Critical Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Interpretation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Critical Readings in Literature
o.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Margarete Rubik
Matthias Mittendorfer a1301135@univie.ac.at Matr. No 1301135
BA A033612
SS 2015
Characterization
In Frankenstein, three main characters can be discerned, Frankenstein, the monster, and Robert Walton, Frankenstein’s friend. The following three subchapters will analyse them more closely.
Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein grew up in Geneva. His parents wanted him to study in Germany, which eventually decided his fate. He can generally be considered an autodiegetic narrator (he is the protagonist of the story he tells) and a round, dynamic character. The reader gets to know Frankenstein as someone
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The first gothic element to be dealt with here is foreshadowing. Before Victor leaves for Ingolstadt, his mother dies (Shelley, 45). Thus, his departure is delayed. It can be said that his mother’s death in a way indicates the unfortunate occurrences that are to follow. However, there are more instances of foreshadowing in the novel. The weather is used as another foreboding device. In the “dreary night” (Shelley, 58) of the monster’s creation, “rain pattered dismally against the panes” (Shelley, 58). This already suggests that Frankenstein’s undertakings will lead to a disastrous end. In the morning, he walks through the streets afraid of returning to his apartment, “although [he is] drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky” (Shelley, 60). This again foreshadows Victor’s fate. Another important gothic element is darkness. Similarly to the weather, it also to establishes a generally gloomy and gothic atmosphere, as can be seen in the scene where Frankenstein wants to finish the monster’s companion (Shelley, 170): “I sat one evening in my laboratory; the sun had set, and the moon was just rising from the sea, I had not sufficient light for my employment […]” (Shelley, 170). Here darkness plays an important role in establishing the mood of the novel. Equally important as a gothic element is Frankenstein’s research in the graveyards is equally …show more content…
First of all, passages of Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner are used several times. Coleridge’s poem is about a mariner who kills an albatross on a ship. Subsequently, all of the people on the ship die, except for the mariner himself,. It seems like he is being punished for his deeds. After that, the mariner feels the need to tell his story to everybody he meets. In Frankenstein, the first passage of The Ancient Mariner is used shortly after Victor has created the monster. He walks aimlessly through the streets of Ingolstadt and does not dare to look around when The Ancient Mariner is quoted (Shelley,
Who Is Victor A Gothic Protagonist In Frankenstein
1184 Words | 5 PagesVictor Frankenstein is a Romantic and Gothic protagonist, because he has an interest with the past. He revels in the works of famous natural philosophers, who drive him to pursue the sciences, and his use of knowledge results in the birth of the Creature, which has large and unfortunate
Why Does Mary Shelley Use Of Personification In Frankenstein
656 Words | 3 PagesShelley describes the morning after Frankenstein creates the monster and runs away- "Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned, and discovered to my sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt…”. This dreary scene adequately depicts Victor’s miserable, downcast feeling toward the ugly monster he has just created. Shelley also uses the imagery element to bring into view Frankenstein’s painful emotions over the result of his creation. Immediately following the verdict of Justine’s death, a deep feeling of remorse washes over Frankenstein. "The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart, which nothing could remove.
Frankenstein Diction Analysis
461 Words | 2 PagesThe passage on pages 43-44 in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein describe the events that occurred as Dr. Frankenstein brought his monster to life. She effectively uses her language and imagery to develop her tone, very dark and anguished. Her diction also helps to enforce the overall theme of the passage: don’t mess with the natural order of things. Immediately at the beginning of chapter five (p. 43), Shelley gives the reader an image of the day that the monster was born on: “It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.” (Shelley 43).
Empathy In Frankenstein
929 Words | 4 PagesThe gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley centralizes on humanity and the qualifications that make someone human. The content of the novel Frankenstein depicts a monster displaying human traits that his creator Victor does not possess: empathy, a need for companionship, and a will to learn and fit in. Throughout the novel Shelley emphasizes empathy as a critical humanistic trait. The monster displays his ability to empathize with people even though they are strangers. On the other hand Victor, fails to show empathy throughout the novel even when it relates to his own family and friends.
The Unreliable Narrator In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1487 Words | 6 PagesThe novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley depicts certain ideas that can not be described or written within novels. For example, the telling of the story between three different narrators can teach the reader about putting together “pieces of a puzzle” in order to understand the plot of the story. The three narrators in Frankenstein are Victor, Walton, and the Creature, all with very distinct personalities and character traits. Of these storytellers, Victor could possibly be debated as the most extraordinary. The qualities that make Victor pictured as this unique character, that the fact that he is a dynamic character, and that he is an unreliable narrator.
An Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: From Benevolent To Feind
1246 Words | 5 PagesFrankenstein: From Benevolent to Feind “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.” (Shelley 69) Said by Frankenstein’s monster, this quote truly defines him: initially an affectionate, love-seeking creature, he transformed into an enraged killer, angry at humanity for the undeservedly poor way he was treated. Victor Frankenstein is an unique, complex individual who encounters a similar change of nature for similar reasons. The quote—though spoken by the monster—encapsulates the evolution of Victor Frankenstein’s personality; misery—a product of isolation and loneliness—aroused a deterioration of temperament from an initially benevolent Frankenstein.
Internal Conflict In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
738 Words | 3 PagesMoments, when characters have a sudden change in attitude, can be found often throughout Frankenstein, but it is prominent during Walton’s last letter to his sister as he tells of meeting the monster. The monster mentions his past concerning Victor Frankenstein and that his feelings were “forever ardent and craving; still [it] desired love and fellowship, and [it] was spurned…” (Shelley 211). While the monster recognizes his desire for love, he then contradicts that desire by stating that “[Frankenstein’s] abhorrence cannot equal that with which [it regarded itself]” (Shelley 212). The monster’s growing internal conflict through the novel between his desire to be accepted and his knowledge of being different is what causes him to be a dynamic character.
Character Foils: Victor And The Monster
839 Words | 4 PagesCharacter Foils: Victor and The Monster Often in a literary work, authors use minor characters to emphasize specific traits and characteristics of a main character. In Mary Shelley’s best selling novel Frankenstein, the monster is a minor reflection of Victor Frankenstein. Victor’s personality traits from when he was a child, and as an adult, are carried over and placed into his creation unintentionally by Victor himself.
Weather: The Importance Of Weather In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley
322 Words | 2 PagesIn Frankenstein, on Victor’s way home after being away for six years, a key moment in the novel that weather sets the mood is when “It echoed from Saleve, the Juras, and the Alps of Savoy; vivid flashes of light dazzled my eyes, illuminating the lake making it appear like a vast sheet of fire; then for an instant, everything seemed of pitchy darkness, until the eye recovered from the preceding flash” (Shelley 50). The author, Shelley uses weather to describe the murder of his young brother, William. The weather conditions effect Victor’s mood and convey his emotional feelings of Victor as being scared, sad, or depressed. The imagery in the quote relates to the thunder thus a way to broadcast the murder of his younger brother across the land and
The Role Of Suffering In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
901 Words | 4 PagesThe first major cause of suffering in Victor’s life was when he received a letter from his father and the letter entailed that his youngest brother, William has been murdered by being strangled to death. The Frankenstein family had been taking an evening stroll in Plainpalais and had extended their walk
The Influence Of Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1191 Words | 5 PagesSome may argue that the inclusion of the seasons into Frankenstein only serves to contrast with the unnatural acts that Victor commits and has no relation to his psychological state as the thesis indicates. However, the novel specifically addresses that the protagonist interprets nature as a sentient, maternal-like entity when he comments that “I pursued nature to her hiding places” as he works to create the monster and, in doing so, acknowledges the relationship he has with the natural world (Shelley 38). Thus, the rebirth of nature in the spring season allows Victor to better recover from his mental and physical
Similarities Between Victor And The Monster In Frankenstein
1009 Words | 5 PagesMary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, shows how a character who is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the beginning, can become the monster in the end. Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s captivating novel showed how rival enemies share striking similarities. The similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their dreary isolation from the secluded world. A large difference is that they were both raised in two completely different environments but understood the meaning of isolation. Physical differences are more noticeable rather than their personalities.
The Narrative Voice In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1003 Words | 5 PagesWalton 's letters begin and end Shelley 's work by introducing the character of Frankenstein and also detailing the last moments of his life. While written in first-person like most of the book, his portion takes the form of letters to his sister, which lends itself to a slightly more personal style. In contrast with Frankenstein 's dramatic retelling of his life, Shelley writes Walton in a much lighter tone. Where Frankenstein 's narrative has a dark and dismal feel, Walton 's letters come across exactly as they ought to--as a man setting out on an adventure. These letters offer Shelley a platform from which to introduce the character of Victor Frankenstein.
Character Development In Frankenstein
1921 Words | 8 PagesShelley’s novel encompasses the unknown and how ambition drove Victor’s passions, ultimately leading him to the tragic end with many other bumps in the road along the way. As Victor had been in the study of life and its cause, the death of his mother had catalyzed a movement of grief which had started, “…depriv[ing him]self of rest and health. [Which he] had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation…” (Shelley 35). Even though he knew that he had been raiding graveyards, Victor believed that he created the body with the ‘finest body parts’ available.
The Romantic Movement In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
801 Words | 4 PagesThe weather is positive because Frankenstein's emotions are more positive. Besides, Shelley describes Frankenstein's recovery through his affinity with nature. Although he is nursed by his closest friend, he gains strength from the fresh air and the natural
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