Ambition : The Soul Of Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein’s moral ambiguity lies in good intentions with bad results. Victor evolves from an intellectually curious, innocent and blameless man to being remorseful, secluded and obsessed with the

The idea of pursuing knowledge clouded Victor’s mind and when his creature is born he is shocked to discover that what he has created is far off his own expectations. Not only did the monster destroy his expectations of developing a creature that went beyond human knowledge, but it also affected his life, dignity, and fears. Victor himself admits to his own mistake when he says, “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless honor and disgust filled my heart ” (36). Victor Frankenstein realizes what his obsession with pursuing an extensive amount of knowledge has brought him. His destiny to achieve the impossible with no regard for anyone or anything but himself shows that he is blinded by knowledge when creating the monster and is incapable to foresee the outcome of his creation. Victor’s goal was meant to improve and help humanity, but instead it leads to

Throughout the first couple chapters of Shelley’s novel, Victor Frankenstein describes his upbringing, including a description of his parents’ relationship, how Elizabeth, the woman he would later marry, came into his life, and even the start of his friendship with Henry Clerval, the man he would later share his experiments with. In chapter two, on page 36, Victor explains that “no human could have passed a happier childhood than myself,” however, his temper and behavior was sometimes violent and negative. Victor, even as a young child, had taken on a great passion for learning things that required a vast knowledge in the subjects of heaven and earth. This growing passion for acquiring knowledge far beyond most people’s comprehension level, later turned into a burning desire to create life itself. This desire would be

“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Shelley 60). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she expresses her beliefs regarding the danger of pursuing happiness through the attainment of knowledge, because true happiness is found in the emotional connections established between people. The pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily an evil thing, but it can cause destruction when it is pursued beyond natural limits. Victor Frankenstein becomes a slave to his passion for learning in more than one way; first his life is controlled by

In Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, ‘Frankenstein’, a recurring motif of ambition and the quest for knowledge is present among the characters of Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. Victor’s obsessive ambition is his fatal flaw, ruining his life and leading to the murder of his loved ones and eventually his own death. Robert Walton shares a similar ambition

Victor Frankenstein was obsessed with knowledge, and thought knowledge was the key to unlocking nature and become a pioneer in science and challenging God. “I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature” (Shelley, Frankenstein, 21). Victor always had to push boundaries, and his passion drove him closer to science and immorality and farther from his family and friends. Once Victor sees his abomination animated, his potential come alive, he wishes for nothing more than if it had never happened. He moves on to a new obsession – fleeing his past. It consumes him and his health.

Throughout Frankenstein, Victor proves to be quite an egotistical person. Victor’s actions will sometimes be selfish and not as noble as he would like others to believe. He creates the monster with a desire to obtain awe and fame and to make sure that his name will be remembered throughout history. “… a light so brilliant and wondrous… that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (Shelley 37). While this discovery of Victor’s may be groundbreaking, he fails to think of the negative consequences, only thinking of himself and what this could potentially

Mary Shelley, the renowned author of Frankenstein, explores the consequences of man and monster chasing ambition blindly. Victor Frankenstein discovered the secret that allowed him to create life. His understanding of how bodies operated and the science of human anatomy enabled him to make this discovery and apply it to the creation of his monster. Walton wished to sail to the arctic because no sailor has ever reached it. The monster was created against his will, his ambition was to avenge his creation as a hideous outcast. These three characters were all driven by the same blind ambition.

Within the book, Dr. Victor Frankenstein expresses the way in which knowledge has blessed him in the beginning of the story but in turn ends up resulting in his downfall.

Victor Frankenstein was a major figure in the novel with a burning desire to learn. “I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour… My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement” (Pg55). His discovery of the obscure secret to create life caused him to become absorbed in his experiment. Ambition had consumed him and the only thing keeping him alive was his passion and "blindness" to what he will produce in the end. "I had deprived myself of rest and health…but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." However this ambition eventually led to the demise of Victor Frankenstein. Fuelled by the hatred he had for the creature after the death of his loved ones, his ambition was to kill the creature. “I vow vengeance…I devote thee, miserable wretch, to torture and death. Never will I give up my search until he or I perish…” Victor failed to liberate himself from his blinding ambitions, and repent was noticeable in his last words "Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and

The question “What makes us who we are?” has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born “good”, “evil”, and as “blank slates”, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in “good” homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something

“We make our own monsters, then fear them for what they show us about ourselves.” (Mike Carey). As we mature, we tend to make some mistakes. They help us learn from them and grow to our full potential. In the novel Frankenstein, the main character, Victor, is obsessed with learning how things work. He becomes passionate of galvanism; a procedure where electricity is used in order to create a chemical reaction. In Victor’s case, he goes to study at the university of Ingolstadt where he used this procedure in order to create life from cadavers parts. This leads him through a loop of mistakes, never learning from them and leading him to become a monster. His passion becomes his obsession,and he slowly drifts away from his family. The night he

Ambition is the foundation of success, it drives people to strive for something better, gives them the dedication to improve themselves and their circumstances. Mary Shelley’s character Victor Frankenstein in “Frankenstein” started off as a very ambitious kid yearning for knowledge. However, the line between ambition, obsession, and pride is oftentimes blurred as Victor’s was. Once ambition turns into obsession and pride, it can be a downwards spiral that leads to misfortune and isolation.

Victor could not liberate himself from his blinding ambitions, he made it seem that all men, and notably those who pursue to raise themselves up in renown above the rest of society and even god, are in fact impetuous and "imperfect creatures" with "feeble and defective natures." We can all learn from Victor's last words to Walton, "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries." (P. 162) Shelley must have written the novel with at least a slight intention of teaching readers the importance of abstaining from obsession. She would picture the obsessive ambition and determination, in short, the id, the unstoppable force. The superego, whether

Development comes with unavoidable consequences; convenient transportation like cars bring pollution, and technology like smartphones bring disconnection with the real world. However, the consequences displayed through the experiences of Victor Frankenstein and Prometheus, prove to be the direct result an excessive amount of ambition. Through Victor’s character, Mary Shelley paints the picture of a “Modern Prometheus”, whose story displays the negative effects of development due to his extreme ambition. The creation of the creature in Frankenstein occurs due to the combination of Victor’s interest in science and his desire for domination, since he believes that “a new species would bless [him] as their creator” (55).