Victor's Use Of Conflict In Frankenstein

This gothic horror story was inspired by a nightmare. One night the author Mary Shelley had a nightmare of a man creating life through multiple human corpses. Awaking in fear, Mary begins the novel, with the constant reminder interfering with nature will cause a supernatural versus man conflict. In the beginning, Victor Frankenstein creates unnatural life, and intends to play the role of God. In result, Victors health deteriorates as he obsesses over his research. Then, Victor brings ruin upon everyone close to him. Finally, when realizing the wrongs of the creation and works to fix his mistake. Throughout the novel Mary Shelley portrays that interfering with natural order will lead to ultimate tragedy.

The average human life consists of

finding a soulmate and creating a family. Victors mother is on her deathbed, and she is sick with scarlet fever. In her final moments of life, she tells Victor that she must marry Elizabeth. Instead, Victor becomes attached to his scientific research to cope with her death. “With all my ardour, I was capable of more intense application and was more deeply smitten for the thirst for knowledge” (Shelley 35) This is the creation of Victor’s tragedy, as he goes against his mother’s wishes. Instead of starting a life and family with Elizabeth. He isolates himself from his family and becomes dedicated to his work. Victor obsesses over scientific research, and disrupts nature by experimenting with human remains. He goes as far as to say,“I must also observe the natural decay and corruption of the human body” (52). Through this action, Victor creates a supernatural versus man conflict that shapes Victors ultimate fate in the novel. Instead of living an average life and creating a family he intends to play the role of God. This causes Victor to suffer mentally, and physically.

The natural human life will always result in a death. Victors suffering is clearly shown through the deterioration of his mental health throughout the story. Victor isolates himself from his family and school. Depriving his mental and physical state he obsesses over his scientific research, “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health” (42). A man versus self conflict occurs through these actions. In result, Victor faces an inner conflict, he becomes very delusional and restless as the novel progresses. After Victor creates the monster he trembles in fear. He encounters his best friend Henry Clerval and screams, “ ‘Oh save me! Save me!’ I imagined that the monster seized me; I struggled furiously and fell down in a fit.” Victors paranoia causes him to hallucinate, Victors mind is severely degraded. After spending two years isolated and egocentric he loses the ability to function as a natural human being. Victor disrupts the natural order by creating human life from the dead.

Friends and family are helpful when conflict is present.

Throughout the novel, Victor brings ruin upon the ones close to him. Early in the novel Victor has a nightmare, “I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised. I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips they became livid with the hue of death” (59) This foreshadows Elizabeth's tragedy, instead of warning his love of the mistake he brought into this world, he chooses to ignore it. This results in Elizabeth’s death in the end of the novel. The conflict occurs when Henry enters Victor’s environment. His friend nurses Victor back to health and provides hope, “Are you always to be unhappy? My dear friend what has happened?” (76) Through this statement Mary Shelley foreshadows Victors fate. In result of not informing his friends and family he is forever doomed to bring ruin upon them. In result, Henry is strangled to death, his little brother William is murdered and his sister Justine is framed. By the end of the story, Victor realizes he had made a fatal error and works to undo his wrongs. By avoiding support from his family and friends, Victor creates a devastating

tragedy.

Fate is influenced by karma.

Victor comes to the realization that his creation was a mistake, “Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? I had before been moved by the sophisms of the being I had created; I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats; but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race” (180) In this quote Mary Shelley signifies the allegory that scientific invention greater than yourself will cause tragedy. In result he does not create the monster a companion predicting the dangerous outcomes for human civilization. Victor devotes his life to chasing the monster through the north. Eventually, he comes to realization there is a greater force guiding his journey, “I was cursed by some devil carried about with me my eternal hell; yet still a spirit of good followed and directed my steps” (221) After losing everyone close to him, near death, Victor meets Robert Walton. A man who has the same passion and pursuit for scientific discovery that Victor once had. Victor influences Walton that scientific discovery is not worth sacrificing human life, Walton becomes convinced to discontinue this ideology. Victor saves a full ship crew from dying from the harsh environment of the North. In the end, Victor accepts his

fate and dies peacefully, in result the monster swears to never be an instrument of evil again.

In conclusion, Victor Frankenstein goes against the natural human life to create children and creates life from the dead. His mental health is destroyed from obsession over this project. He brings ruin upon his friends and family by not informing them of the tragedy created and in result he learns that he must fix the mistake he made. Scientific discovery will forever be dynamic, meaning this thought will forever be relevant to human existence. Especially our generation today, scientists have discovered methods to clone animals, they have genetically made food and are looking to create genetically made life, very similar to Mary Shelley’s nightmare. Through the novel “Frankenstein” Mary comments upon scientific discovery that, if humans continue to intend to shape the natural life occurring around them they will influence the world's ultimate destruction.