preview

Frankenstein As A Biblical Reference Essay

Better Essays

Jada Williams Williams 1
Benjamin Compton
English 105
10/3/17
Frankenstein as a Biblical Reference In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, had an inter-textual connection to the bible. Shelley connects the creature to Satan, his relation to Adam, the story of Adam and Eve, the book of Genesis and his reading of Paradise Lost. As the bible was an esteemed text in the early 1800s, Shelley’s use of it in her novel served to establish Frankenstein as a sort of parable of didactic text. She begins with the idea of creation in the book of Genesis to start her allusions. In Genesis 1, God creates humans in his own …show more content…

The creature begins to find knowledge in the poem of Paradise Lost, a story about the legendary fall of Adam and Eve introducing the knowledge of good and evil into a previously perfect world. In one split second sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving anguish and iniquity in its ramification. When the creature gets this novel he begins to more understand that Gods creations are natural things on this earth, and he, who is made by man, is not. “He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the special care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature, but I was wretched, helpless, and alone” (Shelly 116). Frankenstein can be compared to both God and Satan in this case because like God, he created the monster and gave him direction and attempted to love him. However, like Satan he was warned of the precautions and possible issues of creating an unknown and frightening creature. The characters in Frankenstein are a resemblance of the characters in Paradise Lost. Frankenstein could possibly mirror Eve in the Garden of Eden in that they would do whatever it takes to be able to know about everything in existence. While, the creature matches with Satan because they both wanted to break free from their creators and receive a chance at their own decisions.

Get Access