Victor Frankenstein Research Paper

The idea of pursuing knowledge clouded Victor’s mind and when his creature is born he is shocked to discover that what he has created is far off his own expectations. Not only did the monster destroy his expectations of developing a creature that went beyond human knowledge, but it also affected his life, dignity, and fears. Victor himself admits to his own mistake when he says, “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless honor and disgust filled my heart ” (36). Victor Frankenstein realizes what his obsession with pursuing an extensive amount of knowledge has brought him. His destiny to achieve the impossible with no regard for anyone or anything but himself shows that he is blinded by knowledge when creating the monster and is incapable to foresee the outcome of his creation. Victor’s goal was meant to improve and help humanity, but instead it leads to

The creature began to converse freely with the blind father who addressed him with kindness. However, when his two children returned, the daughter fainted and the son "dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick" forcing the creature to "quit the cottage and escape unperceived to my hovel" (115). These acts of cruelty emphasize how often humanity stereotypes individuals. Just because a creature looks monstrous does not mean his intentions match his appearance. After this heartbreaking event, the monster decides to stop seeking love and instead to seek revenge against his creator and attempt to force Victor to create a companion for him. The creature attempts to explain his cruel ways when he exclaims, "There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my

This novel reflects Shelley’s own childhood, which consisted of her feeling obligated to rebel against her own father’s wishes and his choice for her marriage. Frankenstein is a way for Shelley to tell her own experiences with parental conflict and how she feels she was affected by her demanding father and the environment she grew up in, by comparing herself to Victor’s monster. Shelley analyzed her own characteristics, and the characteristics of her father, and placed them within Victor and the

The ultimate consequences of Promethean ambition are characterized through Victor and Walton, who parallels Victor, yet is able to turn from the ‘intoxicating draught’ of superiority and unbridled ambition. This juxtaposition of character reinforces the significance of moral responsibility, as Shelley ultimately mocks the hateful bond between Frankenstein and his child, the Monster. The harsh consequences of disrupting nature and forfeiting moral conscience are conveyed, connoting the inevitable demise due to loss of self and identity.

Mary Shelley makes us question who really the “monster” is. Is it the creature or Victor? While the creature does commit murder, he does not understand the consequences of his actions. He is like an infant who is unfortunately left to learn about the workings of society, and his place in it, on his own. He has no companions and feels a great sense of loneliness and abandonment. The creature voices his frustration and anger and seems to try to project his feelings of guilt onto Victor, as if to show him that he is the ultimate cause of the creature’s misery while he is simply the victim of Victor’s manic impulse. Shelley utilizes words, phrases, and specific tones when the creature vents his misery to Victor and this evokes, amongst the

A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques.  Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love.  To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”.  Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility.  Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s

The “Frankenstein” society only upholds and esteem those who are of “high and unsullied descent united with riches” (Shelley 386), these privileges commanding reverence and respect. Here, Shelley articulates a distinct class hierarchy prevalent within society, wherein disadvantaged figures like the creature, who does not possess sufficient wealth or honourable descend, will be condescendingly dismissed or even loathed upon. The creature who is perpetually the less powerful (given that it has neither family nor riches) will forever remain “a blot upon the earth” (Shelley 386), the stain as an analogy which reiterates its unwanted and undesirable position. Further accentuating such class inequalities is the juxtaposition of the monster’s status with that of Victor and his family. Termed a “savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island” (Shelley 280), the monster is alluded to be a wild and obscure figure whose acute lack of stable power and identity shapes it into a strange and terrifying Other dwelling within an incomprehensible realm, a manifestation “representing the dispossessed” (Vlasopolos 130). In contrast, Victor’s family, who originates from the aristocratic upper class, belongs within society and is highly-regarded. The superiority enjoyed by their status is exemplified from how they are already well-established as a family whose ancestors “had been for many years counsellors and syndics” (Shelley 289), their father gloriously securing much “honour and reputation” (Shelley 289) in numerous public domains. The creature who is part of the inferior class is comparatively neglected and remains the outcast, relegated to the isolated sphere of the Other. The collective contempt demonstrated towards the creature builds and affirms its distinct status as the Other, whose victimisation then works to expose class inequalities hidden behind the façade of

