Analysis of Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein

Every work is a product of its time. Indeed, we see that in Frankenstein, like in the world which produced its author, race, or the outward appearances on which that construct is based, determines much of the treatment received by those at all levels of its hierarchy. Within the work, Mary Shelley, its author, not only presents a racialized view of its characters, but further establishes and enforces the racial hierarchy present and known to her in her own world. For the few non-European characters, their appearance, and thus their standing in its related hierarchy, defines their entrances into the narrative. For the Creature, this occurs on the ices of the Artic, when, “atop a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile;” Walton and his men perceived, “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature.” (Shelley 13) Shelley clarifies, even this early in her novel, the race of its principal Other as soon after the intrepid adventurers rescue its namesake, Victor Frankenstein, who, Shelley clarifies, “was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European.” (Shelley 14) Later, closer examination of the Creature reveals a visage and figure of near unimaginable disfigurement, with a “shrivelled complexion,” and yellow skin which “scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.” (Shelley 35) This could be contrasted directly

Alienation is a product of society’s inherently discriminatory bias, catalyzed by our fear of the unknown in the realm of interpersonal conduct. Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, dissects society’s unmerited demonization of individuals who defy—voluntarily or involuntarily—conventional norms. Furthermore, through her detailed parallel development of Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley personifies the tendency to alienate on the basis of physical deformity, thereby illustrating the role of the visual in the obfuscation of morality.

Shelley addresses romantic conventions in Victor to convey his loss of identity. Victor is impatient and restless when constructing the creation, so much, that he does not think about it’s future repercussions. One of the great paradoxes that Shelley’s novel depicts is giving the monster more human attributes than to it’s creator [p. 6 - Interpretations]. This is true as the monster seeks an emotional bond, but Victor is terrified of it’s existence. The monster later reveals, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurred at and kicked and trampled on [Shelley, p. 224].” Victor’s lack of compassion is rooted from the inability to cope with his reality. He distances himself from others and is induced with fainting spells [Shelley, p. 59]. From this, the nameless creature exemplifies Victor’s attempt to abandon his creation to escape his responsibilities. His creation is described as, ‘wretched devil’ and ‘abhorred monster,’ eliciting that the unobtainable, pitied identity [Shelley, p. 102]. The act of not naming the creature reveals Victor as hateful, and unnaturally disconnected to his own created victim.

Although Frankenstein is a fictional story, I think in many ways it is representative of Mary Shelley personal views in her everyday life. Mary Shelley was raised by her father after her mother passed and because of that they always had a rocky relationship even after her father remarried. Mary fell in love with one of her father’s political followers, Percy Shelley and they got married although her father did not approve of their relationship because of the age difference. Throughout their relationship, they faced many obstacles that made it hard for their relationship to work, but it did. This aspect of her relationship is show through Elizabeth in the novel because it shows how hard women will work to make a relationship work even when

In Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, the creation, made from scraps of corpses, was built by Victor Frankenstein, a man fascinated and obsessed with the knowledge of life. Following the creation’s rouse, Victor immediately abandons him with no desire on keeping or teaching his new being. Because of his lack of nourishment and direction “growing up”, the creation goes through a process of self-deception. He endures a period of deceit by believing that he is a normal human being like everyone around him. But as time progresses, he learns to accept how he is alone in this world and disconnected with everyone. Because of the creation’s lack of guidance and isolation, he grows up feeling unwanted.

In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, she shows that good people can turn evil, but are not born this way. Humans being rude and isolating someone can make a person go insane and do things they are not proud of. Shelley shows this through the creature that Frankenstein creates and gives examples showing his evilness, but also shows that the creature tries to explain many times that he wants a friend and cannot find one because of his appearance and why he does things that are not of good character through the eyes of human beings.

