How Does Mary Shelley Use Biblical Allusions In Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s creation was lost in the world with no one who could have understood him . It felt sorrowful and unfulfilled emotions as seen in this quote. Betrayal by Victor leaves a large impact the monster carried, which, turned into a monster full of hate and dissatisfaction. Victor’s creation was not a monster , but new born baby in a grown horrific body that was not to be called his own . It becomes a monster both mentally and physically, who will be feared by all . Victor not giving him the love he needed gets the monster enraged, which leads the monster to cause series of events that affects Victor unforgivably. .

In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley weaves an intricate web of allusions through her characters’ expedient desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his monster allude to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Book eight of Milton’s story relates the tale of Satan’s temptation and Eve’s fateful hunger for knowledge. The infamous Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously pristine world. With one swift motion sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving pain and malevolence in its wake. The troubles of Victor Frankenstein begin with his quest for knowledge, and end where all end: death. The characters in Frankenstein are a conglomeration of those

In Mary Shelley´s Gothic novel, Frankenstein, the Monster once claimed, “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.” Frankenstein, since the 1910 film adaptation, has known a series of several adaptations that changed drastically, not only the plot but one of the main characters, the Monster, from stealing its creator´s name to being portrayed as a cold villain. Though, in the original storyline, the biggest threat to society is the creator itself, the one pretending to play as God, Victor Frankenstein. This essay will discuss the nature of the main characters of the novel and conclude who is the “real monster” in the end.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are introduced early in the story to one of the main characters Victor Frankenstein and subsequently to his creation referred to as the monster. The monster comes to life after being constructed by Victor using body parts from corpses. As gruesome as this sounds initially we are soon caught up in the tale of the living monster. Victor the creator becomes immediately remorseful of his decision to bring the monstrous creation to life and abandons the borne creature. Victor describes his emotions and physical description of his creation as follows:

In the Bible, the book of Genesis 1:27 states that "God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Creating both men and women in His image, God is the only person who can do this successfully, giving us unconditional love and never abandoning us throughout our journey in life. On the other hand, Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist creates a life form due to his love of natural sciences. His desire to create this life form only for an experimental purpose unknowingly leads to disastrous outcomes for both Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the monster. In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein uses his knowledge

In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley weaves an intricate web of allusions through her characters’ expedient desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his monster allude to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Book eight of Milton’s story relates the tale of Satan’s temptation and Eve’s fateful hunger for knowledge. The infamous Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously pristine world.

Mary Shelly uses a number of literary allusions in her novel. She uses the allusion of Prometheus, a created man in Greek mythology. He stole fire from Zeus to give fire to a man, much as acting like a God. As in Frankenstein whole book revolves around bringing or giving back a life. As Victor Frankenstein had brought a grotesque monster to life and suffers for it like Prometheus. Mary Shelly used the allusion of “Rime of Ancient Mariner,” as the mariner brought curse upon himself and everyone else. In Frankenstein, Victor brought a tragedy which he could’ve avoided. Last, but not least, Mary Shelly had also given hints of “Paradise Lost.” The remarks of Frankenstein goes back to Adam and Eve, the garden incident.

An allusion is a figure of speech that is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work. These allusions are typically used by an author who intends to make a powerful point without the need to explain it. Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein provides many examples of allusion 's. She connects the story of “Prometheus”, Coleridge 's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Milton 's Paradise Lost to her own novel to convey the critical points of the meaning behind the story. Not only does Mary Shelley make use of the mythological symbolism, but includes biblical allusions of the creation of Adam and Eve as well. The

Cursed, be the hands that formed you! You have made me wretched beyond expression. You have left me no power to consider whether I am just to you or not. Begone! Relieve me from the sight of your detested form” (115-116 Shelley). Here Victor has totally changed his opinion on creating life. He states that whoever created him, Victor, should be cursed. “I had hitherto supposed him to be the murder of my brother, and I eagerly sought a confirmation or denial of this opinion. For the first time, also, I felt what duties of a creator towards his creature were and I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness” (116 Shelley). After all that has happened it is not unclear who the dominant of the relationship is. Frankenstein is a cautionary tale warning mankind of the consequences of unbridled ambition triggered out of one man emulating God (Wood). Because Victor did not set himself as the parent of god figure in the beginning the creature has now taken control of Victor and is now ordering him around. It has also led to the killing of many people, which could have been avoided if Victor had realized that humans and gods are not equal. This is a clear reason as to why humans can not be God, because for people to be god they must be all

Monsters are not born, but created. In order to become a monster one must have been previously victimized or have a predisposition to violence. The monster is created because he is exposed to violence and rejection, he then breakdowns and becomes malicious. In the lines “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? (Frankenstein, 124)”. Shelley is showing that by turning against the creature, Victor is deserting him in a strange and uncomfortable world. The creature is miserable and all alone. In corollary, the creature hurts others, because he has been neglected and in turn a monster is created. The creature states that “I will revenge my injuries; if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my archenemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred (Frankenstein, 138)”. I believe that the novel would have turned out differently if Victor had welcomed the creature with

Throughout Mary Shelley's, Frankenstein, the characters of the novel parallel to biblical allusions. Victor takes on the role of God, as he works to “pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” (33), thus displaying a God-like power. The power Victor holds allows him to create a being solely from his own imagination, therefore giving him similar characteristics to God in the “Story of Creation”. However, Victor differs from God as Victor does not allow the Monster to stay in his life, as Adam and Eve stayed in the Garden of Eden, but abandons the monster directly following its animation. The abandonment significantly affects the

In the Gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley integrates the rhetorical devices figurative language, imagery, and tone to impart the concept that the desire to acquire knowledge and emulate God will ultimately result in chaos and havoc that exceeds the boundaries of human restraint.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley often refers to the bible on a number of occasions. However, it is worth noting that many references used by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein can often be identified in Genesis. Much like Genesis, the story of Frankenstein is a viable creation story. The book of Genesis first explains the creation of man and woman, and also recounts the fall of humanity. Unlike Genesis, Frankenstein begins with the fall of humanity, leading into the creation of man. Although it would be simple to compare the novel to such non-religious terms, the religious symbolism cannot be ignored in Frankenstein. Many biblical references within Frankenstein refer to the creation story in the first book of Genesis.

Every time a movie is made that portrays any part of the book "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, it is more than likely about the monster and his character rather than the creator and his. But, in the book, the scientist, Dr. Frankenstein, was more prominent, especially in view of his personal angst and wars, than the monster. It is true that the monster is a central character, but the man Frankenstein is a much more interesting study. What happens to a person, Shelley seems to ask, when that individual plays God? Throughout the book there is religious symbolism, as one would expect from a book in which the main character creates a living person, where Frankenstein at once has compared himself to God and to Satan in the same breath. This paper examines the religious symbolism in "Frankenstein" as it relates to the doctor, his act of creating, and Frankenstein's personal thoughts regarding who he is.