Nurturing of the monster The Nature v. Nurture is one of the biggest issue debated by philosophers, sociologists, and scientists. It is the primary influence on personality development. The scientists argue whether nature develops the character of a person or nurture. Nature has a profound impact on the development of a child; however, it is the element of nurture which determines their level of growth and most important development. Mary Shelley emphasizes in her Frankenstein that the creature is good by his nature and only wants some friends, but the abandonment of his creator and the hatred of the people makes him evil. The novel Frankenstein, indirectly debates whether the development of an individual is affected more by nature or by nurture through Victor and the monster. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein is raised up by two happy parents. He gets everything he wants, a sister, an education, a best friend and then also a wife. Victor himself says that “No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself” (Shelley 45). This highlights that Victor has brought up in a loving and caring environment. He does not want any love or care …show more content…
The Creature challenges Victor that he will take “revenge [of his] injuries; If [he] cannot inspire love,” then he “will cause fear, and chiefly towards [his] arch-enemy,” who is Victor Frankenstein and he also swears an “inextinguishable hatred” for his creator. (Shelley 177). Misery and hatred, caused by repeated rejection turns the Creature from his benevolent state of love to a state of hatred. According to Caldwell, “it is the creature’s ‘father’ himself who is primarily responsible for his life and well-being, and it is his ‘father’ who abandons him.” Victor is the source of his anger, and he only kills the friends and lovers whose deaths will bring Victor the most
Nature (our genes) and nurture (our environment) affect our individual differences in behavior and personality. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley addresses the conflict of nature vs. nurture. Victor Frankenstein creates a "child" whom he abandons upon birth. This brings up questions such as, was the creature genetically inclined to be evil, or did the hostility he encountered turn him evil? Are one's surroundings determined by who they become later in life? Does nurture form one's characteristics that will determine who someone is later in life? Mary Shelley used these questions as an approach to show that the monster is intelligent, but destructive, and had guilt due to his environment and isolation. The monster’s guilt due to its
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the theme of nature versus nurture is seen throughout the novel. Freud and many psychologists state that nature and nurture influence development because genes and environment, biological and social factors direct life courses, and their effects intertwine. Through the Creature 's continual rejection by society and Victor, Mary Shelley shows that social rejection altars the Creature’s attitude towards society and pushes him to be vengeful. In Frankenstein the Creature experiences more nurture than nature in the novel due to his knowledge gained from his experiences this is seen with the continual rejection from Victor and the Creature teaches how to survive.
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
you belong to my enemy - to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.” (Shelley 62) Here The Creature is not just an innocent childish creature anymore, here we find The Creature having hold of a random person at first but when he finds out this is Frankenstein blood; he instantly becomes a murderer. After the incident, The Creature becomes demanding to Victor he later asks for one last wish from his dreadful maker. Shelley writes, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being” (Shelley 63). Instantly, Frankenstein denies and while The Creature is able to persuade the mad scientist for some time; Frankenstein goes to and fro from being an advocate to outright denying The Creatures request. After much arguing and dealing around, Victor gives in. However after heading back to Geneva Victor is unable to get himself to work and create this new being, and he is scared out of his mind since Victor understands the severity of what The Creature can do to him. Ultimately, as the course of events in Shelley’s “Frankenstein” it is clear to see that the creature lives a life that is cruel and a life that no one can truly understand. As well as living a life and having his pure and unknowing innocence stripped away by the hardships of
In the novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, the creature and its creator, Victor Frankenstein, share a lot of similarities throughout the story. The relationship shared between the two resembles that of a father and his son. Since Victor created it , the creature inherits certain traits of Victor’s without realizing it. Victor and the creature both have an overpowering thirst for knowledge, a love for the beauty of nature and a tendency to use it as a scapegoat, a depressing feeling of isolation from people, a desire for revenge, and the ability to play God. The relationship between Victor and the creature does not develop like a normal father-son relationship, nor does it develop as a good versus evil relationship. Both characters show hero and villain qualities throughout the novel as their relationship develops.
