Finding Meaning In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The creature says, "You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede" (Shelley, Ch. 17). The creature is so sad, lonely, and just miserable. He uses this as his “excuse” for all of the harm he has caused. He then goes on to further explain how Frankenstein, from the very start, judged him based on his appearance. How he never actually tried to get to know him, understand him, and more than anything, accept and love him. He understands now, after his incident with De Lacey and his family, that he will never be able to talk to humans. We can see how truly passionate he is about getting a mate; the yearning for

Quote: He stated “I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures such as no language can describe…..I shunned the face of man; all sound of joy or complacency was torture to me; solitude was my only consolation–deep, dark, deathlike solitude.”(Page 88).

"A Hermit is simply a person to whom society has failed to adjust itself." (Will Cuppy). In the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley we follow the life of Victor Frankenstein in 18th century Germany. Shelley displays a recurring theme of isolation and how it drives once good people to do terrible things. If civilization does not adjust itself to a creature of any kind they will be forced into isolation and ultimately self destruction.

Every work is a product of its time. Indeed, we see that in Frankenstein, like in the world which produced its author, race, or the outward appearances on which that construct is based, determines much of the treatment received by those at all levels of its hierarchy. Within the work, Mary Shelley, its author, not only presents a racialized view of its characters, but further establishes and enforces the racial hierarchy present and known to her in her own world. For the few non-European characters, their appearance, and thus their standing in its related hierarchy, defines their entrances into the narrative. For the Creature, this occurs on the ices of the Artic, when, “atop a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile;” Walton and his men perceived, “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature.” (Shelley 13) Shelley clarifies, even this early in her novel, the race of its principal Other as soon after the intrepid adventurers rescue its namesake, Victor Frankenstein, who, Shelley clarifies, “was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European.” (Shelley 14) Later, closer examination of the Creature reveals a visage and figure of near unimaginable disfigurement, with a “shrivelled complexion,” and yellow skin which “scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.” (Shelley 35) This could be contrasted directly

Shelley addresses romantic conventions in Victor to convey his loss of identity. Victor is impatient and restless when constructing the creation, so much, that he does not think about it’s future repercussions. One of the great paradoxes that Shelley’s novel depicts is giving the monster more human attributes than to it’s creator [p. 6 - Interpretations]. This is true as the monster seeks an emotional bond, but Victor is terrified of it’s existence. The monster later reveals, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurred at and kicked and trampled on [Shelley, p. 224].” Victor’s lack of compassion is rooted from the inability to cope with his reality. He distances himself from others and is induced with fainting spells [Shelley, p. 59]. From this, the nameless creature exemplifies Victor’s attempt to abandon his creation to escape his responsibilities. His creation is described as, ‘wretched devil’ and ‘abhorred monster,’ eliciting that the unobtainable, pitied identity [Shelley, p. 102]. The act of not naming the creature reveals Victor as hateful, and unnaturally disconnected to his own created victim.

Although Frankenstein is a fictional story, I think in many ways it is representative of Mary Shelley personal views in her everyday life. Mary Shelley was raised by her father after her mother passed and because of that they always had a rocky relationship even after her father remarried. Mary fell in love with one of her father’s political followers, Percy Shelley and they got married although her father did not approve of their relationship because of the age difference. Throughout their relationship, they faced many obstacles that made it hard for their relationship to work, but it did. This aspect of her relationship is show through Elizabeth in the novel because it shows how hard women will work to make a relationship work even when

John Locke is one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and is famously known for asserting that all humans have natural rights. He also believed that humans are born with clean slates, and that the environment humans grow in, especially at a young age, has massive influences on aspects of their personalities, ideals, and motivations. Shelley was most definitely influenced by this claim when writing Frankenstein. As the reader, we can see the monster that Victor Frankenstein creates grow up alone, without guidance, and be formed by the experiences it is put through while trying to survive. Its emotions and beliefs throughout the book were merely a result of its experiences as it encounters the harsh reality of the world. Mary

After complying with the monster’s demand, Dr. Frankenstein aborts his promise when the female monster is near completion. He quickly destroys his latest creation before things get further out of hand. This is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, as soon after, the monster lashes out in uncontrollable rage. Infuriated by Dr. Frankenstein’s seemingly cruel act of indifference, the monster seeks revenge by murdering Dr. Frankenstein’s fiancé, Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s murder shows the undeniable parallel between the monster and Dr. Frankenstein. The monster’s only desire was to enjoy some form of companionship, but when Frankenstein denies him of this possibility, the monster becomes dedicated to destroying Dr. Frankenstein’s happiness and love in return. Dr. Frankenstein’s immense supply of knowledge not only has created a physical monster, but his knowledge has also made a monster out of himself. Dr. Frankenstein held the absolute authority over the happiness of the monster’s life, but in his own act of monstrosity, rather than using his knowledge to create contentment for an otherwise desolate creature, he takes away the one aspiration that keeps the monster sane.

