In her novel Mary Shelley explores the central ideas of rejection and abandonment, human nature, good and evil and revenge to support the conviction of Frankenstein’s responsibility in the novel and Frankenstein is a reflection of this. Shelley shows through positioning of characters within the stories that good and evil is not clear-cut and there are many moral grey areas. The readers are positioned to feel sympathy for the creature, especially since his yearnings for human contact could easily be their own. Which makes it all the more frightening when Victor and others treat him in such vile ways. Shelley uses the novel to explore human nature, Frankenstein wants the readers to see the creature as a monster however they don’t. Frankenstein
Frankenstein let this situation slip through his fingers, and because of it many people he loved died. Even the act of creating the monster is questionable as whether it’s good or bad. But that’s a different discussion. Frankenstein’s drive to kill the monster and enact his revenge caused the monster to kill more and more. In a way, the monster was Frankenstein’s medium for murder, considering that Frankenstein’s actions result in death. In a simplified way of thinking, Frankenstein murdered all of the monster’s victims. He created the monster, he planted the seeds of hate, and he motivated the monster. This is why Frankenstein is the villain, it’s his naive stupidness that indirectly causes death and
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” (Mary Shelley Quotes). Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein in 1818. The novel includes many interesting events. By her choice of words readers are hooked to think Victor is the antagonist. Victor creates the Creature, but there are many situations throughout the novel where the Monster displays as the victim. He seeks love from different people, but everyone treats him bad. His anger towards his father drives him to kill Victor’s family. The Monster later feels devastated for the murders he commits. All the monster wants is love. The Monster is the victim because his creator abandons him, his appearance affects his relationship with the people he meets, and his desire to feel loved.
The fictional horror novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is driven by the accentuation of humanity’s flaws. Even at the very mention of her work an archetypal monster fills one’s imagination, coupled with visions of a crazed scientist to boot. Opening her novel with Robert Walton, the conduit of the story, he also serves as a character to parallel the protagonist’s in many ways. As the ‘protagonist’ of the story, Victor Frankenstein, takes on the mantle of the deluded scientist, his nameless creation becomes the embodiment of a truly abandoned child – one left to fend for itself against the harsh reality posed by society. On the other hand, Walton also serves as a foil to Victor – he is not compulsive enough to risk what would be almost
“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.
The monster is directly responsible for killing all those people, he committed those crimes. Frankenstein however, created the monster and is indirectly responsible for the murders his creation committed. While reading the story, you realise, that the creature is actually good at heart. It's the way that he is treated which makes him a monster. He was never loved by his creator, and was feared and despised by everyone who met him. If only one person had loved him, he wouldn't have killed all those people. If you look at it this way, you'll come to the conclusion that Frankenstein and the other people that met him were to blame for the monster's
Frankenstein’s creature places himself in a submissive position when he begs his creator to have mercy on him and asking the creator to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.” The monster continues by reassuring the creator of his independent intelligence and power over the creature by telling Frankenstein, “This you alone can do”. Here, the creature assumes a role of submissiveness and reliance on Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster gains the sympathy of the reader who, despite condemning the murder of innocent people, commiserate with the lonely creature who is in search of an acquaintance, which he will likely never find. The monster also displays power and aggressiveness over Frankenstein; “You are my creator; but I am your master; obey!” The monster wants to desolate Victor’s heart, not by killing him directly,
Sacrificing. Suffering. Despising. The novel Frankenstein by Marie Shelly tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a grotesque creature in an experiment trying to invent life of his own. Victor regrets his action so turns the creature lose to the world and closes himself in his abysm of thoughts. The creature toughly discovers the world on his own and declares war on humanity. Frankenstein’s act as God conducts his life and his creation’s into a series of terrific events. As the novel progresses, Victor and his monster vie for the role or protagonist. At simple site, readers think the monster and Victor are two completely different people, but in fact they share the same desires. The creature ironically becomes Victor’s doppelganger by both wanting affection, their miseries and hate for each other.
Have you ever been held responsible for the tragedies caused to others? For most the answer is no, however, for some, their actions have led to the misfortune of guiltless lives. In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, because of the absence of attention and teaching, the reanimated creation Frankenstein is unstable; Victor Frankenstein is who to blame. Two events that he should be accountable for are not training his creation to know right from wrong and abounding the monster which led to the murder of innocent people.
“Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother? No sooner did that idea cross my imagination, than I became convinced of its truth;”(Chapter 7 pg 59). At this moment, Victor Frankenstein realizes that his creation is responsible for the death of his little brother, William. However, even with this information, he fails to speak up and save Justine from execution. He stands idly by when Justine offers a false confession for she fears she will go to Hell if she does not. Due to this, Victor Frankenstein can be seen as a villain in Mary Shelley’s text,
Mary Shelley shows the endless amount of revenge and that it is driven by pure hatred and rage. The monster was not created to be vengeful, he was kind hearted but when he was poorly treated by Victor and then by the Delacey family, he turned cold. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley displays the immorality and destructive effects that revenge can have through Frankenstein and his pursuit of the creature.
Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley goes in depth to the theme of the relationship between the Creature and the Creator. Categorized as a gothic novel. Victor Frankenstein develops an interest in science after reading about the "wild fancies" of several noted alchemists who live hundreds of years before him. He maintains driven by ambition and scientific curiosity. His quest for absolute knowledge and power will eventually end his own ruin. Frankenstein created a Creature that later resented him for his creation. The unnamed Creature believes that Frankenstein should have to pay for the damage he has done. The Creature and Frankenstein develop a contrasting relationship throughout the novel and end in somewhat compassionate relationship.
When Frankenstein's creature kills William, Frankenstein's youngest sibling, a new feeling filled within within Victor Frankenstein and that feeling was revenge as mentioned in the next quote. Realizing his feelings Frankenstein says, "When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation" (V.2,1,95). The feeling of revenge which helped destroy his life more was not put on him by a higher force. It was his own free will that caused the feelings of hatred and made him seek revenge. When Frankenstein decides to rip apart his creature's partner in the middle of making her because he wanted to hurt the monster caused the creature to later on kill Elizabeth, Frankenstein's bride, which impacted his life greatly. However, Frankenstein would blame destiny and the creature for the actions that occurred instead of realizing he was partly responsible. By not taking responsibility for his actions and learning from his mistakes, Frankenstein makes things worse for
The creature is technically responsible for the murders; example would be killing Victor’s brother William in chapter 8 of book 2. It states, “Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy—to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim (Chapter 16).” Some of the blame could also shift to the cottagers that kicked it out of the cottage just because of it’s looks which angered it enough to question his existence and make him want to kill Victor. The creature did develop more throughout the story, which made him mature enough to sort of regret making Victor’s life horrible as it states when Walton was continuing, “he cried, with sad and solemn enthusiasm, "I shall die, and
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein follows the story of a scientist and his experiment gone wrong. Victor Frankenstein, the scientist, abandons his creature at the first sight of it coming to life. The monster, left alone and afraid, transforms from a warm, loving character to one that seeks revenge as the toils of nature and reality begin to take control. Their title changes of “master” and “subordinate” are often referenced in Frankenstein, and plays off the feelings of vengeance they have for each other. Shelley has built the novel around this relationship in a way that captures not only the audience’s attention but also the character’s feelings of regret and hatred as the consequences of exceeding these moral boundaries come to haunt them in the decisions they make and influence the people around them. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein uses the conflict between Victor and the creature, specifically their predatory relationship in their pursuit of revenge, to emphasize how revenge will consistently push or even exceed moral boundaries.