Victor uses his knowledge not for the benefit of society, but for his own purpose of experimentation which ends up turning out the opposite way that he imagines. Knowing his own vanity, Victor says "lean from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous 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 38). After creating the monster and all the hardships Victor had to go through, he realizes that a person should be happy with the world around him/her and not try to change it. He admits that trying to become a man greater than who he could be drove him mad and his knowledge went in tow with it. From

In her fear-provoking novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the consequences of fervently pursuing a desire for knowledge. She reveals the dangers of acquiring knowledge through her character, Victor Frankenstein, who becomes so consumed with discovering the origin of life that he eventually endows life upon a creature built from lifeless matter. However, Victor neglects his duties as a creator by abandoning his creation, as he is immediately disgusted by the creature’s appearance. On his own, the creature is constantly rejected by society due to his appearance, and ultimately, he vows revenge on his creator. The creature fulfills this task by murdering most of Victor’s loved ones, including his closest friend, Henry Clerval, and his own

Oftentimes, society expects a childhood fraught with darkness and trauma to produce a turbulent, unstable adult. In sharp contrast to this commonly held belief, any childhood may produce tempestuous individuals, even peaceful, idyllic childhoods. One such tranquil childhood that produced an erratic, imbalanced adult was the early life of Victor Frankenstein. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s virtuous childhood provides a harsh contrast to the horrific actions of his adult life. Victor Frankenstein’s scientific interests begin purely, a child motivated by true passion for new discoveries and scientific understanding.

The creature is a lonely individual who is rejected by every person he comes in contact with. His lack of nurture and positive social interaction causes him to become violent and seek revenge on Victor, the person he deems responsible for his miserable existence. Victor believes that the creature was evil from the time of his creation and does not find fault in himself. He refers to him as an “abhorred monster and fiend” (Shelley 93). Likewise, the creature argues that he would not be such a wretch if he had not been rejected by his creator.

Here, the theme is introduced by two very different characters, both in the aspect and in temperament, that are, at the same time, interdependent and complementary. As a matter of fact, they both experience the same feelings (grief, loss, loneliness etc..), still they manage to face them differently. Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature are at the same time the opposite and the mirror of each other. Furthermore, the Creature is for Victor the physical remainder of his failure, while the Creature sees in his ‘father’ the society who has denied him love and happiness. They are the disgrace of one another. Also, Shelley understood very well the concept of the society as a shaper. In fact, the Creature, once innocent and kind, turns evil because of a society that has judged and refused him purely because of his look. Therefore, he not only embodies Frankenstein’s unsuccessful attempt of creating a new human being, but also he represents the failure of a society overly focused on one’s

People often have many goals in life, and while some are easy to achieve, others are not. Victor Frankenstein originally has a strong interest in natural philosophy and begins to study this subject, even without his father’s approval. However, when he attends the university in Ingolstadt, he discovers he has been studying outdated information. This fuels his interest in the subject and convinces him to pursue his studies in natural philosophy. With this newfound drive, Victor aspires to create life. He begins to design and create a Creature with the most beautiful features. After two years of restless work, Victor brings the Creature to life, but determines it is a monster and runs away, abandoning it. Over time, the Creature educates itself and decides to find Victor. However, during his journey, the villagers reject him and, in the end, he turns to evil. In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley utilizes Victor Frankenstein to confront his aspiration to create life. However, through his abandonment of responsibilities and his desire for revenge, this aspiration does not benefit Victor in the way he hopes. Mary Shelley tragically demonstrates how the nature of conflict and lack of responsibility result in a negative outcome, impacting the life of Victor and those related to him.