Throughout Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, the unquenchable thirst for knowledge, fame, and glory motivates the main character, Victor Frankenstein, to desire more power than nature should allow, exhibiting how the self-destructive mentality of passionate pursuits often leads individuals to commit actions disastrous to all those around them. Victor experiences a windstorm of conflicting emotions that develop into a toxic mindset, setting him off onto the path of a tragic hero by inflicting pain, misery, and even death to his closest companions through the hamartia, anagnorisis, and hubris characteristics.
Frankenstein’s gift for obtaining knowledge and his quest for creating life is what ultimately leads to his downfall; this is what
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the philosopher Aristotle formally calls hamartia, or his fatal flaw. Frankenstein himself addresses the fact that he was more inclined to further his intellect than his own sweet cousin, Elizabeth, ever was, stating how he was “deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge”(p. 35). He becomes driven by a fit of passion, yearning to “unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”(p. 86) and uncover “the secrets of heaven and earth” as well as the “physical secrets of the world”(p.60). His discoveries during these pursuits give him “so astonishing a power” that he is unsure of how to properly “employ it”(p.53). This desire for success and knowledge becomes toxic and pushes him to move away from his loved ones, isolating him both physically, and emotionally from society. His absence from his family affected them greatly—his negligence on maintaining contact leaving them to hopelessly wonder about his well being. The pain inflicted onto Victor's family was not based on his own heartless actions against them, but more so on his lack of judgement in what he aspires to create. Victor realizes his mistake far too late, rendering his capability to bestow “animation upon lifeless matter”(p. 52) to be the cause of his ruin. When boundaries created by nature are broken by a person’s selfish desire to gain a greater understanding, there are oftentimes great consequences that result in catastrophic outcomes. Frankenstein’s journey through researching, developing, and creating his monster plays into his discovery of the true nature of the situation, which Aristotle describes as the anagnorisis characteristic of a tragic hero.
Victor initially approached his work full of excitement—his eagerness to develop a breakthrough discovery keeping him blind to the horrifying reality of his actions. Victor states how he was moved “in the first enthusiasm of success”, assuming his attempts in gaining control over the cycle of life would benefit humanity in some fashion and “pour a torrent of light into our dark world”(p.54). He began his research when he analyzes how “the corruption of death succeed[s] to the blooming cheek of life” during his nightly visits to “vaults and charnel houses”(p.52). Due to these moments of lucubration, he had an epiphanic moment, where he “became dizzy with the immensity” of his discoveries (p.52). After Victor had completed the vision that held such a tight grasp around his mind, the moment of true realization came to him. “The beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart”(p.59). He then proceeded to run from his creation, the finished product of all his hard work. This scene of unforecasted abandonment was the catalyst of pain, suffering, and misfortune that would soon be inflicted onto his unnamed monster. The monster has been cruelly forced to understand this new life and new world without any sort of guidance, and because of that, the monster develops and thrives off of its hatred for its creator, thus tipping over the dominos of misfortune in not only Victor’s life, but the lives of all those closest to him. When someone fails to take responsibility for their own actions and mistakes, it paves the way for future mishaps to become even more destruction, thus causing pain and misery, not only to themselves, but all those around
them. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein’s personality centralizes on excessive pride and self-confidence as well as disrespect for the laws of nature which enforces desolation upon his loved ones, labeled by Aristotle as the hubris. Victor’s arrogance is explicitly shown when he becomes “surprised” that he alone “should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret”, when so many other intellectual scientists—who also dedicated huge portions of their lifetime “towards the same science”(p. 52)—never made the same kind of progress. He emphasized the fact that no other man was capable of discovering this “secret”, hinting that he considers himself more highly than that of the great researchers. This exact sense of pride in his discovery moves him to continue to develop his findings, which lead to the creation of his monster, who appears to be the root of all of Victor’s problems. When Justine was wrongfully accused of William’s death, Victor had the opportunity to confess and claim the responsibility for the situation. He strongly believed his monster was the murderer, who he deemed himself responsible for, but due to his overwhelming sense of preserving his public image and pride, he remained silent. Victor believed his “tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness”(p. 83). This excuse he made shows how he would much rather let an innocent take the blame for what he has done than to be seen as a “mad man” in the eyes of society. However, Victor did hold a considerable amount of guilt over the situation; he knew that because of his actions, or lack thereof, Justine’s chance to “render her life happy” was “obliterated in an ignorminious grave”(p.85). But, the awareness of his affect on her life did not prevent him from viewing the situation in an arrogant perspective. Victor believes he is the one in the worst situation, stating “the tortures of the accused did not equal mine”(p.89). He feels as though he is forced to live with the “fangs of remorse” and the agony of a guilty conscience while Justine “was sustained by innocence”(p.89). The behavior of choosing to repeatedly avoid responsibility but to then openly accept the painful repercussions is the product of his lavish self-regard. Victor’s intentions may have been good, but because he convinces himself his selfish actions are well intended, he fabricates excuses, thus becoming the reason the people around him get hurt. While Justine herself was not all that close to him, the trial and conviction of her alleged murder emotionally and mentally destroys Victor’s family. His culpability in the deaths of his family throughout this novel exhibits the power held in one’s own actions and how the failure to take responsibility can be tragically devastating. Given these points, Victor Frankenstein’s experiences throughout the novel parallel closely to the role of a tragic hero. The primary characteristics of the hamartia, anagnorisis, and hubris construct an outline of where Victor’s shortcomings truly form the impact witnessed in the lives of all those close to him. He is not the stereotypical villain often seen in movies, whose only purpose is to wreak havoc. He is simply human—good, but flawed—and unintentionally commits actions that grievously shapes the series of unfortunate events he endures.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, values of society are clearly expressed. In this particular society and culture, a great value is placed on ideologies of individuals and their contribution to society. In order to highlight these values, Shelley utilizes the character of Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the main character of the novel, and with his alienation, he plays a significant role that reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values of individualism and use in society. This is done through Victor’s actions of self-inflicted isolation.
