Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was a novel that reflected an assortment of ideas during the Romantic era. In the story, both Victor Frankenstein and the creature within it bring up a variety of internal and external conflicts that affected the outcome of the entire story. In the long interchange between Victor and the creature on the alpine glacier near Charmonix, I believe that the creature defeats Victor by appealing to his inner sense of responsibility for the creature’s unjust acts, thus leading to the eventual demise of Victor. In order to get Victor to create a female companion for him, the creature targeted Victor’s emotions with a pathological approach. The monster recalled the following moment to Victor, a moment where he was at one of his all time lows: “I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept” …show more content…
When the creature uncovered Victor’s journal he saw the disgusted way that Victor described his development. According to Victor’s journal, “The whole detail of that series of disgusting circumstances which produced it is set in view” (92-93). The creature, then literate and intellectual, was able to form a reaction to Victor’s harsh words. All the creature wanted was to be able to experience emotions like a regular human being, but he realized that it would be nearly impossible to be treated equally as humans due to his cringeworthy physical features. At that moment, the creature began to loathe Victor. The creature’s allegory may have had an impact on Victor and make him regret the way that he described the creature. The old saying, “You can’t judge a books by its cover” comes to mind. In order to truly understand another person, it is important to note the individual’s inner character before judging him or
After abandoning the Creature, it vows “eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” which ends up being in direct correlation with Victor’s life (Shelley 143). The Creature is able to carry out this deed by not directly attacking his creator and abandoner, but the one’s of his creator’s affections. The Creature not only makes Victor feel pain through the killings, but also through the guilt that Victor experiences since he knows that he (Victor) is the reason that all the people are now dead. After all the killings had happened, “yet one duty” remained for Victor, to silence the Creature and all feelings of sorrow rooted from death (Shelley 176). This was Victor’s act of revenge in which only one of the two could live while the other was dead. Victor was so influenced by all the death he had experienced, that his revenge took him to his deathbed. The ending years of Victor’s life had been spent focusing and caring for the matters concerning the Creature and himself, which differs of how Zeus felt about his revenge, as it was only of current importance and had no impact on his
Through out the novel we are under the assumption that the demon in the novel is the man who is disfigured and hideous on the outside. While we view Victor Frankenstein as the handsome and caring victim, even though sometimes a monster cannot be seen but heard. Looks can be deceiving but actions are always true.
Imagine an eight-foot-tall, misshapen human child. You might complain that this is contradictory - but do it anyway. Imagine some sort of humanoid being with the mind of a human child in an eight-foot body, green with a nail in its head if you want. This is what Frankenstein's creature is. Frankenstein's creature is mentally a child, and we see its evolution through traditional child development in the course of its narrative. But the creature is the only member of its species, and therefore its narrative can be taken to represent the history of an entire species - the creature's first experiences can be viewed as an amalgam of creation myths.
Victor Frankenstein: The Real Monster. & nbsp; Science is a broad field that covers many aspects of everyday life and existence. Some areas of science include the study of the universe, the environment, dinosaurs, animals, and insects. Another popular science is the study of people and how they function. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is an inspiring scientist who studies the dead. He wants to be the first person to give life to a dead human being. He spends all of his Frankenstein is to blame for the tragedy, not the monster he has created, because he is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and he is supposed to have everything under control, working properly as a good scientist should. & nbsp; Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that followed the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being.  something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and & nbsp; I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. 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. (156) & nbsp; Victor is saying that he has isolated himself for two years and in the end, he is not at all happy because of the bad outcome. He also adds, "Winter, spring and summer passed.so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation" (156). By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, never going out, but mostly worrying about his success, he has got himself crazier. This has made him lose sight of his surroundings and judgment & nbsp; Moreover, the monster should not be held responsible for killing Victor's family members and friends as shown in the book and movie, because it is Victor who has brought a dead creature back to life. He expects the monster to know everything when he wakes up cool, calm, and collected. But when the monster is awakened, he does not know anything. He sees a world different from what he is used to, which makes him get nervous and scared, so he&nb has removed him from dead. With the dawning of life, the monster has to learn about his new environment. In the play of Frankenstein, the monster starts to gradually get used to things. The problems he encounters are with Victor's assistant, Peter Krempe, Victor's friend, Henry, and other family members, including Elizabeth, and these are reactions to how these people treat him. These reactions are clearly shown in the movie of Young Frankenstein, where Victor tries to teach the monster how to live like to show off the monster to an audience in a dance routine of sorts. But then people start to scream, panic and throw things at the monster, so he reacts by attacking them to defend himself. In this case, it is clear that Victor tries to push the monster too hard because he wants to be famous.
Throughout Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein pursues, with a passion lacking in other aspects of his life, his individual quest for knowledge and glory. He accepts the friendships and affections given him without reciprocating. The "creature," on the other hand, seems willing to return affections, bringing wood and clearing snow for the DeLaceys and desiring the love of others, but is unable to form human attachments. Neither the creature nor Victor fully understands the complex relationships between people and the expectations and responsibilities that accompany any relationship. The two "monsters" in this book, Victor Frankenstein and his creation, are the only characters without strong family ties; the creature because Frankenstein runs from him, and Victor because he runs from his family.
Victor is not able to see past the metaphorical clouds that seem to shroud his mind from seeing the truth. Furthermore, Victor is not able to let go of his hatred for the creature. In contrast, the creature admits, “But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless” (275). The creature is able to recognize that he has made mistakes and as a result, he loathes himself.
