Frankenstein Byronic Hero Research Paper

Mary Shelley was a writer, novelist, and biographer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein. She had already written many stories and short novels, and even edited and promoted the works of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley . But Frankenstein; the Modern Prometheus was her first work to achieve popularity and great success, despite the initial bad reviews, claiming the novel to be ''a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity''. Frankenstein recalls the events of the fictional Victor Frankenstein and of his becoming an unholy creator of life. When the novel was written, science was highly debated; and Frankenstein was the first novel to give the impression that one day, science will destroy mankind. The subtle mixture of the

Frankenstein is a book written by Mary Shelley in 1818, that is revolved around a under privileged scientist named Victor Frankenstein who manages to create a unnatural human-like being. The story was written when Shelley was in her late teen age years, and was published when she was just twenty years old. Frankenstein is filled with several different elements of the Gothic and Romantic Movement of British literature, and is considered to be one of the earliest forms of science fiction. Frankenstein is a very complicated and complex story that challenges different ethics and morals on the apparent theme of dangerous knowledge. With the mysterious experiment that Dr. Victor Frankenstein conducted, Shelly causes her reader to ultimately ask

Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein, was a highly intellectual and creative woman, one of the elite writers in Britain. Her inspiration for Frankenstein was taken from several things.

Reiterating the characteristics of the classic Byronic hero in more depth provides a clearer understanding of the choices made in Frankenstein and the effect they may have on an audience. The isolation from society that a Byronic hero displays is very noticeable. In “Manfred,” Manfred isolates himself physically, which can be seen when he goes up into the tower, from the words of Herman seem to be quite often, “He hath pursued long vigils in this tower” (Manfred Act 3, Line 2). Similarly, Victor can be seen isolating himself early on in the novel where he speaks of delving so deeply into his studies. He removes many joys from his life and continues this expedition of knowledge at the expense of his health (Frankenstein, Vol 1, Page 83). Additionally

Using his brains, intelligence, and the right tools he brings a dead man back to life. His goal is to bring the dead back to life. Once this monster is created, he is forced to live a life of his own in the cold, harsh society. Many people that have never heard the real story believe that the monster was named Frankenstein, that's not the case at all. Some people would call Frankenstein a hero for bringing the dead back to life, but is he?

Victor was crying because inside he was falling apart, but at the same time the world around him was perfect. The descriptions and natural beauty of the world in Frankenstein help make the theme of appearances.The theme of appearance is most evident in the novel because of the monster’s struggle with his appearance. Throughout the novel the monster is tormented for his looks, but no one takes the time to get to know him as a person. The monster is so hideous even when he does good deeds he is still looked at as evil, “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind. But the agony of my wound overcame me; my pulses paused, and I fainted” (Shelley 103). The monster is just walking and notices a girl and she falls in the river, the monster jumps in and saves her and a man comes up and grabs the girl then shoots the monster. The guy that shot him judged the monster by his looks and automatically looked at him as evil. This is how his good deed is repaid. The monster meant no harm he just wanted to help. From this point on in the novel the monster is seeking revenge

Although some critics view Victor Frankenstein as a Tragic Hero because of his one essential flaw, his overambitious desire to discover what cannot be known, he is truly a Byronic Hero by definition. Although Victor is of a higher social class than the average person and his essential flaw triumphs all of his others, he has a deeply troubled past, struggles with integrity, secludes himself away from society, and is a willful individual who seeks redemption by carving out his own path. Victor’s many, deep flaws, which often induce the reader to believe that he is actually the antagonist and the Monster the hero, and ultimate redemption in telling Robert Walton his life’s story make him a Byronic Hero.

This quaint quote from the modern day rendition of Frankenstein, where the monster is replaced with dinosaurs, but ends with the same conclusion, man makes for a terrible god, whether in the film Jurassic Park, or the novel Frankenstein. Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the main character of Frankenstein, paints himself as a tragic hero, and in the course of the narrative, it is the aftermath of his inability to love his creation that results in the subsequent tragedies that fall Frankenstein and his loved ones. Yet, is he the tragic hero, or does he create his own continuing demise. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein has several opportunities to stop his creation, and yet, he continues to let the monster reign terror upon the innocent until he alone can track down the monster up to his death. Is Frankenstein the tragic hero of his imaginings?

