Parental Themes In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley was the wife of Percy Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, and the mother of four children. Mary Shelley had an awful childhood, and relationship with her father, and that was portrayed vividly in her novel, however the underlying theme few readers pick up is the parental themes in Frankenstein. Can a mother love their child regardless of deformity, or defects? Victor, and his father play the prominent parental roles in “Frankenstein”. Victor wants to abandon his creation who, according to John Locke, has a “Blank Slate” if Locke's theory holds true the creation, or monster is innocent, and needs guidance from a parental figure. According to Woodbridge, “The story expresses Mary’s deepest fears; what of my child is born deformed? Could I still love it or would I wish it were dead? What if I can’t love my child? Am I capable of raising a healthy, normal child? Will

Part of Victor’s bad parenting comes from Shelley's father. According to Encyclopedia of World Biography “Mary's home life improved little when four years later her father married his next-door neighbor, Mary Jane Clairmont, who already had two children of her own. The new Mrs. Godwin favored her own children over the daughters of the celebrated Wollstonecraft, and Mary was often alone and unhappy”. The monster needed moral guidance but received none from his creator. He ended up having society “nurture” him. The monster became lost in morals, not knowing what he should do. Shelley had a lack of guidance from her father as well. Her mother died during childbirth, however Shelley still found a way to connect with her mother through her writings. Shelley is able to relate to the monster in his aspect, being the abandoned child. Shelley wrote the monster to understand that he is a child who was, neglected, and hated by his creator Victor. Victor was parallel to Shelley’s father neglecting their