Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells the tale of a man whose entire life turns to misery after creating what he calls a monster, a demon and a fiend. However, the real monster in this story is pride and the feeling of superiority. This is evident in the novel with Robert Walton’s view of himself and his expedition, Victor Frankenstein’s attitude towards himself in comparison with the creature, and mankind’s perception of the creature and their ignorance towards him.
In the book, Robert Walton’s pride and confidence is seen in how he views himself, the expectations he has of his journey, and the sacrifices he is willing to make. Walton believes he is superior to all on his ship and claims he will not find a friend onboard. He calls his crew “uneducated”
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While attempting to uncover the meaning of life and death, and though he believed his experiments would further the paths of science, Victor fails to see the potential consequences of “bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (Shelley 37). This, in turn, creates a monster. After his “great” experiment, Victor spends his life in grief. Despite this, he manages to belittle his creation, and act superior to him, claiming that “I [Victor] will not hear you. There can be no community between you [the creature] and me; we are enemies” (Shelley 84). Even later on, when assured by the creature himself that Victor would be left alone if he creates a female counterpart, Victor cannot see past the shreds of pride he has left and refuses, causing the death of his family and loved ones. It’s Victor’s pride and his fear of the creature that clouds his judgement and in the end leads to his …show more content…
Most of these instances come from humanity. The De Lacey family rejects the creature before he has a chance to say a word to any but the blind father. Prior to that, the creature’s attempts – however barbaric –at finding shelter “grievously bruised” (Shelley 91) him “by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons” (Shelley 91) from the villagers who think themselves as superior and despise the creature at first sight. Even in the eyes of a child who has not yet conformed to society’s views, William Frankenstein still sees the creature as a monster and proudly yells ‘‘Hideous monster! Let me go. My papa is a Syndic… he will punish you” (Shelley 127). Mankind may help itself, but it will not help the “inferior” and the
Frankenstein, a novel first published in the year 1818, stands as the most talked about work of Mary Shelley’s literary career. She was just nineteen years old when she penned this novel, and throughout her lifetime she could not produce any other work that surpasses this novel in terms of creativity and vision. In this novel, Shelley found an outlet for her own intense sense of victimization, and her desperate struggle for love. Traumatized by her failed childbirth incidents, troubled childhood, and scandalous courtship, many of Shelley’s life experiences can be seen reflected in the novel. When discussing the character and development of the monster, Shelley launches an extensive discussion on the
Due to Victor’s unwillingness to accept him, the creature was unable to conform to societal norms. From the creature’s very first moments, he is feared by others - the instant his eyes open, his creator cries out in terror and runs to his quarters. If only Victor had stayed and attempted to nurture his creation, instead of having “turned from [him] in disgust” (93), the creature may have enjoyed a gentle, upbringing in which he
In Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is portrayed as a grotesque abomination. However, as Hopkins states in Contending Forces, the cultural and geographical situations, or lack thereof, in which one matures in play a crucial role in the proper development of one’s mind and brain. The monster is simply a product of circumstance. The lack of social interactions alongside geographical isolation propelled the daemon to be alienated from society, ultimately resulting in a lack of morals and an underdeveloped psyche. By being a culmination of his surroundings and experiences it is revealed that the true monstrous entities are the factors that leave the daemon predisposed to fail in a modern society. Arguably, Victor created a being, while the circumstances that said being was placed in “created” a monster. Shelley purposefully terrorizes the monster with such intensity to provoke and justify the overarching theme in this novel which states that people should not be judged on their physical appearance.
In Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, ‘Frankenstein’, a recurring motif of ambition and the quest for knowledge is present among the characters of Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. Victor’s obsessive ambition is his fatal flaw, ruining his life and leading to the murder of his loved ones and eventually his own death. Robert Walton shares a similar ambition
The enormous difference in the way Victor views the creature before and after its completion shows that he has an altered state of mind while he works on it. As a result of Victor’s secrecy about his creation, he sacrifices his health and happiness to make a creature that disgusts him.
In Mary Shelley´s Gothic novel, Frankenstein, the Monster once claimed, “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.” Frankenstein, since the 1910 film adaptation, has known a series of several adaptations that changed drastically, not only the plot but one of the main characters, the Monster, from stealing its creator´s name to being portrayed as a cold villain. Though, in the original storyline, the biggest threat to society is the creator itself, the one pretending to play as God, Victor Frankenstein. This essay will discuss the nature of the main characters of the novel and conclude who is the “real monster” in the end.
