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Secrecy in Frankenstein Essay

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When a crime is committed, the blame is usually placed on the criminal. This is because a crime cannot take place without a criminal. However, a lawbreaker generally has reasons for his misdeed. For a crime to occur, a criminal must have incentive. Consequently, the causes of a wrongdoer’s motivation are also responsible for the offence. In addition, crimes can be avoided if the proper precautionary measures are taken. Therefore, anyone who could have stopped a crime from happening is partially accountable for it. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature created by Victor Frankenstein kills several of Victor’s loved ones. These murders could be blamed on the creature, but he is not solely responsible for them. The root cause of the …show more content…

The enormous difference in the way Victor views the creature before and after its completion shows that he has an altered state of mind while he works on it. As a result of Victor’s secrecy about his creation, he sacrifices his health and happiness to make a creature that disgusts him. Victor endangers people by not warning them about the creature. When Henry Clerval arrives in Ingolstadt, Victor explains his haggard appearance by telling him that he has been too “deeply engaged in one occupation” (88) to allow himself sufficient rest. He does not tell Henry any details about this occupation because he cannot bear to think about his creature. When Victor invites Henry to his apartment, he “[dreads] to behold this monster; but [he fears] still more that Henry should see him” (88). This shows that he is more concerned about Henry finding out how he has been spending his time than he is about his own safety. He does not want to tell his secret to his very close friend. For this reason, Victor makes Henry wait at the bottom of the stairs while he checks his apartment for the creature. Shortly after they enter the apartment, Victor becomes ill. His illness lasts several months. Since he is the only person who knows about the creature’s existence, there is nobody who can search for it while he is ill. During Victor’s illness, William Frankenstein, his youngest brother, is murdered by the monster. Although the

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