Transhumanism In Frankenstein

Determining who the monster is in the novel Frankenstein is a question that could be based on a variety of levels. There is one character that does embody horror and monstrosity in the novel that shows he is the true monster. Victor Frankenstein is the true monster, because he obtained knowledge that only God should possess, he was not capable with his actions to fulfill this knowledge, and allowed his self-ambition and revenge to control him, leading to his destruction. In chapter two of the novel, Victor has a desire and passion to obtain knowledge.

Guilt can either be an emotion that makes a person feel remorse for his or her’s actions toward another, or can be the conduct involving the executions of such crimes and wrongs. In the novel, “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, both definitions of guilt were the common theme. However, the main problem was whether the creature or the creator, Victor Frankenstein, were guiltier for their actions. The one presumed to be more guilty was Victor Frankenstein who created the monster in the first place causing his family pain and failed to take responsibility for the monster’s actions. Although he didn’t directly kill his family, the monster is guilty too.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s Monster experiences a sense of self-actualization after coming to terms with his “monster” identity. In chapter 13, after Frankenstein’s Monster learns about human history and social norms, he conducted a self-analysis of his current self. He stated, “I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome”. Moreover, when he “looked around, he saw and heard of none like [himself].

However, upon realizing had created an abomination as he finished, he flees, “…now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). After a long and grueling process, Frankenstein regarded the creature as horrid, malicious, heartless, inhuman, and uncouth – simply, a monster. He wanted to create life so bad that it became an obsession for him as he would go to any extreme to reach his goal.

The monster on the other hand had known only loneliness from the second he opened his eyes. The monster learns through painful rejection that he will never find companionship because humans are unable to see past his ghastly appearance and in anger tears away one of Frankenstein’s many companions. This begins the spiral of anger and loneliness that leads to the monster killing nearly everyone Frankenstein is close to. This, inadvertently, forces Frankenstein to have the same feelings of anguish and loneliness that he first instigated in the monster. Frankenstein never realises that all the monster wants is a companion, he cannot see his own emotions reflected in his creation.

An exploration of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the gendered lens of the author’s role as a mother begets an intriguing exploration of the role of the birth and death of offspring in the novel. At its heart, Frankenstein is a family saga; an account of the disjointed relationship between a father and child that proves wicked due to abandonment and neglect, born out of Frankenstein’s fear of the monster’s deathly nature. As argued by Moer, Mary Shelley’s experiences constantly combining birth and death inform Frankenstein as a reflection on post-partum trauma and has further implications as to the destructive nature of Frankenstein’s subsequent fear of childbirth. In “Female Gothic: the Monster’s Mother,” Ellen Moers argues that Frankenstein,

They each show characteristics of being a monster, they are hostile toward others and inspire a sense of dread commonly associated with creatures of evil or those that are not fully human and care little for the nature of that which is good. The perception of what makes a monster is questioned as the more we learn about the scientists the more we question their humanity. Frankenstein takes on the qualities of a mad scientist robbing graves and desecrating corpses, and Nathan drowns himself in alcohol taking out his aggression on those around him. Frankenstein’s creation in novel is able to express compassion and is able to show remorse, caring for things beside himself. Nathan comments about in regards to Ava's brain that it is “Impulse.

And who is it who in fact enjoyed his solitude and seclusion from society? That would be none other than Victor Frankenstein himself. The disturbing reality that Victor is part god and part wild beast for his cruel actions towards his creation displays the evil that comes from a man when he removes himself from society. The Monster partially experiences these effects as well from his unwelcome seclusion from society when he is also slowly pulled back and forth between good and evil. Mary Shelley made no mistake in making this clear through her writing, however.

The Monster is the victim because his creator abandons him, his appearance affects his relationship with the people he meets, and his desire to feel loved. To begin, his creator abandons him. Victor creates Frankenstein, but is afraid of him. “He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed down stairs” (Shelley 44). Victor cannot put up with the sight and deserts him.

To the characters in the book and to those in the world today who do not know the creature’s side of the story, Frankenstein’s creature is seen as the monster. However, he never commits any act worthy of the label. He is considered a monster, simply because he is “ugly.” As soon as the creature is brought to life, Victor, his creator, notices that the creature is not visually appealing and is extremely

As technology advances, the lives of many people are getting better. This is portrayed by in, “Dr. D” a nonfiction article by Lauren Slater, which is about the works and dreams of a plastic surgeon who reasons that putting wings on a human can be the next big thing. Another nonfiction article, “Replaceable You” by Smithsonian Magazines, talks about the production of the bionic limbs and organs, and how they helped many people feel like they don’t have a disability or lack of something which someone has. Frankenstein, on the other hand, is a fictional story crafted by Mary Shelley which portrays a man who creates a monster from the dead to try to destroy death, but instead creates more deaths because of his ignorance. Technology designed for

This is reinforced by the rhetorical question that serves to convince Walton that the Monster hated having to turn to violence. In both situations, a friendly and accepting hand could have led both monsters to happiness and kindness, but the lack thereof sparked the violence. Grendel and the Monster from their respective works, Gardner’s Grendel and Shelley’s Frankenstein, find themselves with no companionship, nobody to share in their joys or sorrows, which leads to violence being taken out on those who rejected them; if those victims had initially accepted and loved Grendel and the Monster, this would not have

Once he completes it he then rips it apart so the monstrosity will not spread. This causes the monster to be lonely, and become angry. When Dr. Frankenstein creates life from a monstrosity of parts he abandons it in disgust that he had the nerve to give an inanimate object life.

They decided they would all try to write their own horror story which is when Mary started writing her famous novel, Frankenstein (Frankenstein, front page). Later on during that same year, Mary’s half-sister, Fanny, had committed suicide. Then Percy’s wife also committed suicide. Which meant Mary and Percy could get married, in December of 1816 (Frankenstein, front page).

What makes the creature in Frankenstein a monster is that he is both a scientific creation and his physical features and his actions of murder deviate from society’s expectations. Throughout the novel Frankenstein’s creation is never given a real name. Instead, society names the creature by his physical features. In the novel he is called; a “demoniacal corpse, wretch, daemon, devil, monster, ogre, the being and creature” (36, 68, 102, 164, 165). Besides not having a name, Frankenstein’s creature is also described using the terms deformity and monster.