The Wretch In Frankenstein
“It’s alive! It’s alive!” When people think of Frankenstein, they usually jump immediately to the scene of creation and think of two things: 1) a big green monster with bolts screwed into his head and 2) Dr. Frankenstein’s exaltation and genuine excitement over creating his perfect masterpiece. However, in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the “infamous” scene of creation appears in only one paragraph and Frankenstein feels something more akin to anguish rather than joy. In this way, Mary Shelley exemplifies how creation is actually an act of suffering. In “Creation and the other,” David Attridge utilizes the term idioculture to describe the “embodiment in a single individual of widespread cultural norms and modes of behavior” (Attridge 21). …show more content…
It begins with how Frankenstein and the Wretch are interconnected. Throughout the novel, Shelley paints Frankenstein and his monster as doubles of each other. A concrete way of seeing the connection between Frankenstein and the wretch is their shared interest in creation. The wretch becomes interested in the production and creation of language. In fact, Frankenstein’s god complex appears in the wretch when the wretch refers to speech as “a godlike science, and I [the wretch] ardently desired to become acquainted with it” (Shelley #). In Attridge’s essay, he opines “I am in a way other to myself” (Attridge 25); therefore, it is possible to view the Wretch as the shadow of Frankenstein or the suffering inside of Frankenstein. Towards the end of the novel, Walton rebukes the Wretch for killing Frankenstein, which causes the Wretch to implore “Do you think that I was then dead to agony and remorse?” The Wretch isn’t “other” to the rest of humanity; he shares Frankenstein’s same feelings of regret for his …show more content…
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley utilizes her protagonist’s agony over his “failed” creation––what Attridge would call the “act” of creation–– and the suffering he engenders in his creation through the rejection of it––what Attridge would call the “event” of creation––to illuminate how the creation derived from suffering arises not from the failure to create something beautiful, but from our recognition of our own ugliness, our own shadow, our own suffering in what we
Secular And Spiritual Growth In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
284 Words | 2 PagesThroughout Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the knowledge of an existing creator has damaging effects on the creature as he tries to resolve what he views of himself while also having an enraging desire for approval and acceptance from his godlike creator. It is evident throughout the text that Shelley, a woman that did not adhere to the religious practices of her time, compares the development of humans through the contrasting of secular and religious connections. In the novel’s end, through the character of Victor Frankenstein, Shelley makes the conclusion that both a moral and spiritual growth is best achieved through detachment from strict belief practices, which eliminates God and moves toward reaching self-perception. Victor Frankenstein’s
Why Does Mary Shelley Use Of Personification In Frankenstein
656 Words | 3 PagesFrankenstein 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.
Examples Of Imagery In Frankenstein
177 Words | 1 PagesDreanna 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
Victor Frankenstein Responsibility Quotes
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Annotated Bibliography On Frankenstein
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Frankenstein And Belonging Quotes
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How To Control Nature In Frankenstein
1467 Words | 6 PagesAs Frankenstein becomes obsessed with changing ‘life to death, and death to life’ his fascination with undoing the greater force at work is revealed, and showing his dominion to command nature to his own will corrupts his very being. He becomes no longer aware that man is the creation not the creator, and by becoming the other it will destroy any resemblance of what is left of our humanity and what
Social Belonging In Frankenstein
987 Words | 4 PagesFrankenstein’s creature initially shows no signs of ill will or malice when first encountering human beings (Shelley 72-73). On the contrary, through careful observation he is able to learn more about human society and personal relationships. He begins to admire the close connection between the people he observes and respects their virtue. This, however, makes him realise what he is missing. Observing the love and affection between others only increases the effect his own solitude has on him.
Duality Of Human Nature In Frankenstein
819 Words | 4 PagesDuality is shown in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, a gothic tale of a scientist whom looks to advance the life-giving qualities of mother nature. Through this novel, Shelley proves that good and evil in human nature is not always simple to define, and that everyone has both of these qualities within them. The duality of human nature is shown through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, who are both heroes in the novel while simultaneously displaying anti-hero qualities. Shelley forces the reader to sympathize with them both but also creates gruesome ideas of the two. Frankenstein’s creature places himself in a submissive position when he begs his creator to have mercy on him and asking the creator to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.”
Frankenstein Dehumanization Analysis
1068 Words | 5 PagesSticks and strangling will break bones, but words will leave irreparable emotional scars. In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s epistolary novel, Frankenstein, the estranged Victor Frankenstein deprives his re-animated ‘creature’ of a name. The cruel manner Victor treats his “Adam” (Shelley 119) by withholding a name pushes the Creature further away from the belonging he so desperately seeks (148). As atrocities occur at the ashen hands of the Creature, names like “monster”(118) and “wretched devil”(118) bombard him from those he would seek refuge with . Nameless, the Creature is dehumanized and consequences of a negative perception, internally and from society, persist.
The Monster's Alienation In Frankenstein
782 Words | 4 PagesIn 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.
Character Development In Frankenstein
1921 Words | 8 PagesThe 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
Similarities Between Frankenstein And Prometheus
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Nature And Romanticism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
758 Words | 4 Pages(Shelly 42, 43) Here, the effects of his continued pursuit of knowledge and neglect of well-being is shown evidently. Once Frankenstein creates the monster, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge is frightened into silence. He then presently returns to the outside world,
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Hero Or Villain
827 Words | 4 PagesVictor Frankenstein worked for two long years to create life from a lifeless form, which, before obtaining life, he believed to be beautiful. However, once he saw the monster's eyes open, he began to see the hideousness of the monster. After this, he fled his operating room and paced wildly in his bedroom, trying to think of what to do. “For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”(Chapter 5 pg 42).
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