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The Monster in Frankenstein Essay example

Decent Essays

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

In 1818, The British Critic, a British literary magazine, assessed Mary Shelley's new novel, Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus. The reviewer wrote:

"We need scarcely say, that these volumes have neither principle, object, nor moral; the horror which abounds in them is too grotesque and bizarre ever to approach near the sublime, and when we did not hurry over the pages in disgust, we sometimes paused to laugh outright; and yet we suspect, that the diseased and wandering imagination, which has stepped out of all legitimate bounds, to frame these disjointed combinations and unnatural adventures, might be disciplined into something better. We heartily wish it were so, for …show more content…

With the rise of industry and technology, we no longer look to God for answers to questions which seem unanswerable, we look to our own science. But can this science be trusted in the way we trust our God? If our own science can answer these questions, how does God play a role? Are we our own God?

Victor Frankenstein may have thought so for an instant. He is a character who embodies many of the struggles which characterized a new age-- an age where questions we previously thought would always remain a mystery were suddenly very much within our understanding, where powers we never thought we could possess are now very much under our control.

"when we did not hurry over the pages in disgust, we sometimes paused to laugh outright"

Perhaps the most important part of the monster is the how absolutely human it really is. It is at first hopeful, curious, and sympathetic, gradually mistreated, jaded, and disgusted, and finally angry, vengeful, and lonely. The wretch is not a monster which insights fear in us at all times. We are scared of its implications, but not necessarily itself. In fact, we often feel sorry for the wretch. The wretch is not intended to be gore for the sake of gore. It is violent at times, but the fact that we can sympathize, and even find humor in the description of the wretch is what makes it all the more lasting. The

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