Loss of Innocence in Frankenstein

The unwavering desire for knowledge may cause the decay of relationships. This idea is displayed as Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, continually desires to create human life from inanimate materials, which leads to the destruction of many of his relationships. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, exhibits how the constant desire for information may cause the deterioration of relationships through the decayed relationships Victor has with himself, his family, and society.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells the tale of the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Both Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s creation’s questionable actions lead them both to be considered morally ambiguous figures. Victor is ambitious with good intentions, but his ambition leads to bad results. The Creature is an innately kind and compassionate person who commits abominable actions due to how others treat him. Their moral ambiguity is significant, as it reveals that an obsession with ambition distorts one’s morals.

In Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster commits a number of immoral acts out of rage. These actions are directly related to the monsters creation and upbringing. The burden of fault for the monsters actions rests on Victor Frankenstein’s shoulders alone.

Imagine skipping that awkward childhood stage of life and going straight to being an adult; never having to worry about parent’s rules or curfews. But if all of a sudden, one was forced into the world of adults with the mindset of a newborn child, one would not know the difference between right and wrong and possibly even become a victim. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is the true victim of the book. He is abused in multiple ways, he does nothing to warrant the unjust treatment he receives and he is forced into solitude.

When the monster is betrayed by Victor the only thing that comforts his hurting is the thought and idea of revenge. The monster goes after Victor's brother, little William. When Victor finds out about his loss, he knows it was the monster which had made him feel devastated about what has occurred. This broke Victor emotionally because the relationship he had with his brother was robust. Victor cared about his brother more than his owned wife Elizabeth. The mindest the monster had was knowledgeably because of the way he knew taking the closest person away from Victor will harm him the most.

The first lesson the monster ever learned came from Victor Frankenstein. Whenever the monster turned to his master for love and comfort, he was turned away with fear. As soon as Frankenstein saw his repulsive countenance, he ran away into the dark of the night. Right away, the monster was denied any form of nurture that could have potentially changed the plot of the novel. After stumbling upon a few unpleasant strangers, the monster only desired acceptance from human society with the help of the cottagers: “The more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be loved and known by these amiable creatures (Shelley, 133).” Some parents such as Victor begin ignoring their children from the very beginning. If kids don’t receive nurture from an early age, their personalities are shaped by the way they are treated: “These family disruptions are much more strongly related to feelings of fewer social supports and more negative moods and feelings (Science Blog).” Without guidance from his “father”, the monster attempted to make a place for himself into society. The monster’s heroic rescue of the little girl illustrates his good heart and innocence; even though his mind was slightly disturbed, all he needed was for someone to reciprocate his love. Giving undying support to a child is detrimental to their development. Parents play a huge role in their child’s life and should be present as much as

A constant theme Frankenstein struggles with throughout the novel is when a person loves someone, they protect them from the pain, they do not become the cause of it. In the cause of his horrid creation of the Monster, he believes to have been

whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of a man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in it highest sense, the secrets of the world.” (23) Victor has said, this quote shows Victor’s deep desire to learn about all the secrets the world may have. This is the when Victor realizes what he would like to dedicate his life’s work to. Victor ignores both his social life, and his health. He focuses solely on discovering the secrets nature holds. Victor’s obsession with this consumes all his time thus destroying relationships he had. This shows that Victor no longer holds his friends or family close, but instead he pushes them aside to focus on what he feels is more important. Victor speaks of all the countless nights and days he has spent, and how he is tired. Victor had stopped mailing Elizabeth, and she grows worried all due to his search for knowledge. Later on in the story Victor’s work comes alive. He creates a monster, and from this point on nothing will be the same between him and his

            The monster's gradual descent into evil most likely follows the path of depression Mary Shelley takes in the course of her life.  First, her father is taken away, much like the separation the monster feels when Victor shuns him.  Next, she suffers the extreme losses of her half-sister and newborn, which parallels

In this Essay I shall explore the reasons for Victor Frankenstein’s emotional turmoil in chapters 9 and 10 and look at how some events in Mary Shelley’s life mirrors some events in the book. I will also look at a few of the themes running through Frankenstein. Such as religion, parenting, hate, revenge, guilt and compassion.

After his arrival in Geneva, the monster comes across a boy who reveals that he is related to Victor Frankenstein. He tells the boy “you shall be my first victim” (122), and chokes him till he struggles no longer. As the monster gazes at the lifeless body that lies before him, he claps and shouts in triumph, “I too can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him” (122). This statement clearly shows the he is aware of the crime he has committed and expresses no remorse. Unfortunately the boy is not his last

As people gain new experiences different losses of innocence come along with that, this is shown in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Throughout the book innocence plays a big role in the characterization of Frankenstein, the monster and most of the other characters in the book. But, as tragedies in the book occur they also symbolize losses of innocence in both the monster and Frankenstein. As these losses of innocence occur the reader begins to realize that each of them also seems to symbolize another loss of innocence but one that is just under the surface of literal meanings. One of the common double losses of innocence is all of the deaths that occur in the book. While examining the characterization and the deaths of Elizabeth and Justine, the reader comes to realize that all of those deaths symbolize the loss of innocence. Through these deaths, it is shown that Frankenstein and the monster continued to lose their innocence until it is nonexistent.

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature

Throughout the novel, the creation begins to slowly murder the people closest to Victor until he is left in solitude as he is forced to bear the burden of this knowledge of the murderer in addition to his own accountability of the deaths since he is responsible for the creation.

Victor Frankenstein is innocent. There is no doubt in my mind that Victor Frankenstein is innocent for the murder of Justine, Elizabeth, and William. They were in fact killed by a man named, “The Creature.” He in fact killed the two of them to get revenge on the man who created him. The Creature was angry that everyone thought that he was ugly, and hated to be around him. It all started when Dr. Henry Clerval told Victor Frankenstein not to make the Creature because he would be one that destroys everything. Victor then got Dr. Clerval’s Journal after he had died, and he started to make the Creature. Once the Creature was all assembles and born he was brought to life by Frankenstein. Frankenstein was then afraid of his own creation and fled