Mary Shelley's Frankestein

Frankenstein, a novel first published in the year 1818, stands as the most talked about work of Mary Shelley’s literary career. She was just nineteen years old when she penned this novel, and throughout her lifetime she could not produce any other work that surpasses this novel in terms of creativity and vision. In this novel, Shelley found an outlet for her own intense sense of victimization, and her desperate struggle for love. Traumatized by her failed childbirth incidents, troubled childhood, and scandalous courtship, many of Shelley’s life experiences can be seen reflected in the novel. When discussing the character and development of the monster, Shelley launches an extensive discussion on the

In “The Reading Monster”, Patrick Brantlinger discusses three main points from Frankenstein. Brantlinger first points out that Frankenstein is filled with political meanings, and it can be interpreted in conflicting and persuasive ways. He also discusses that the story is about two different educations, or miseducations, which would be Victor Frankenstein’s and the creature’s. Frankenstein’s education mainly has to do with science, and Brantlinger claims that Frankenstein is an autodidact because he chose isolation. He also evaluates the way that Mary Shelley portrays science in her novel. Even though it is clear that the creature educated himself through reading books, Brantlinger suggests that it is hard for readers to accept the creatures literacy. The confusion over the creature’s identity is Brantlinger’s third main point. The creature, already stripped away from his education and

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

Mary Shelley’s story of internal turmoil, the cruelty of altering the laws of nature, and the consequences of redefining the laws of nature is a harrowing one, known widely by many audiences, yet it is never the nature of the characters that is discussed, only the outcome. Shelley’s deliberate use of different character foils portrays the deeper connections and themes in her 1818 novel, Frankenstein. The creation and presence of Frankenstein’s monster directly foils the character of Victor Frankenstein himself, illustrating overarching themes of self inflicted isolation and internal conflict, exposing the dangers and consequences of complete and total narcissism, and revealing a truth many still refuse to accept: we, as humans, are capable

Frankenstein, a novel by Mary Shelley, tells the story of Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit of creation and the monster he unintentionally brought to life. Horrified with his own creation, Victor escaped his responsibilities, leaving him to fend for himself. The story follows the monster’s futile attempts to assimilate into humanity, his hatred finally leading him to killing his creator’s family one by one until Frankenstein committed himself to vengeance. The theme of humanity was prevalent throughout the novel as the monster’s existence blurred the line between what was “human” and “inhuman.” The question of whether nurture, or nature, mattered more to one’s identity was explored throughout the story. In Frankenstein, nurture rather than

“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Shelley 60). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she expresses her beliefs regarding the danger of pursuing happiness through the attainment of knowledge, because true happiness is found in the emotional connections established between people. The pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily an evil thing, but it can cause destruction when it is pursued beyond natural limits. Victor Frankenstein becomes a slave to his passion for learning in more than one way; first his life is controlled by

He is in constant refusal of responsibility, and ends up essentially plaguing not only his life, but also the lives around him. After constructing and animating the creature, he’s in a flux never ending negative emotions. The creation gets turned into a monster both physically and mentally. Frankenstein describes the horrors that come along with scientific experimentation, and the pursuit of science unavoidably leading to tragedy. The novel presents insights that are just as valid today as when the novel was written in the 19th century. Dr. Frankenstein makes a scientific breakthrough in his creation of the monster, but at what cost? This novel shows us the dangers of attempting to find something we are simply unprepared to manage. Victor’s urges to truly learn the secret of making life completely blinds him to the consequences of achieving such a feat. This book also shows that our ethical (or unethical) actions have the potential to hurt not only ourselves, but also others around us.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, illustrates an interesting story focusing in on many different themes, but what most readers may miss, is the similarities between Victor Frankenstein and the creature he created. As the story develops, one may pick up on these similarities more and more. This is portrayed through their feelings of isolation, thirst for revenge, their bold attempt to play god, and also their hunger to obtain knowledge. These are all displayed through a series of both the actions and the words of Frankenstein and his creature.

Throughout the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the creature is subjected to countless acts of violence and rejection. For a monster to develop, one must have been formerly exploited either by an individual or their society. The creature is not only a physical product of science, but his atrocious behavior is also an explicit result of Victor’s actions toward him. The creature was not born a monster, but slowly morphed into one as he experiences violence and rejection from his society.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein explores the concepts of knowledge and science and the dangers involved with the pursuit and investigation of these ideas. The novel conveys Shelley’s attitudes towards science by portraying it as having the capability to exceed the bounds of human restraint. Through the development of her protagonist Victor Frankenstein, the romantic and gothic aspects of her novel, the period of 1818 and the influences of the world she was living in that

Mary Shelley’s exemplification of various characters in Frankenstein is a reflection of social norms of the time. This is ever so evident through the character of the creature, as society’s disgust with him reflects society’s aspiration in customs. This rejection of the creature also reflects Shelley’s own society as they start rejecting the Enlightenment’s pursuit of knowledge after the age of Romanticism

Victor Frankenstein was close to his family from the beginning of the story. His parents gifted him Elizabeth, whom he grew close with, and would eventually wish to marry. Victor’s father was incredibly proud of him, and due to their closeness, Victor eventually wished to become a doctor, as his father was. Victor’s father pushed him towards medicine, sparking the initial interest in science for Victor. He grew up with an incredibly strong moral conscience because of his loving family. His family

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells a story about the creation and the destruction of a man considered by society to be a “monster”. In the novel, there is profound meaning to be found in the monster’s self-education. Patterned after the evolution of human learning, the monster’s spontaneous learning proceeds through major stages. First, is the accidental discovery of fire, this is followed by a realization by the monster that knowledge yields power.

In most people’s minds as of today, there is no question to who the monster is in Mary Shelley’s book, Frankenstein. It is the creature that Viktor Frankenstein created, that murders innocent people. However, when looking beyond the appearance of the creature, it is evident that he did not begin as a monster. Mary Shelley analyzes fundamental and crucial issues in her novel in terms of being able to use science and knowledge for the good of people and not for the satisfaction of personal ambitions without even being able to take responsibility for that. It is also the novel of social rejection based on external looks and inability to accept. It was the extreme misconceptions of humans that resulted in the extreme isolation of Frankenstein’s

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become a classic in modern literature. Her tale is full of moral lessons that encompass a wide variety of subjects but one of the most prevalent is the theme of knowledge and its pursuit. Frankenstein, Walton, and the Monster all have an appetite for acquiring knowledge and actively pursue their perspective interests, but it soon turns to the obsessive and proves to be dangerous. Each of the character’s desires demonstrates to be detrimental to them when no boundaries are established. Through the use of consequences, Shelley’s Frankenstein shows that the relentless and obsessive pursuit of knowledge can lead to dangerous and disastrous situations.