Internal Conflict In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Internal Conflict in Frankenstein

Frankenstein. A name that is known around the world. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, wrote this classic in 1818 when she was 19 years old. Mary Shelley did not anticipate that her book would grow to be this well known. Though she did plan how the book’s motifs and themes would be significant, including internal conflict. The internal conflict in Frankenstein creates interest because it evokes emotion from the reader, causes character motivation, and displays dynamic characters.

Victor Frankenstein’s internal conflict evokes emotion and creates interest in the novel. Victor Frankenstein debating his fate makes the reader sympathize with him and feel his emotions. The reader can picture their facial

An example of this is when the monster leaves the De Lacey house and starts to question “why did [it] live? Why, in that instant, did [it] not extinguish the spark of existence which [Victor Frankenstein] had so wantonly bestowed?” (Shelley 125). This self-hatred and existential crisis then cause the monster to have violent thoughts. Such as when he stated that he “could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery” (Shelley 125). The monster then later acts upon these violent thoughts when he happily “lighted the dry branch of a tree and danced with fury around the devoted cottage” (Shelley 126). Character’s internal conflict is reflected in their actions because their internal conflict acts as motivation for their reaction. The internal conflict that the characters are going through interests the reader because now they are able to enjoy the story more since they now understand the character’s

Moments, 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. He goes through such a dramatic change in desires from one end of the book to another it’s almost as if he’s a different person. This is interesting to the reader because they can recognize and compare the monster’s personality at different times in the