Society today is greatly affected by science. Cell phones, computers, and social media are just some of the many facets of technology that we use in our everyday lives. To most people, this technology is wonderful, but Mary Shelley provides us with a caveat. In her novel Frankenstein, science and the pursuit of knowledge are recurrent themes. The novel starts off with Walden trying to make a discovery in the North Pole, and follows with a story about how Victor Frankenstein deals with his creation. The main message in the novel is that any scientist who discovers something has a responsibility to closely monitor the discovery, because it is very easy for the discovery to be corrupted. Victor Frankenstein evolves throughout the novel in three …show more content…
Victor spends two years toiling away at discovering the “elixir of life”, and when he is finally able to bring the creature back to life, Victor simply lets the creature leave. During the moment when the creature is conceived, a foreshadowing clue is given: “her[Elizabeth’s] features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form…”(Shelley 59). This quote is clearly foreshadowing Elizabeth’s demise. Mary Shelley’s placement of this quote in the middle of the moment when Victor is leaving the creature that he just created is purposeful. It is supposed to send the message that Victor’s actions here are rash and will cause great catastrophe later on. A responsible scientist would have taken care of the creation, and would have made sure that it wasn’t exposed to the general public – Victor does the exact opposite. The creature then goes on to try to help a family of villagers, who reject the creature at first sight. From this event, the creature is corrupted: “I am malicious because I am miserable”(Shelley 147). If Victor did the responsible thing – nurture the creation, and guide it carefully -, the creature wouldn’t have caused so much destruction. The reason the creature gets “malicious” in the first place is because Victor let the creature be exposed to human society, which made it “miserable”. In this way, …show more content…
After the creature is finished explaining its story to Victor, there is a turning point in the novel. Victor realizes that he needs to take on some responsibility for his creation: “did I not as his maker, owe him all the portion of happiness that it was in my power to bestow?”(Shelley 148). Victor also thinks, “…the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request.”(Shelley 150). Victor is finally understanding that he needs to take on some responsibility for this creature. He learns from his previous rash actions. But still, Victor doesn’t take on complete responsibility. Victor isn’t at Mary Shelly’s ideal yet. Taking on full responsibility would mean either taking the creature into his own arms as a father would a son, or killing the creature. Instead, Victor sets out to make a female companion for the creature, so that Victor doesn’t have to see the creature ever again. These actions show more responsibility than before, but still not full responsibility. As a result, even more catastrophe is brought upon Victor: Elizabeth dies, and Victor’s father dies. These deaths show how Victor isn’t yet living up to Mary Shelley’s standards for a responsible
Victor regrets what he has created but feels remorseful for leaving Elizabeth defenseless. Victor and Elizabeth's relationship arouse many emotions for readers. Mary Shelley exhibits through Victor's contemplations and dialogue his feelings for Elizabeth whom he loves. Overall, pathos opens the readers minds to understand and get a feel for all of the mishaps. Is utilized during the beginning of the story, as Walton’s letters to his sister communicate and empathize his fondness.
The relationship between the creature and Victor juxtaposed the relationship of God and man. Shelley displayed this where the creature said, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (161). Just like Adam in the bible, the creature experienced loneliness
He cannot get over the creature’s ugly physical attributes in order to listen to the struggles that the creature faces while adapting to society. Just like how a patient wants to be heard by his or her own doctor, the creature just wants Victor to listen to him once and hear his story. The creature considers Victor to be “his creator” and hopes that by telling him about his thoughts and experience that he can make some sense about why he feels as such and can offer guidance and consolation to
Being that Victor was the creator of the creature Victor was responsible for everything that he does and Victor was not ready for what the creature is going
In the novel titled Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author provides insight within the plot into scientific advancement and how it proves to be both valuable and harmful.
The characterization of Elizabeth on her bridal boer after the monster slays her is showcasing the disastrous effects of the knowledge Victor gains earlier in the story. Mary Shelley uses imagery and direct characterization to fully portray this terrible event. Victor describes the scene as he thinks, “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair”(173). Later on, one can see the negative effects of the deaths of her and most of his loved ones, his suffering because of knowledge. When Shelley characterizes Victor, she uses imagery and descriptive language to show how damaged Victor is.
Throughout the story Mary Shelley presents the idea of knowledge and how much of it Victor Frankenstein has. This enormous supply of intelligence will have a consequence on the product of his scientific actions. Frankenstein has been engrossed
He told Victor “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being,” (pg 104) and when Victor eventually disagreed the creature killed Elizabeth so neither got the loving family they
In reality, he is disgusted by the sight of his creation so he abandons it leaving it all alone in the world without any guidance and runs away to the next room. Victor himself suffered from being a social outcast and now he bestowed the same feeling onto the creature by abandoning him. By treating the creature as an outcast, “he will become wicked … divide him, a social being, from society, and you impose upon him the irresistible obligations—malevolence and selfishness” (Caldwell). Not only is Victor selfish for abandoning his creature but he is shallow as well. Instead of realizing that he achieved his goal of bringing life to an inanimate body he runs way because of how hideous it is.
Victor Frankenstein starts as an optimistic young man eager to learn and slowly becomes and angry and vengeful man. When he first begins his journey of college Victor loves learning and gaining new knowledge. As Victor starts his studies he states, “From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, became my sole occupation. I read with ardour those works…”(Shelley 36). Victor’s thirst for knowledge show just how hopeful and ready he is to learn.
(Shelley 56). This is the reason that Victor did not realize he had gone too far until it was too late. Once victor brings the creature to life, he immediately realizes the hideousness of what he has done: “Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 56). Furthermore, Victor struggles to cope with his creation throughout the novel.
The fact that Victor sees the creature as such a vile thing shows us that Victor doesn’t have any respect whatsoever for it. The creature states that he was ‘dependent on none and related to none’ which also
Victor isn’t the only one crippled by humanity. The creature, from the moment of his birth, is demonized by everyone he comes in contact with. As soon as his creator lays his eyes on his creation, he’s repulsed and he flees from the creature. The creature leaves in dismay. The creature can’t comprehend why his wonderful creator would hate him.
By Victor narrating his own life,the reader can understand that Victor always grew up surrounded by the decisions of his parents, by following what his parents wanted for him because the arrival of Elizabeth was so that in the future she could be Victor’s partner. Right before the death of Victor’s mother, she said “My children, my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union. This expectation will now be the consolation of your father”(38). This being said, the message of how Frankenstein’s parents were over his decision was clear, but after his mother’s death, Frankenstein decides to leave his family and dedicate his time to his studies by locking himself of any kind of feeling against his family. It is evident that Frankenstein by locking himself from the death of his mother started affecting his human
He worked very hard, as he states, to conclude his project into a living being. And once he finished and gave life to the creature, the responsibility of it was his. If Victor detested his decision of making the being once he contemplated and observed it, it wasn’t reason enough to ignore the fact that he was the reason of that monster to exist. He accepted his occurrence, he says that once it got up and was able to walk towards him, “I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce approach of the demoniacal corpse have conceived” (Shelley 21), but he didn’t realize before leaving the monster alone, what was it capable of, or if it was dangerous. Even he says, “Oh!