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.
As he goes off to college, interested in the science behind life and death, he ends up going his own way and attempts to create a living being. Victor “had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body” (Shelley 43). The being Victor has created does not by any means sit well with him. As victor is away from his family and for six years, he is neglectful to them, which only adds to his sorrow and misery. Victor’s isolation is brought upon him because of himself, however his creation, or “the monster”, is isolated from any connections with humans against his will. To start out, the monster would have had Victor there with him, but Victor is ashamed of what he has created, and abandons the monster. The monster is a very hideous being, which sadly is a contributing factor to his isolation. With nobody to talk to at any time, naturally this will be condescending and frustrating. Although the monster is able to
Victor’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death. ”(Shelley 731).
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “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” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
Tragedy shows no discrimination and often strikes down on those undeserving of such turmoil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature more repulsive than one can imagine is brought to life by a young scientist. Although this creature is horrifying in sight, he is gentle by nature. Unfortunately, the softer side of the creature is repeatedly overlooked and the so called “monster” is driven to a breaking point. Even though the Creature committed many crimes, Mary Shelley’s Creature was the tragic hero of this story because of his efforts rescue the life of a young girl and helping destitute cottagers.
A reckless abandonment cost Victor and others, their lives. The Creation killed everyone Victor loved as vengeance for his treatment and isolation. Nevertheless, Victor chose to keep his knowledge of his own doing a secret and watched in guilt as many people, including his own family, died. Victor’s ignorance becomes the
After Frankenstein discovered the source of human life, he became wholly absorbed in his experimental creation of a human being. Victor's unlimited ambition, his desire to succeed in his efforts to create life, led him to find devastation and misery. "...now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished..." (Shelley 51). Victor's ambition blinded him to see the real dangers of his project. This is because ambition is like a madness, which blinds one self to see the dangers of his actions. The monster after realizing what a horror he was demanded that victor create him a partner. "I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was like torture..." (Shelley 169). Victor's raw ambition, his search for glory, has left him. His eyes have been opened to see his horrible actions, and what have and could become of his creations. As a result, Victor has realized that he is creating a monster, which could lead to the downfall of mankind. His choice is simple, save his own life or save man.
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.
Victor Frankenstein, the monster’s creator, is the victim of his own pride. An ego unchecked is a dangerous thing. But in truth, it really just shows Victor’s humanity. He is privileged, educated, talented, loved, adored, but he is not perfect. His flaw is his own ego and pride. Without doubt, this is the result of a childhood where he was overindulged. Overindulged to the extent he was given a little girl “Elizabeth” as a “present”, whom he considered from childhood “mine only” (Shelley 21). Little wonder the twenty year old Victor would think he could create, control and command life. But Victor as with any indulged child did not take the time to learn much from his parents about parenting and fath...
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 Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.
He turns away the peace given to him by nature just to satisfy his desire for revenge, and becomes a broken being. Mary Shelley demonstrates in Frankenstein what happens if someone strays too far from nature. Shelley purposely shows the destructive nature of science in her novel, highlighting the strife that her society is going through. Her society, disillusioned by war and the devastation that new technologies caused, wanted to go back to their roots in nature, and her novel pushes at that idea. Shelley’s example of Victor’s and the Creature’s downfall warns us of the dangers and temptations of science.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones.
Because of Victor’s need for fame and desire for power leads to Victor becoming a monster. Victor begins his quest to bring life to a dead person because he does not want anyone to feel the pain of a loved ones death. At first he is not obsessed with his project. As he moves along in the project he thinks about what will happen to him. "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me." (Shelley 39) He realizes that he will become famous if he accomplishes the task of bringing a person back to life. The realization that he will become famous turns him into an obsessive monster. He wanted to be admired, and praised as a species creator. He isolates himself from his family and works on the creature. “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.” (Shelley 156) By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, he has no time to write or contact his family. He puts fear within his family because they fear for him.