ipl-logo

The Role Of The Supernatural In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

618 Words3 Pages

Mary Shelley’s notorious novel, Frankenstein, is published in 1818. Famous for its gothic elements, this novel explores what happens when a young scientist is overcome with a desire for scientific knowledge. This doctor, Victor Frankenstein, brings life to an inanimate collection of bones and flesh, but his own work terrifies him. Victor abandons his monster, which causes the monster to seek revenge against his creator. Moreover, supernatural forces are a common characteristic valued in Gothic tales, and Shelley’s novel is no exception. Victor’s creation is the most obvious example of supernatural in this story, but the creation itself is very complex. Furthermore, three examples of the supernatural force concerning Victor’s creation include its existence, its physicality, and its mind. One supernatural factor of Victor’s creation is certainly its existence. Scientifically, this creation is impossible, for its body consists of random body parts of the dead conjoined together. The novel states Victor collects bones and flesh from charnel houses, dissecting rooms, and slaughter houses, and he disturbs the secrets of the human body. In the time of the setting, the medical knowledge is very poor. Many aspects of medicine are ignored in creating …show more content…

It stands at eight feet tall with pale yellow skin that is stretched tightly against its muscles. It has black hair and pearly white teeth hidden behind dark lips. Aside from its disturbing appearance, the creature’s physical abilities are certainly extraordinary. It is incredibly strong, and it has exceptional endurance. It needs very little to eat in order to sustain life or maintain its strength. Accordingly, it is very adaptable to its conditions; for example, it is unaffected by the cold climate of the Arctic. The creation’s physicality is nonetheless incredible and unnatural, leading readers to believe he is certainly a creation of the

Show More
Related

  • Victor Frankenstein Human

    934 Words  | 4 Pages

    Victor didn't create a monster he created a human because he has the emotions of a human. The creature had felt a warm feeling before. When he was in the wood he

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Persuasive Essay

    422 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, on page 38, it shows how the creature was created from body parts and organs from other human beings. That may be so, but it is important to consider that the creature was made from human parts and organs. Hence, both the creature and humans have the exact same parts. Although Victor’s creation may not look like a human on the outside, it has the same organ and skeletal structure as a human. For instance, on page 39 it shows the creature’s full skeletal body and major organs, before it was created.

    Read More

  • The Force Of Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    762 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the entirety of the novel, nature is presented in a way that allows the characters to be restored and reach a more peaceful state of mind. Using the common style of nature being presented as a maternal presence, Shelley is able to use nature as an external force throughout the novel. One of the vital ways Shelley illustrates nature as an external character is by her use of seasons affecting specific characters in certain ways. Victor

    Read More

  • Creature's Fall From Grace In Frankenstein

    397 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Creature tries to be happy and gives a valiant effort to assimilate into civilization. However, his appearance does not allow

    Read More

  • Why Does Mary Shelley Use Of Personification In Frankenstein

    656 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that tells the story of scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his obsession with creating human life. This leads him to creating a gruesome monster made of body-parts stolen from grave yards, whom upon discovering his hideousness, the monster seeks revenge against his creator, causing Victor to regret the creation of his monster for the rest of his life. Shelley uses the literary elements of personification, imagery, and similes to give a vivid sense and visualization of Victor Frankenstein’s thoughts and feelings as well as to allow us to delve deeper into the monster’s actions and emotions. Throughout the novel, Shelley uses personification of various forces and objects to reflect the effect in Victor’s actions.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: From Benevolent To Feind

    1246 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Imagery In Frankenstein

    177 Words  | 1 Pages

    Dreanna Hypes Lit comp per 7 Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, tells the horrific story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist devoured by ambition, seeks to revive life to the deceased. Thus, a horrific monster is created. Terrified of its unsightly stature, Dr Frankenstein flees his creation, neglecting it severely a result, the monster. Lonely and depressed, seeks revenge on his creator, killing several members of his family and his closest friend. Throughout shelley uses imagery and toner to amplify the horror

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Victor's Imagination In Frankenstein

    974 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, each time Victor faces the monster he created he becomes very ill and passes out and then falls into a sickness for months. When he wakes from these illnesses his creation is gone and has “traveled somewhere else”, or Victor’s just hallucinating at certain times which is when the creation disappears. This theory makes sense due to the fact that in the book the creature travels to the mountains by foot very easily and travels around various places. Any human wouldn’t be able to travel through the mountains in those conditions with the minimal clothes and food that he had. According to “How Humans Deal With and Survive Extreme Cold” ,by Paul Ward, in the cold with no protection and with the condition Victor’s creation was already in his cells should’ve died due to the blood flow loss and should’ve resulted in at least severe frostbite.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Pursuit Of Knowledge

    1420 Words  | 6 Pages

    ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1191 Words  | 5 Pages

    Numerous research has concluded that several emotional bonds exist between humanity and nature that can impact everything from attitude to anxiety. Novels of the romanticism period, a significant literary era that encompassed most European works written in the early 1800’s, are most known for describing the impacts that nature has on people and implying that unexpected consequences can arise out of this relationship; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of such a novel. The prime conflict of this 1818 science-fiction story occurs between the titular character, Victor Frankenstein, and a monster he creates through his own scientific innovations. Because of Victor’s abandonment of the monster, it becomes intent on destroying the scientist’s

    Read More

  • Innovative Literary Techniques In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    Written during the ninteenth century, the gothic Frankensteinnovel by Marry Shelly, tells the story of a young educated student Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque but fantastic creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment, which leads to different tragic events. Shelly writes about the creation of the creature and how he is first introduce to his livelihood and this world. In this novel Shelly uses different types of literary techniques to convey the expression of the creature as a baby just learning about life and the world, and by employing innovative literary techniques such as imagery, setting, theme, and characterization, she creates a feeling of sympathy on the readers. This feeling is created through Shelly establishment of pity on the readers by reavealing the creature’s loathsome creation, habitat, or even existence.

    Read More

  • The Monster's Alienation In Frankenstein

    782 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel Frankenstein,by Mary Shelley, the mysterious and unnatural origins of the character of Frankenstein’s monster are an important element. The Monster, having been created unethically and haphazardly, is at odds throughout the novel, resulting in his alienation from society and prolonged feelings of anger, desertion, and loneliness. Shaping his character, his relationships with other characters, and the meaning of the work as a whole, the Monster’s origins are what define him. The Monster faces rejection and violence every time he attempts to make contact with the new, foreign world he has been thrust into.

    Read More

  • Character Development In Frankenstein

    1921 Words  | 8 Pages

    The fictional horror novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is driven by the accentuation of humanity’s flaws. Even at the very mention of her work an archetypal monster fills one’s imagination, coupled with visions of a crazed scientist to boot. Opening her novel with Robert Walton, the conduit of the story, he also serves as a character to parallel the protagonist’s in many ways. As the ‘protagonist’ of the story, Victor Frankenstein, takes on the mantle of the deluded scientist, his nameless creation becomes the embodiment of a truly abandoned child – one left to fend for itself against the harsh reality posed by society. On the other hand, Walton also serves as a foil to Victor – he is not compulsive enough to risk what would be almost

    Read More

  • Nature And Romanticism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    758 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen in the novel. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.

    Read More

  • The Role Of The Real Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    858 Words  | 4 Pages

    Victor was a lonely guy and all he wanted was a friend so he took science to the extreme. All throughout Mary Shelley's novel she tells a story about how Victor the creator is clearly the real monster and his creation is the victim. Victor

    Read More

More about The Role Of The Supernatural In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Open Document