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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Psychology Of Parenting

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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. Mary Shelley uses her novel Frankenstein to analyze the idea of parenting. She compares the two main character's, Victor Frankenstein and his creature, social, mental, and emotional development throughout their childhood. Victor Frankenstein was raised in what he described as …show more content…

“ Children who are good at self-control grow up to be morally mature adults” and when they “can control their impulses [they] are more likely to be intelligent, self-confident, happy, and socially skilled” (Barber 24). Victor was able to develop the kind of self-control that he needed to grow up happy, self- confident, intelligent, and to be a socially skilled adult. His ability to form self-control allowed him to venture out and be able to achieve his “desire to learn” (Shelley). Victory had enough self- discipline to go off to school to learn all that he desired “whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied [him], still [his] inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world” (Shelley). However unlike Victor, the creature never developed the ability of self-control. He was able to develop the intelligent aspect by listening and learning from the De Lacey family, but he did not know how to control his anger against mankind when they lashed out violently towards him. Trying to save a little girl from drowning, her father thought the creature was trying to harm her, and shot the creature. This caused the creature great pain and “[he] vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind”(Shelley). The creature thought if “I am miserable” why shouldn't “[mankind]... share my wretchedness” (Shelley). When he wanted Victor to make him a female companion, and Victor denied him his one request his anger overcame him and he told Victor “not only you and your family, but thousands of others, shall be swallowed up in the whirlwinds of [my] rage” (Shelley). Soon the creature's anger grew until he became the murder everyone

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