Frankenstein’s mental state became very greatly affected due to the God complex he possessed. He became very unfocused, unwilling to delay his efforts. His mother haunted his dreams, perplexed with nightmares of her. The very way Victor Frankenstein became ill during the creation process demonstrates this fixation he developed in creating life had more than begun affect his mental and physical state of health. “Because the whole novel is about the very state of mind of Frankenstein, which is completely filled with the thoughts of only one particular thing of single mind which gives the destructive consequences…”(Destructive).

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a critique of the Byronic hero, as exemplified in Lord Byron’s “Manfred.” The Byronic hero is a protagonist who has the following traits: self-inflicted agony, a high self esteem, isolation from society, an exaggerated sense of independence, and genuine guilt. All of these traits Manfred bears, but Victor lacks two of these attributes. The lead protagonists, Victor and Manfred, have two key differences: genuine remorse and independence. Victor’s guilt is false when compared with that of Manfred. Victor relinquishes some of his autonomy to the monster in Frankenstein, in contrast to Manfred’s steadfast hold of complete self government. These differences, seen in Victor’s personality amount to a critique of

Equally important is the high-esteem Manfred and Victor have regarding themselves. This can be seen throughout Frankenstein in Victor’s narration of his life before the monster (cite), and the pity he often expresses for himself “Quote”. Manfred’s self-regard is seen in the dialogues the he shares with the Chamois hunter, “QUOTE” and the way he relates himself to other humans, “Though I wore the form,/ I had no sympathy with breathing flesh” (Manfred, Act 2, Line 56-57). Thirdly, a burdening ordeal, which is self inflicted, cause great suffering to the Byronic hero. Victor often states he struggles more than a human possibly could. “None ever conceived of the misery that I then endured” (Frankenstein, 1818, Page 110). Manfred shares these feelings, stating, no human could carry the burden that he does (cite). This leads into the immense guilt a Byronic hero feels, though the guilt must be genuine as is seen in “Manfred.” The concluding trait is the self governing power a Byronic hero wishes to maintain over themselves, an example as, seen in “Manfred” is when Manfred is confronting the demons of his death (cite), while extreme, this helps translate the believability of the esteem a Byronic hero holds of themselves to an audience.

Having lived between 18th and 19th century, author Mary Shelley was greatly influenced by the intellectual movement of Romanticism. Since she was closely associated with many of the great minds of the Romantic Movement such as her husband Percy B. Shelley and Lord Byron, it is natural that her works would reflect the Romantic trends. Many label Shelley¡¯s most famous novel Frankenstein as the first Science Fiction novel in history because its plot contains the process of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein creating a living human being from dead body parts, but that is only a part of the entire novel. At its core, Frankenstein is a product of Romanticism featuring the traits of a Romantic hero on a Romantic quest, the embracement of

In the novel, Frankenstein written by Marry Shelley, Victor had undoubtedly become relentless in pursuing the reanimation of life in an inanimate lifeless being. Victor could have inevitabely be called obsessed with his work. Victor Frankenstein had always been curious about the reanimation of human life. Until he attempted it and suceeded was when he knew he made a mistake. Victor Frankenstein was blinded by curiosity and obsession.

Victor Frankenstein 's character is an example of the romantic ideology of a Byronic hero. According to the article, "Generationalizing: Romantic Social Forms and the Case of Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein," published in 2010, The Byronic Hero, also known as the Romantic hero, usually pursues a romantic quest and is found in Romanticism as well in Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein’s story is a mission toward self-destruction, and he reflects a Romantic hero precisely. The Romantic hero is not as honorable as the stereotypical idea of a basic hero but rather, has numerous destructive qualities. Frankenstein is radical considering his intelligence, pride, interests, and self-destructive tendency. He is a person

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly was a novelist, dramatist, and short story writer. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly is one of the best writers of all time and is best known for her novel Frankenstein.