Summary Of Frankenstein 'By Dani Lelinski's The Mad Scientist'

The Mad Scientist

By

Dani Lelinski

Although the book “Frankenstein” is a work of fiction, it presents the reader with many moral dilemmas. Mary Shelley’s main character, Victor Frankenstein, is most often presented with these ethical choices and, more often than not, fails miserably. Victor makes a living creature out of body parts and is soon horrified with the results. He abandons his creation, which, in turn, causes a series of disastrous events that lead him to make even more unprincipled decisions. Victor shies away from his responsibility and his unethical actions throughout the novel. From the beginning to the end of this classic piece of work, Victor Frankenstein’s actions can be proven to be fundamental examples of unethical behavior.

Victor studied anatomy and became fascinated with the thought of making life from the dead. Soon, he put a plan into action and began his endeavor to fulfill his fantasy. He “dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave, [and] tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay.” (p. 48-49) This is evidence of Victor’s early immoral judgments as he tortured animals and stole from graves in order to create life from cadavers. After almost 2 years of research and development, Victor finished his work and finally, “beheld the accomplishment of [his] toils,” when he “saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open.” (p. 51) Victor was using his knowledge of science to play God and resurrect the lifeless, which was something only an all-powerful entity should do. After Victor created and soon abandoned the monster, “six years had elapsed,” (p. 70) and during those many years, Victor had no contact with the creature. He deserted his responsibility and commitment, a potentially dangerous monster that he constructed because, “breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart.” (p. 51) Even after all this time passed, Victor still did not learn from his mistakes and continued to make appalling