Frankenstein’s monster demands that Frankenstein creates him a female companion. Frankenstein agrees to this in the hopes that he will be left in peace. However during creation of the female, and the monster watching him work, it dawns on him the reality of the hideous act he is embarking upon. Overcome by the image of the monster and the idea of creating another like him, Frankenstein destroys his work. The monster is distraught over Frankenstein’s actions and explains the misery he has been through whilst perusing him - he explains that he will make Victor pay if he refuses to create him his female mate.

Another feeling that comes into play is his feeling of love and possession toward his creature. Frankenstein sees that the creature is good natured and means no harm, but he is still reluctant to accept him because of the consequences of that would follow from his fellow men due to their fear of him. When the creature forces Frankenstein to listen to his story, Frankenstein feels pity and feels conflicted because he created the creature only to have him live like an outcast. This contributes to the overall tones of confusion and betrayal in the book. The readers expect Frankenstein to love and care for his creature, but his desire to conform interferes and results in his betrayal and abandonment of the creature, which in turn results in the creature betraying and killing people. It shows readers that the desire for love and acceptance is dominant over loyalty and a sense of duty to

In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein should be depicted as the real monster for attempting to recreate God’s creation. Instead, it is his creation who has to pay the price for Victor’s wrong doings. While his creation pays the price, he still finds a way to become his own hero as well. It may go unsaid but the monster has the will to keep on going. Through his life he still finds a way to live. The monster in Frankenstein talks about himself for a bit and says this “ I have good dispositions; my life has been hitherto harmless and in some degree beneficial; but a fatal prejudice clouds their eyes, and where they ought to see a feeling and kind friend, they behold only a detestable monster (159.)” The monster tries to act right but it seems as if whatever he does his actions are misunderstood. Yet, like a child he is pure and unaware of his doings. The courageous step he takes is asking Victor Frankenstein to create him a mate to live his life with. The monster is aware of how fearful his creator is of him but still approaches him and is not afraid to ask for his request. It was a baby step into a new

The big idea here is that if Frankenstein created another monster that would affect many people. Creating the monster was already a lot of trouble. The monster had faced unfair treatment from the public, and had killed one person already. So, really, he was right to ruin and dispose of the female monster. He may have broken a promise, but he was also right to think about the future and other people’s lives before he fulfilled the monster’s

Frankenstein’s and society’s rejection of the monster, however, drove him to an uneven passionate pursuit for a companion. He forced Frankenstein to create a female monster, and he provided motivation by killing Frankenstein’s loved ones and threatening to kill more of them. The monster recalls in this final scene of Shelley’s novel how his desire drove him to evil. “. . . do you think that I was then dead to agony and remorse?--He . . . suffered not more in the consummation of the deed;--oh! Not the ten-thousandth portion of the anguish that was mine during the lingering detail of its execution. A frightful selfishness hurried me on. . . .” (153) At that point in the novel, the monster has changed from good in nature to evil in nature. His own desires are more important to him than the well-being of others and he is willing to commit murder in order ensure the fulfillment of his desire.

Few days later Frankenstein's younger brother is found dead. Frankenstein knows right away that properly the monster has murder his brother. So he goes to look for him. When he finds him, he noticed that the monster is now able to talk. The creature tells him that he learned to talk when he watched one family, but when he comes closer to the family and want to be their friend they chase him away. And so does everybody. He feels so lonesome and alone, that he wants Frankenstein to create a girlfriend for him so he is no lonely anymore. As a result he may have then somebody to talk to. In return the monster would turn his back to the human race. Consequently Frankenstein creates a female mate for the monster, but when he is almost through the work he is suddenly overwhelmed with fear that the monster and his mate will spawn more monsters and destroy the human race. So he destroys the female. Thereupon the creature murders Frankenstein's fiancée.

Introduction: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is a book with a deep message that touches to the very heart. This message implies that the reader will not see the story only from the perspective of the narrator but also reveal numerous hidden opinions and form a personal interpretation of the novel. One of its primary statements is that no one is born a monster and a “monster” is created throughout socialization, and the process of socialization starts from the contact with the “creator”. It is Victor Frankenstein that could not take the responsibility for his creature and was not able to take care of his “child”. Pride and vanity were the qualities that directed Victor Frankenstein to his discovery of life: “...So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”[p.47]. He could not cope with this discovery and simply ignored it. The tragedy of Victor Frankenstein and the tragedy of his creature is the same – it is the tragedy of loneliness and confronting the world, trying to find a place in it and deserve someone’s love. The creature would have never become a monster if it got the love it strived for. Victor Frankenstein would have never converted his creature into a monster if he knew how to love and take responsibility for the ones we bring to this world.