Conflict In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a conflict as old as life itself emerges as the story progresses; parent versus posterity in a struggle for reconciliation.Victor Frankenstein and his creation become tied up in a constant battle as the creation seeks his origins, finding a horrifying truth; the creator had abandoned the creation. This central conflict derives from the creation of the creature, inability of Frankenstein to appreciate his creation, and the creation’s need for a parental figure. The conflict addresses themes of the book such as human desires for prestige, acceptance, and the intimacy of a relationship with one’s creator. Not only does Shelley capture the resentful conflict between a father and his “son”, but she derives this conflict from her own rebellious battle against her father.
When adolescent Victor tries to discuss his science readings with his father, Alphonse Frankenstein carelessly glances at the title page and exclaims, "My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash" (Shelley 39). In one of Victor 's rare insightful reflections, he explicitly criticizes his father 's execution of his parental role: "If my father had taken the pains to explain to me [modern science]... it is even possible that... my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin" (Shelley 39). Instead, he was abandoned “to struggle with a child 's blindness..." (Shelley 39). Finally, he is left mingling "a thousand