Good And Evil In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
All literature has an underlying message of a constant battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is no different. The forces of supposed good and evil come to clash with the persistent battle between Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. This conflict between the two forces can be seen to represent the forces of God and Lucifer (or the Devil), as both the literary and religious characters share a number of characteristics. Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein uses symbolism and allusions to portray Dr. Frankenstein and the monster as God and the Devil, leading to their constant battle between good and evil.
The historical context of the novel helps to develop the characters and their personalities. Frankenstein,
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The characterization of the monster shows that the creator of the monster wants to, “transform society in an image of his own determination,” (Batchelor). This is the same situation as in the Bible, where God wishes to create a man of his image, and thus creates Adam. Just as Adam was not a perfect representative of what God had wished to create, the monster is not a perfect resemblance of the image that Frankenstein wished to create. Allusions to Greek mythology help to develop the idea of good versus evil, such as, “The same Prometheus who is taken as an analogue of the crucified Christ is regarded also as a type of Lucifer, a son of light justly cash out by an offended heaven,” (Bloom). The Prometheus, being Frankenstein, also can be interpreted to be the monster, separating the Christ and Lucifer in his character. When looking at all of the actions that the monster takes, he seems more human, in a combination of good and evil. The entire novel is built off of enhanced sympathy, which “produces the novel’s carefully-structured pattern of three narrative levels framed by Walton’s epistolary voice,” (Britton). The sympathy helps to show the blending of good and evil, similar to yin and yang, with a small amount of each in the other. The conflict between good and evil in the novel can be seen not just in the actual conflict between Frankenstein and the monster, but within the character’s personalities
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