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Pride In Frankenstein

Decent Essays

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” …show more content…

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

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