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Parent Child Relationships In Frankenstein

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“Love is a flower that should never cease to grow. Nurture it, and it will outlive you. Neglect it, and it will wilt away and die” (Suzy). Just as Suzy Hassem states, in order for a flower to be healthy and happy, the parent must nurture it by meeting all its requirements to survive. Otherwise it will shrivel up and die. This is a parallel to the importance of a child and parent relationship. The child needs to be both physically and emotionally encouraged by a parent figure in order to successfully grow up. The lack of this is evident in the relationship between Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein and his monster. Frankenstein, the parent in this relationship, does not supply the monster, the child, with the needed nurturing that he receives …show more content…

When the monster sets out on his journey in a brand new world to him, all he is trying to do is find someone to be his friend and help him. His intentions are clearly displayed when it comes to his time in the hobble at the DeLacey’s cottage. This is his first experience with any displays of nurturing, and it “becomes a model” for him (Themes). He goes from stealing food from the DeLacy’s to bringing “wood to the cottage every day” out of sympathy for the poor family (Magill 2421). As Gale states, the creature “begins to return their love in ways the family cannot even comprehend” as he grows in his desire for friendship (Themes). It is apparent that the lack of nurturing is what drives him to bestow care onto others because he believes that by doing this people will see past his appearance and focus on his heart. From the beginning, the monster is shunned solely on his appearance, so this is what the monster feels is wrong with him. Unfortunately with every attempt he made for a friend, he was met “with such fear and fury that his heart became bitter toward all the people” (Magill 2421). No matter how much care and love the monster gives, he only ever receives the opposite, and this takes a heavy toll on

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