John Locke is one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and is famously known for asserting that all humans have natural rights. He also believed that humans are born with clean slates, and that the environment humans grow in, especially at a young age, has massive influences on aspects of their personalities, ideals, and motivations. Shelley was most definitely influenced by this claim when writing Frankenstein. As the reader, we can see the monster that Victor Frankenstein creates grow up alone, without guidance, and be formed by the experiences it is put through while trying to survive. Its emotions and beliefs throughout the book were merely a result of its experiences as it encounters the harsh reality of the world. Mary

Beauty is often the most lethal poison. It intoxicates both the beholder and the beheld. Humans are raised into a society that instills certain standards of elegance and beauty. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the woes and misery of the monster is brought to the readers’ attention as humans constantly berate and abuse the creature for it’s hideous body. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein discusses the advantages and the detriments that an alluring versus unappealing body provides a person, and how that person is affected due to the pressures and assumptions of society placed upon their shoulders. Mary Shelley may have been amongst the first to examine the concept of beauty and the advantages it provides. She insinuates that the conformity of the ideals of beauty place shackles, and struggles upon those who do not fit into such standards.

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, contains two different, but remarkably similar characters. Victor Frankenstein was a man who desired family and knowledge. He adored science so profoundly that he created a creature out of parts that he gathered from charnel houses and graveyards. The creature and Victor both share the same desires and other similarities. As the novel goes on, the two show just how similar they truly are.

Eventually, Victor came to understand this happiness was rooted by the way his parents a raised him. Victor, coming to this realization says, “The innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me” (35). The “direct[ion] to happiness or misery” is a control that is important for a parent to realize early on if there is a desire to become what is considered a good parent. Every action, the good and the bad, have consequences. Above all it is clearly expressed, across all nations, that a child must never be left alone to fend for itself and has a right to posses relationships with others and obtain food, water, love, and shelter. Victor had

Victor owes the Creature this favor, because he did not fulfill his role as creator, or as a parent. The Being was forced to learn the hard way how to survive, and that he will never truly be accepted by society. He is good a person at heart, and tries to help people to the best of his ability such as the cottagers, or the drowning girl, but all of this is overlooked because of his appearance. The Creature has been shown hatred and disgust from the rest of humanity despite his kindness, and for once in his life he deserves to be shown some pity and compassion. By creating a mate for the Creature he is not only helping the creature, but saving his family, friends, and the rest of humanity from the wrath of the

The definition of success often varies from person to person. To Victor Frankenstein, his version of success entails to earning widespread recognition and praise from achieving something that no one else prior has accomplished; the act of bestowing life into an inanimate object. Mary Shelley’s classic story of Frankenstein commendably demonstrates the idea that, in trying to rise above others, those who dream of glory can easily turn a blind eye to the consequences. This is seen in Frankenstein’s obsession with completing his initial goal, his unpreparedness in dealing with the monster, and in his inability to take responsibility for the consequences afterwards.

In the early 1800s Mary Shelley set pen to a paper and started to develop a novel that little to her knowledge would become world renowned. In 1818 she finished and published the novel to sell to the European public. The novel caught the world off guard in the way that a female was able to write about such harsh, dark, and evil things in a European society whose authors like John Locke and Charles Montesquieu preached enlightenment, self exploration, and individualism all in an optimistic enabling manner. Her defiance of these worldly themes quickly set her apart from the other writers of her generation and allowed quickly for her work to become internationally celebrated. However, in a way Mary Shelley did adhere to the writing structures

Introduction: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is a book with a deep message that touches to the very heart. This message implies that the reader will not see the story only from the perspective of the narrator but also reveal numerous hidden opinions and form a personal interpretation of the novel. One of its primary statements is that no one is born a monster and a “monster” is created throughout socialization, and the process of socialization starts from the contact with the “creator”. It is Victor Frankenstein that could not take the responsibility for his creature and was not able to take care of his “child”. Pride and vanity were the qualities that directed Victor Frankenstein to his discovery of life: “...So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”[p.47]. He could not cope with this discovery and simply ignored it. The tragedy of Victor Frankenstein and the tragedy of his creature is the same – it is the tragedy of loneliness and confronting the world, trying to find a place in it and deserve someone’s love. The creature would have never become a monster if it got the love it strived for. Victor Frankenstein would have never converted his creature into a monster if he knew how to love and take responsibility for the ones we bring to this world.