He not only turned away the being he had brought into the world; he also denied the creature companionship, friendship, and happiness while continuing to seek his own. Victor gained new purpose and even on his deathbed holds to the principle that he is justified in desiring the death of his enemy. Moment before his death he turns to Captain Robert Walton and says, “I feel justified in desiring the death of my adversary. During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blamable” (156). He even begins to lose the small amount of compassion he had for the creature’s struggle.
The monster does not resemble Victor physically; instead, they share the same personalities. For example, Victor and the monster are both loving beings. Both of them want to help others and want what is best for others. Victor and the monster try to help the people that surround them. Victor tries to console his family at their losses, and the monster assists the people living in the cottage by performing helpful tasks. However, Victor and the monster do not reflect loving people. The evil that evolves in Victor’s heart is also present in the monster.
Victor and his creature both wanted a companion. This was really the main drive keeping the creature going after Victor. Victor was soon to be married and he was happy at first then the creature killed his wife and Victor was horribly sad. The creature only wanted a companion so he could have someone as truly horrifying as he was. As stated in the book he wanted to start a family with this female creature and actually have companions due to mankind’s rejection.
He becomes disgusted with him immediately, as “the beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror... filled [his] heart” (42). Even though this creature was his work, almost like his child, he gives up on it before even giving him a chance. The creature later tries to show how unfair it was the Victor had “endowed [the creature] with perceptions and passions and then cast [him] abroad, an object for the scorn and horror of mankind” (119). This is the reason why the creature feels so alone, because Victor never loved him or tried to shield him from the cruelty of humanity. The creature becomes bitter with this rejection and kills Victor’s brother William in a fiery passion of rage, a passion that is “detrimental to [the creature], for [Victor] does not reflect that he is the cause of it’s excess” (43). The creature has even been endowed with some of Victor’s traits, as though Victor is his father. Victor, the parent of the creature, is responsible for giving the creature this passion, as well as the gift of life, yet he does not take responsibility for the creature or nurture it. Victor refuses to be held accountable for the mistakes that he made in creating, and then abandoning, the creature, and the consequence is the death of
Monsters can come in various physical forms, but all monsters share the same evil mentality. A Monster is a being that harms and puts fear within people. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of how appearance does not determine whether a creature is a monster or not. In the story, Victor Frankenstein tries to change nature by creating a super human being. The being appears to be a monster. Victor becomes so obsessed with his creation and then rejects it. Victor is the real monster because of his desire for power, lack of respect for nature, and his stubbornness.
I believe that Victor and the creature are both right about what they want and yet monstrous in their reactions. Victor is right about what he wants; one reason is because he is very committed to his work and in creating life for his creature. On the other hand he is evil because he abandoned the creature and left him on his own: "I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited" (Shelley 57). Shelley shows Victor's monstrous reaction to the creature in the way that he abandoned the creature to his own luck and he shows no responsibility for him.
As Victor begins crafting the female companion for his monster, he stumbles upon the fact that the woman might refuse to follow the rules of her male creator. Victor states “she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate… and she, who in all probability was to become a thinking and reasoning animal, might refuse to comply with a pact made before her creation” (121). This realization shows that Victor fears female autonomy and that the female creature could have a different way of thinking. Victor feels threatened by the possibility that this female creature could defy the plans he has predetermined for her. Men fear the idea that women can have a mindset of their own, and this fear drives Victor to destroy his second creature. The destruction of the female enrages the male wretch, and unleashes his wrath upon Frankenstein and his loved ones. The absence of the female is critical since it was what triggered the monster’s anger and retaliation towards Victor, which stripped him of all his loved ones. The absence of a major female character highlights the power of a woman, and how men suffer and are greatly affected by the lack of a female figure in their
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the motif of monstrosity to convey the theme that a person’s outward appearance is not what makes them a monster but rather their actions or inactions that classify true monstrosity. Despite the fact that the monster Victor Frankenstein creates is a literal example of monstrosity in the novel there are many parts that give meaning to monstrosity within character’s actions. Although Victor appears normal, since he is human his ambitions, secrets, selfishness, and inaction makes him a monster himself. Along with monstrous characters the pursuit of knowledge that is seen in Victor, his monster, and Walton in Frankenstein prove that knowledge can be a monstrosity. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is created using the life stories of different characters in the novel. The novel itself could be seen as a monster created similarly to Victor’s monster.
Soon after Victor creates the monster and it kills William, Victor laments the creation of the creature, referring to it as “my own spirit let loose from the grave” (Shelley 51). Though Frankenstein may be referring to the creature as a spirit because of the fact that it is essentially a reanimated corpse, he also could be referring to the creature as a realization of his unconscious desires. The creature, in cursing his creator, refers to his “‘form [as being] a filthy type of your’s’” (Shelley 91). The creature here talks about himself as if he is almost the same as Victor – something similar but yet more loathsome. This is exactly what the creature is if he represents those desires of Victor that cannot be revealed, even to himself. In murdering many people in Victor’s family as well as Clerval, the creature is acting out Victor’s unconscious desire to be free of his family; when Victor is creating the monster, he isolates himself from other human beings and stops responding to his family’s letters (Shelley 36). Up until the creation of the creature, Victor desperately wanted the “glory that would attend the discovery, if [he] could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!” (23). From these intense feelings of wanting to make a mark upon the world by making a huge discovery, springs forth