Marvin J. Ashton once said, “Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart to one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” Ashton emphasizes the importance of fostering others. Without proper education and nurturing, people will be left with nothing but incorrect morals. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, describes the consequences of a creator abandoning and failing to nurture his or her creation. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein, an aspiring scientist becomes infatuated with bringing the dead back to life, prompting him to fabricate “the perfect human.” However, once his creation awakes, Frankenstein recklessly abandons it, provoking tragedy throughout the novel. In Mary Shelley’s novel, Victor Frankenstein causes the tragic calamites by failing to properly nurture his creation; his irresponsibility puts himself and his loved ones in danger, resulting in fatalities throughout the novel.
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was raised by a single parent, her father William Godwin. She acknowledges the mentally stimulating role a father plays in the development of a daughter, presumably speaking from personal experience. She declares, "There is a peculiarity in the education of a daughter, brought up by a father only, which tends to develop early a thousand of those portions of mind, which are folded up” (Veeder). Shelley offers in Frankenstein a portrait of how children’s minds are shape, and ultimately their fates sealed, due to influences from their fathers. Alphonse, Victor’s father, made mistakes in his parenting that negatively shaped the development of Victor’s mind and how he treated other living things.
In the novel Frankenstein, it shows examples of how nurture is what shapes personality. The creature that Dr. Frankenstein creates changes personality from the beginning of the book to the end. He begins by not fighting his assailants, proving his innocence, purity and good intentions. Towards the end of the book the creature changes for the worst. This is because of his environment increasingly worsening.
Victor Frankenstein created the creature in order to further science, however the creature took on a mind of it’s own. The creature’s mind consisted of several things that had similarities to the personality of it’s creator’s mind. Victor Frankenstein left the creature to it’s own devices, which caused death and destruction. But even though they developed a hatred for each other, Victor and the creature really do not have that different personalities and character traits. Both have a deep desire for strong attachments to others, their tempers match each other when their ire rises, and they both connect deeply with nature.
To begin his revenge, he decides to kill his creator’s wife on their wedding night. The creature violently kills his creator's wife so that he will feel the pain of loss and loneliness. “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair” (Shelley 144). The monster gets revenge on his creator because Victor refuses to create a companion for him and so he wants his creator to feel the loneliness he feels. He kills her while Victor is in the other room and leaves without a trace. Victor is full of sorrow and loneliness just as the creature is. He ruins Victor's life by making him experience the feeling of having nobody to love. The creature’s anger ultimately leads to his own death. The anger he previously felt is now his satisfaction of
It’s human nature to crave guidance and acceptance; this is especially evident in children as they are prone to seek comfort and affection from their parents. Their personalities and views on society are eventually affected by their parents and any other guardian figures in their lives. Those without a parental figure seek a parent-like relationship with someone close to them who they respect. How one is treated by those who are seen as a role model affects their relationships with others. In Mary Shelley's gothic novel Frankenstein, the lack of a nurturing parental figure is a recurrent thematic subject that pushes several characters to seek acceptance and love from unrealistic desires. The poor parenting throughout the novel creates characters who use their upbringing as an excuse to defend their actions and bad behavior.
The nature vs. nurture issues is the most important study of human development for many reasons. In fact, both issues play an important role in human development over time. One main reason why nature vs. nurture is an important study in psychology today is because of its developmental traits. Traits are characteristics inherited from your parents. Also, a trait can be something that is past down from generation, such as a person’s personality.
The nature verses nurture debate, may theories of what determines a person’s personality and behavior. It determines the essential biology or life experience. nature-only views how people come from inborn tendencies and genetically based traits.
The nature vs. nurture issues is the most important study of human development for many reasons. In fact, both issues play an important role in human development over time. One main reason why nature vs. nurture is an important study in psychology today is because of its developmental traits. Traits are characteristics inherited from your parents. Also, a trait is something that is passed down from generation, such as a person’s personality.
Nature versus Nurture is an argument that is known to directly affect the development of children. Nature is the idea that what an individual accomplishes is due to the the genetic information they have, while nurture is the idea which says the accomplishment of an individual is due to the environment that one is raised in. After understanding what the two mean, I strongly believe that i was influenced more by nurture.