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Influence Of Parental Figure In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Parents are everyone 's first role models. Regardless of biological relation, those who raise us have a profound influence on the way we perceive and interpret life. Parents lay the foundation of our first sense of morality and empathy, and usher us to the path of our development of social skills. No matter how consciously one may attempt to have no resemblance to their parents, it is an inevitability of life that we will harness aspects of their influence and carry them through our lifetime. In Mary Shelley’s, “Frankenstein”, the influence of parental figures is displayed by the morals and values instilled in the monster. In order to understand the roles of parental figures in the novel, one must look at those who influenced the author. Mary Shelley was born the daughter of philosopher and political writer, William Godwin, and prominent feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft. Unfortunately for Shelley her mother passed away when she was very young, leaving her to be raised by her aloof father. Shelley longed for a nurturing mother figure and found it difficult to connect with her father. Her situation grew worse when her father remarried and adopted his new wife’s two children. Shelley’s stepmother saw no reason for her to …show more content…

Regardless of who we strive to be, or who we dare not to be, those who we respect and look up to will be the ones who leave an impression on our lives. To the Monster’s credit, it continued to pursue a life of good deeds until the people it idolized turn on it. Because of the influence made on it by its parental figures the Monster behaves like an outsider, and as an outsider it gains new role models and is governed by new emotions such as anger and hate. The monster should not be blamed for its malicious nature, rather, the people who taught it hate and the Doctor who created it without a true intent of being its

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