The “Frankenstein” society only upholds and esteem those who are of “high and unsullied descent united with riches” (Shelley 386), these privileges commanding reverence and respect. Here, Shelley articulates a distinct class hierarchy prevalent within society, wherein disadvantaged figures like the creature, who does not possess sufficient wealth or honourable descend, will be condescendingly dismissed or even loathed upon. The creature who is perpetually the less powerful (given that it has neither family nor riches) will forever remain “a blot upon the earth” (Shelley 386), the stain as an analogy which reiterates its unwanted and undesirable position. Further accentuating such class inequalities is the juxtaposition of the monster’s status with that of Victor and his family. Termed a “savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island” (Shelley 280), the monster is alluded to be a wild and obscure figure whose acute lack of stable power and identity shapes it into a strange and terrifying Other dwelling within an incomprehensible realm, a manifestation “representing the dispossessed” (Vlasopolos 130). In contrast, Victor’s family, who originates from the aristocratic upper class, belongs within society and is highly-regarded. The superiority enjoyed by their status is exemplified from how they are already well-established as a family whose ancestors “had been for many years counsellors and syndics” (Shelley 289), their father gloriously securing much “honour and reputation” (Shelley 289) in numerous public domains. The creature who is part of the inferior class is comparatively neglected and remains the outcast, relegated to the isolated sphere of the Other. The collective contempt demonstrated towards the creature builds and affirms its distinct status as the Other, whose victimisation then works to expose class inequalities hidden behind the façade of
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein’s Creation reach similar conclusions humanity by seafaring to the North Pole, delving into the dark depths of science, and observing the rejecting nature of humans. The three tragic heroes Walton, Frankenstein and the Creation are all character doubles in their initial enthusiasm for knowledge, inner dualist personalities, religiously glorified personal goals, possessive relationships and negative effects of gaining knowledge. The three character’s views of humanity are a microcosm of the culturally accepted importance of beauty, and how the culmination of knowledge can be blinding and lead to utter ruination.
Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature
The creature was created by a man named Victor Frankenstein, who abandoned the creature right away. The creature had to face the pain and confusion of being brought into a world full of strange sounds and vibrant colors. He had to learn the nature of the world all by himself. Because he was alone, he had to rely on his primal instincts and learn to survive by trial and error. During the time of trial and error, he went to a village. At the village he suffered as well as brought on suffering to others. His appearance was so horrifying that it brought on the village’s suffering. Women fainted and men feared for their lives because the deformities of the creature made him appear like a monster. While the village suffered from fear of the creature, some villagers threw rocks and sticks at the creature as well as force fire into the creature’s path (Shelley 136). Thus, the creature also suffered. The horror
In Frankenstein, a horror fiction novel, Mary Shelley illustrates the role that nature and nurture plays in a person’s identity and disposition; furthermore, depicting the reasoning behind the corruption of both Victor and his creation. Growing up, Victor Frankenstein, the intelligent and ambitious son of Alphonse Frankenstein, has a fascination in science, and following his mother’s death contributes to an obsession in creating life again from the deceased. This growing obsession leads to his creation of a grotesque creature that brings much destruction to the lives of many. Shelley uses detailed descriptions of both Victor’s and his creation’s upbringings and personalities to illustrate how their basic nature and the way they were raised affects the way they behave in their community. While Victor is born into a family of wealth and is showered with love and compassion by his family, the creature is born with nothing and was abandoned leaving him lonely and isolated from the rest of the world.
“Victor reasons that by refusing to finish the female monster he is saving humanity, but really it is Victor’s inability to see the monster’s own value, and not his concern for the world, that leads him to leave his “Adam” without a mate.” (Lunsford 175). After slaving hours over his female monster, Victor begins to doubt his judgment on making another creature capable of killing and destroying. The last thing he wants is to create even more destructions and chaos than he has already started. Victor is self-centered and rips his new creation to pieces.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of the first books that discuss how humans behave and react to different situations such as revenge, isolation, and lack of empathy. Shelley transmits the struggle of a monster that seeks for real human connections, knowledge and the approval of its master; his appearance plays a big role in the reaction and acceptance of the people that encountered him. On the other hand, the character of Victor Frankenstein shows, an excessive desire for knowledge that leads him to challenge nature and play the role of God. By creating life out of death, Victor’s life turned into misery and self consciousness. Mary Shelley demonstrates that to be human is being capable of noticing your surroundings, your own self and
Mary Shelley 's “Frankenstein” or “The Modern Prometheus” is an examination of monstrosity in all of its forms. Written during a time in which scientific, political and economical upheaval, the novel depicts mans desire to uncover every secret in the universe, while confirming the importance of the emotions that make us human, instead of monsters. But, what is considered to be a monster? When one thinks of a monster the first thing that comes to mind is a hideous, super-natural creature; whose existence goes against the natural order, yet in the context of the Shelley 's novel the term “monster” takes on a new meaning, and reflects our nature as humans, particularly through the characters of Victor and the Monster.
After almost two hundred years of adaptations, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been virtually lost to pop culture references and mutations in story through film and other forms of media. All the different changed of the story has actually taken the original story of its As a result of so many different stories, all that is left is totally different version of the original creature. Shelley in her version of the book, looks at familial morality, man as God, and awareness that creator has responsibility for his own creation. Shelley’s does not put a name in the book for the monster, but for example, she shows the monster’s rejection from his creator. Everyone in this time thinks the monster’s name is Frankenstein. This issue is that it removes the author’s purpose to leave the monster nameless, which is ignoring the fact that he is nameless for a reason that is important to the novel. The transformation of the monster through cultural issues and changes has made the original monster forgotten, and has changed into an unrecognizable creature through all the stories changes. The first stage of change in the early nineteenth century to the parodies of the mid 1970s and early 1990s, the novel’s monster had been forgotten underneath many different changes.