Chapter Four of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Essay

Frankenstein, a novel first published in the year 1818, stands as the most talked about work of Mary Shelley’s literary career. She was just nineteen years old when she penned this novel, and throughout her lifetime she could not produce any other work that surpasses this novel in terms of creativity and vision. In this novel, Shelley found an outlet for her own intense sense of victimization, and her desperate struggle for love. Traumatized by her failed childbirth incidents, troubled childhood, and scandalous courtship, many of Shelley’s life experiences can be seen reflected in the novel. When discussing the character and development of the monster, Shelley launches an extensive discussion on the

“I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept” (Shelley 91). In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Mary depicts a hideous, macabre, creature as one of the main characters, who seeks to discover and connect with the unknown world that it has been born into. The creator, Victor Frankenstein, studies life cycle of human beings, ultimately learning the secret of creation through unnatural means. These experiments result in a monster, who must to learn and grow in consciousness, much as an infant would awaken gradually to life. He is, at first, overwhelmed by new sensations, experiencing hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. The monster begins on a clean slate, starting in his adolescence, but experiences continuous vulgar abuse from beings who show to be quick to judge. Though the monster proves to have a positive heart initially, maltreatment gradually changes his response to people and causes him to react negatively to negative stimuli from experiences and necessity. The creature’s response to society is constructed through the mistreatment by Victor Frankenstein, the DeLacey family’s rejection, and his first meeting with Victor Frankenstein in the Alps.

Another aspect of romanticism that is prevalent in Shelly’s novel is the way Frankenstein, and his creation, are controlled by their emotions. Frankenstein is continually ruled by his feelings of fear, guilt, and love throughout the novel. For instance, he works for nearly two years to accomplish his goal of creating life, only to immediately flee because of fear when his work comes to life. This was a major illustration for the reader that despite being an experienced scientist Frankenstein was still ruled by emotions. In a large portion of the novel Frankenstein seems to be completely motivated by his fear of the creature he created. When his brother died, he feared people discovering his secret so he let an innocent woman stand trial. When the monster requested a partner, his fear of the monster propelled him to try, only to have his fear of having two creatures alive stop him from completing the work. At the end of the story, Frankenstein’s anger over the death of his family members propelled him to chase the creature across the frozen waters, which lead to his death. Frankenstein was a brilliant thinker who was continually consumed and motivated by his emotions. Frankenstein’s creation was also very much controlled by his emotions. After he is created and Frankenstein flees from him, he searches across the land to find companions. The creature is repeatedly rejected because of his looks, and because of that he is self-conscience of the fact that he is

The obsessed search for knowledge, fame and fortune can often undervalue one’s life and become the main focus of their existence. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, she proves that obsession is a dangerous aspect of the human behavior, which always results in a negative outcome, this is mainly portrayed through the protagonist of the story Dr. Victor Frankenstein, because of Dr. Frankenstein’s obsessive personality he fails to recognize the affects of his scientific experiments which eventually lead to his and his family’s death.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a classic novel that portrays a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a creature made from human bodies. Through Frankenstein’s eyes, the reader sees this creature as a horrifying monster who murders Frankenstein’s loved ones. However, the reader is able to see the creature’s side of the story which could change their perspective of a horrifying creature, to an almost innocent child who does not know right from wrong. Victor Frankenstein is then portrayed as the horrifying monster who abandoned his creature, was selfish by thinking everything is about him, and taking revenge on the creature who had a mind of an innocent child.

Frankenstein is back to the role of narrator. He is bewildered and perplexed. The creature desires a female as his right. The latter part of the tale has enraged Victor, and he refuses the request. The creature counters that he is malicious because of misery‹why respect man when man condemns him? He is content to destroy everything related to Victor until he curses the day he was born. Gladly would he relinquish his war against humanity if only one person loved him. Since none do, he has to find happiness elsewhere, and he is pleading that his creator make him happy with someone to share his misery. Frankenstein sees justice in his argument. The creature notes his change in countenance and promises that he

