Social Values in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Common rules create common fools. A society where everyone acted the same, abiding identically by some universal principles seems immediately enticing. It would be a world of no crime, where every individual acted in exactly the way that maximized pleasure for every other individual. In short, it would be a perfect utilitarian state. Yet, such a society would be rigid and boring, lacking all the qualities of unbounded life. Beauty comes from tragedy. Meaning is derived from misfortune. Some argue that happiness itself cannot truly exist without its counterpart, misery. Without uniquely acting individuals, life is meaningless. Mary Shelley would certainly have agreed with this statement. Indeed, in her novel Frankenstein, Shelley recognizes

   Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, sheds light on the importance of appearance through the tale of an unwanted creation that is never given a chance by society. Ironically, the supposed beast was initially much more compassionate and thoughtful than his creator, until his romantic and innocent view of the human race was diminished by the cruelty and injustice he unduly bore. Not only does the creature suffer the prejudice of an appearance-based society, but other situations and characters in the novel force the reader to reflect their own hasty judgment. The semi- gothic novel includes several instances of societal prejudice that include the isolation and outcast of Frankenstein's creation,

God and Dr. Frankenstein both gave life; They both accomplished the incredible task of bestowing life. They both used a body parts from anohter human to form another. God used the rib of Adam and Dr. used many body parts. Frankenstein knew that creation the monster was wrong and still went through with it. Just like Adam and eve knew that eating the apple from the forbidden tree was wrong, they both disobeyed God. Another way they similar is after Adam and Eve disobeyed God they ran and tried to hide from God. Likewise after Frankenstein realized that he had messed up the ran from his

There is a contradiction in the beginning of Frankenstein’s downfall when he was formulating his creation - if humans should obtain the power to “play God” given medical tools (used for good) to create a living creature consisted of corpse body parts (which is seen as immoral). In page 39, Frankenstein states the reason behind his commitment to something wicked, “The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous an undertaking, [...] yet when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success.” In this dialogue, we can draw that Frankenstein is merely an ambitious character that did what he did because of the elements and philosophy he had within reach. The myriad of components combined would have never

Though Victor Frankenstein and his creation both have qualities that are clearly monstrous, Victor’s selfishness, his abandonment of his responsibilities, and his inability to recognize his own faults and the monstrous qualities within himself qualities within himself make him the true monster while his creation is rather the opposite.

Shelley’s Romantic novel Frankenstein (1818) compares and reflects values of humanity and the consequences of our Promethean ambition against the futuristic, industrialized world of Blade Runner (1992) by Ridley Scott. The notions of unbridled scientific advancement and technological progress resonate with our desire to elevate humanity’s state of being, mirrored amongst the destructive ambition to overtake and disrupt nature and its processes. The disastrous implications of overreaching the boundary between progressive and destructive power and knowledge are heeded through the ultimate and inevitable loss of self and identity, transforming humanity into a form of monstrosity.

Frankenstein was a coward that used science selfishly to become a God without taking responsibility of the retaliation of defying the laws of Nature. The Monster did kill many and became a murderer, acts that cannot be forgot except that they are the consequence of the negligence of its creator. That is why ethics are necessary, as people like Victor Frankenstein, in the name of the human civilization, do terrible and unethical acts. Victor had an obsession, just like the Monster, the first one with building and the other one with destroying. In the end, the Monster could have been the result of an experiment that could have to be useful for society in some way, at least, better than an indifferent criminal. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the biggest threat to society as he has a negligent attitude, governed by impulsive attitudes, Frankenstein, in the beginning, tries to be good but the Monster embraced his darker side, his ambition, and egotism which consumed Victor's entire life, ending up in misery that involved not only the one playing as God and its creation but everyone around them that had nothing to do with

The topic of appearance and judgment is greatly exemplified in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as it becomes apparent that

In the beginning, Frankenstein made the poor decision to abandon the creature. If Frankenstein would have actually stayed with the creature and taught him right from wrong, and the ways of the world the novel would have been completely different. The creature could have grown up in a loving household and would not have ever felt the desire for revenge. However, the creature did not he was abandoned and nobody wanted to have anything to do with his monstrous

Alhough Victor Frankenstein calls his creature a monster, and considers it disgusting and abhorrent, it is in fact Frankenstein who behaves monstrously. He claims to have created the creature for a noble purpose: to defeat death. However, it is clear that his motives

     Romantic writer Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein does indeed do a lot more than simply tell story, and in this case, horrify and frighten the reader. Through her careful and deliberate construction of characters as representations of certain dominant beliefs, Shelley supports a value system and way of life that challenges those that prevailed in the late eighteenth century during the ‘Age of Reason’. Thus the novel can be said to be challenging prevailant ideologies, of which the dominant society was constructed, and endorsing many of the alternative views and thoughts of the society. Shelley can be said to be influenced by her mothers early feminist views, her father’s

This example of the significance of appearance in modern society is also echoed in Frankenstein. The parallel between the society in the novel and modern society is that of snap judgements based solely on appearances. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein is a perpetrator of such judgements. Victor “selected his features as beautiful.” Here it is seen Victor’s shallowness as he picked the most perfect body parts and beauteous features, all to be pieced together in great anticipation. However as one can see, the result is horrific and due to the hideousness of the wretch that he has created, he abandons him. This same shallowness of judgement due to appearance again surfaces when Victor accuses the creature of murdering William

 "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?" This question, posed by Captain Robert Walton on page 22 of Mary Shelley's immortal Frankenstein, lies susceptible to interpretation to mean the ambition of man in one sense, but in another, the collective persecution and prejudice inherent in mankind.

    The creature's ambiguous humanity has long puzzled readers of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In this essay I will focus on how Frankenstein can be used to explore two philosophical topics, social contract theory, and gender roles, in light of ideas from Shelley's two philosophical parents, William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

I hastily fled to my newest place of work. I had inhabited the world with a second creation. This demon, though a woman, was more terrifying and hideous than the first. A monstrous creature created only for longing of a new beginning. A world where I would forget this horrible deed I had bestowed upon the universe. I had only promised my first creation a companion, not a family. His companion would never get the chance to conceive, for no more demons will wreak havoc upon mankind. I fled knowing the creature was close looking for what I had promised him.