Is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Justified?

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the tale of a mad scientist is told who surpasses the limits of science and what is typically considered to be possible for man to achieve. One of the many underlying stories, though, can be seen in the monster who is created and then brought to life at the beginning of the novel. The monster’s development throughout the novel begins with initially being rejected and neglected by his creator Victor Frankenstein. The monster turns aggressive soon after and seeks revenge on Frankenstein’s family, killing off each one, one at a time. These actions are obviously very unlike that of an average human child, but when you look at his horrendous acts as being in response to negligence by a parental figure,

This much is true for Victor’s failure to take responsibility for not only teaching his creation about life but also failure to take responsibility for the actions of his creation. “Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy… you shall be my first victim” (153). Victor’s knows that he is responsible for the death of William because he abandoned his creation and made the monster learn the hard way that he would not be accepted into society. But he has no choice but to let Justine take the fall for the death of his brother because he fears being seen as a madman.

After successfully creating the monster, Frankenstein is perplexed by what he has created. Due to the monster’s annoyance with Frankenstein, he acts back against Frankenstein mostly due to his lack of parenting and responsibility. Shelley’s novel strongly connects with the act of parenting. It is clear that Victor Frankenstein did not complete his role as a parent. Due to this, it further led the monster to misbehave and feel as if he does not have a purpose in life.

Conversely, when the monster imagines his creator, Victor, he curses “‘his crimes & malice”’ thoughts of hatred and revenge consume him (Shelley 96). This dichotomy highlights the incompetence of Victor as a parent. This helps to reassert that the monster’s “wickedness originates not with his soul but his treatment,” (Ferguson). Victor’s negligence as a parent, a trait caused by his poor upbringing, caused the corruption of his

Throughout the novel, the main character Frankenstein, made many poor decisions that I would consider to be morally wrong and unethical. Frankenstein’s research and discoveries are ethically wrong because he was taking dead bodies from cemeteries, cutting off their limbs, and body parts to create a human like creature. He did not have anyone's consent to do this study causing it to be unethical, and he also should not be able to do this because he is playing the role of god.

The moment Victor Frankenstein successfully infuses life into his creation he is overcome with horror and disgust. Without further examination he is certain to have created a monster, not a human being (Shelley 35-36). However, despite his grotesque appearance, Frankenstein’s creature was not born malicious. During the first stages of his existence, unbeknownst to Frankenstein himself, his acts are motivated by innocence and virtue, which even earns him the title “good spirit” (79). Frankenstein did not create a monster.

Maybe Mary Shelley wants to show that if you take over God's work something bad may happen. Since there are a lot of people who have had a difficult childhood where they didn't feel loved, who didn't become killers, it makes one wonder what makes these people different from this monster? The answer might be that 'natural' people have morals. Their conscience tells them that it's wrong to kill, that's why they don't do it. The monster however wasn't given life by God, but by Frankenstein, so he might lack this part of the creation.

Parents need to love their children and show them right from wrong. Without care from a parent, children may feel lost or lonely like the monster did in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. Shelley analyzes the psychology of parenting through Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the monster, by comparing their behavioral and psychological development as a result of the parenting they receive in their childhood. Because Victor was loved and had a great childhood, he was able to grow as a person, psychologically and emotionally. As though Victor had a good childhood,

Parents are everyone 's first role models. Regardless of biological relation, those who raise us have a profound influence on the way we perceive and interpret life. Parents lay the foundation of our first sense of morality and empathy, and usher us to the path of our development of social skills. No matter how consciously one may attempt to have no resemblance to their parents, it is an inevitability of life that we will harness aspects of their influence and carry them through our lifetime. In Mary Shelley’s, “Frankenstein”, the influence of parental figures is displayed by the morals and values instilled in the monster.

Over the past century, Frankenstein has been analyzed and interpreted in seemingly infinite different forms of literature, film, and television shows. Once solely recognized as the story about a brilliant scientist who creates a creature in whom he regrets making after the creature turns out ugly, Frankenstein now represents an internationally recognized and commercialized pop culture symbol for Halloween decorations and costumes. When analyzing and appreciating the true literary essence behind Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein, one of the most important comparisons to consider remains the underlying influences behind the Creature’s immoral actions and whether or not the blame for these actions belong to Victor or the Creature. When exploring the dichotomy of the Creature versus Victor Frankenstein, one of the biggest and most widely debated questions remains whether Victor should be blamed for the Creature’s destructive actions or if the Creature should be considered guilty for his actions based off of his own free will. Many consider Victor Frankenstein the villain of the story due to his repetitive decisions to abandon and avoid his own “mistake,” the irresponsible choice of creating the monster in the first place, and his obvious negligence of the Creature’s feelings.

Imagine a man walking down the street suddenly getting robbed. The man who is pickpocketed will certainly detest such injustice and gain the sympathy of society. On the other hand, the thief will be looked down by society. People judge the thief based only on this incident and brand him as a disgraceful and spiteful member of the community. What the public has failed to realize are the internal strife and emotions that the perpetrator has to bear due to his crime. If he or she were given the choice to steal or to be robbed, a generous person would choose to be the victim rather than the despised doer. Such a thought did not escape from Nietzsche, who regarded this concept as a folly of injustice: “An injustice we have perpetrated is much harder to bear than an injustice perpetrated against us” (Nietzsche). However, does everyone who perpetrates a crime bear much more than if he

Frankenstein: 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.

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. Firstly, Shelley uses conflict of “human” versus nature to demonstrate the major idea that Victor Frankenstein is responsible for the loss of innocent lives.

Frankenstein : Psychology of Parenting When a child is created and brought into this world, it is the parent’s responsibility to nurture, guide, and teach he/she how to develop and strive socially, mentally, and emotionally in this world. Human beings have to be taught everything. Without someone teaching them right from wrong and how to survive, they could end up feral. It is the parent’s responsibility to teach their child socially and morally to help them survive.

1941 ) makes noteworthy statements in her essay ‘Making a ‘Monster’: An introduction to Frankenstein’. According to her, the entire novel is a consequence of “Victor’s total failure as a parent”. Agreeing to the argument, I would like to point out how the entire novel is based on the relationship of the selfish irresponsible parent-Victor Frankenstein and the abandoned child- The Monster. While Mary Shelley creates a horrific creature to physically contrast it to the entire human race, she provides various character similarities between the creator and the created; this provides a new perspective to view the characters from.