In chapter 4 of volume 1, I believe the author is trying to make you somewhat unsympathetic for the creature but doesn't force that decision, but as you go farther into the story; chapter 2 of volume 2, the author shows how you should feel sympathy for this creature. I feel like in the beginning of the story as the author describes the creature he wants you to be unsure. "I beheld the wretch the miserable monster, his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me" (chapter 4, volume 4). The author continues to show how disgusted and repulsed Frankenstein is when he sees the creature. I believe the author wants you to feel sympathetic but at the same times wants you to decide. At this moment you know nothing of the creature except that

In the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein is entirely ecstatic to be creating the creature, he is blinded by his ambition and cannot truly see what is being made in front of him. Then, when he finally finishes the creature and gives it the gift of life, he is completely disgusted by what he made. Frankenstein even remarks about his creation that, “A mummy endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch” (Shelley 49). With this remark, it shows that Frankenstein fears his creation not for what it is, but simply for how it looks. It can be inferred that Shelley wanted the society in the novel to be a a parallel to her own Romantic society, and therefore saw fit to make the monster in Frankenstein something that her readers would also fear. Because of the reader’s fear of the grotesque, the

The Gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft absolutely advocates change and up to a certain degree shows concern of the social attitudes and customs of the 18th and 19th centuries. Mary Shelley successfully created a fiction that was meant to indirectly criticize the practices of the time. Shelley wishes to modify the fact that knowledge that existed during the late 1700s through the 1800s were being used for detrimental purposes, although some were being used for honorable purposes; she also expresses concern for the intrusion of technology that was being experienced at the time the novel was written.

Shelley’s Frankenstein does an excellent job at demonstrating the ideas and accomplishments of the enlightenment period. Shelly expresses these ideas and thoughts through the character of Victor Frankenstein who is an aspiring scientist seeking an intellectual challenge. Victor Frankenstein live s his hometown of Geneva and leaves in quest of a valued education in Ingolstadt. When Victor arrives at college he is lonely and finds himself in a new world in which he lives by himself. He than meets Mr. M. Waldman who is a chemistry professor. We can tell the Frankenstein is a representation of the Enlightenment and scientific period because he just like the earlier theorist Who is a Each character represents an important part of history such

After reading the book Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and then seeing several adaptations done for the silver screen, there are changes that the films make to the book. The most evident change that jumps out at me is the portrayal of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The common missing element in all of the film versions of the classic novel is the way they treat the character of Victor. The films all tend to downplay what a “monster” Victor is and instead stress how much of a monster the Creature is. The films seem to stress less on the responsibility and guilt that Victor feels over his creation, which is shown in the book. Instead of taking the stance on “a crime against nature” for trying to play God, the films

In the Kenneth Branagh’s film, “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”, it can be argued that either Victor Frankenstein, or the monster he creates is more frightening. The fact that the characteristics of the monster’s personality mirrors Frankenstein’s inability to control his own emotions makes both of them even more fear-provoking.

Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley has made a lasting impression on literature through the ages. Written during the romanticism period, the novel had dark undertones and a twisted plot. The protagonist, Victor Frankenstein revealed how one’s relentless pursuit of knowledge can also be one’s downfall. Shelley wrote in both Victor and the creature’s point of view showing how both experienced destructive lives when fueled by the need for knowledge. As the story continued, she also wrote in a play by play sequence to highlight the consequences of Victor and the creatures actions.

Nature plays a very important part in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, often making the characters and situations she places them in more believable. Using elements of the natural world to convey emotion and feeling is a key component of Romantic writing, and can especially be seen in Frankenstein. As the story progresses, however, Frankenstein’s mind becomes clouded with the thought of his monster, and nature becomes less and less important to him. Although, from the way Dr. Frankenstein uses the grand landscapes of Geneva and Ingolstadt to get his many messages across, it is easy to tell that Shelley wrote this book during the Romantic era. Using the grandiose environment around them, the characters in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein become easier

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein tells his story from the bright beginnings, to his boundary-crossing brilliance that led him to his ultimate downfall. Throughout the book, we follow mostly Frankenstein’s interpretation and thoughts about a variety of topics, including the women involved in his life, as well as those described to him by his Creature. There are only a handful of women who are relevant to Frankenstein’s tale: Safie, Elizabeth, and even Nature herself. These important characters represent the main themes of Mary Shelley’s depiction of women in her novel Frankenstein: beauty, love, happiness, and a force to be conquered by men.