centered, with little real love for those who care about him; he is prejudiced, inflexible and cannot forgive, even in death. While some of these traits could be forgivable, to own and flaunt them all should be enough to remind a careful reader that there are two "monsters" in Frankenstein.
...ions toward one another. However, Frankenstein’s uncaring, negligent-parent approach to his creation who emotionally resembles a lost child, allows Shelley to establish the conflict between scientific discovery and moral consequence, as well as the greater conflict between right and wrong. She allows the audience to question who the true villain is in the story, and allow each reader to determine for themselves if the “parent” Frankenstein or the “childlike” monster is truly to blame for all the evil deeds that occur. Today, our society should view Frankenstein as a cautionary tale of the possibilities and consequences of scientific discovery mixed with greed.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are introduced early in the story to one of the main characters Victor Frankenstein and subsequently to his creation referred to as the monster. The monster comes to life after being constructed by Victor using body parts from corpses. As gruesome as this sounds initially we are soon caught up in the tale of the living monster. Victor the creator becomes immediately remorseful of his decision to bring the monstrous creation to life and abandons the borne creature. Victor describes his emotions and physical description of his creation as follows:
Later on in the novel the creature commits horrific crimes, “Could the daemon who had murdered my brother also in his hellish sport have betrayed the innocent to death and ignominy?” This quote is from Victor, after victor gets the news that his brother is murdered he immediately thinks that the creature murdered him. Victor has a 2D image of the creature from the beginning and that is that he’s a monster. The creature murders many innocent people and also blackmails Victor. The creature also has supernatural powers which frighten the other characters in the story.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, is a book in which men pursue their goals against hopeless odds. Robert Walton’s decision to turn the ship around at the end of the novel is questioned by many. This essay will discuss the interpreted views on Robert Walton’s decision to retreat by Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and myself. Although, some may disagree ultimately Robert Walton made the right choice to turn his ship around at the end of the novel and is therefore not a failure.
Although “Frankenstein” is the story of Victor and his monster, Walton is the most reliable narrator throughout the novel. However, like most narrator’s, even his retelling of Victor’s story is skewed by prejudice and favoritism of the scientist’s point of view. Yet this could be attributed to the only view points he ever gets to truly hear are from Victor himself and not the monster that he only gets to meet after he comes to mourn his fallen master.
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
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...
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
After reading Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together, I was left with mixed feelings. Ill thought the book was poorly written, and could have been structured better. The way Turkle structures the book made me bored and uninterested. On the other hand, it enlightened me about the conditions that technology has done throughout society.