While in nature, Victor Frankenstein laments, “If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us” (92). What does this quote mean and how does it apply to his own life? Nature is often an area where Victor Frankenstein goes to reflect on his life. His pensive thoughts come through when he observes the sublime nature. His quote means that life at its simplest elements, in which basic survival is most necessary, we would be free from the constraints imposed by higher order thoughts and civilization. This dynamic may be seen through the mental fitness pyramid in which physiological health is part of the …show more content…
A lack of belonging, safety, and clear goals threatens his happiness, though they are the norm in civilization. In simple terms, ignorance is bliss and higher-order thinking and knowledge is a threat to our happiness. This applies to both the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Victor appears to have an idyllic upbringing, as seen by the affectionate relationships that coexisted in his household. For example he describes his parents as having, “a considerable difference between the ages… but this circumstance seemed to unite them only closer in bonds of devoted affection” (41) and his relationship with Elizabeth with “harmony was the soul of our companionship” (44). His sheltered upbringing is inarguably the highest point of his happiness. However, as soon as he makes the monster, his mind is filled with anguish and yearning for a retreat to simpler civilization. After creating the being, he says, “Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly, that I felt the palpitation of every artery… mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food…. Were now hell to me” (61). After reaching his goal of bringing the dead to
Frankenstein Lit Analysis Rough Draft Since the beginning of time, Man has always pursued knowledge, but this pursuit is always kept within certain boundaries, especially while searching for the truths behind the creation and origin of life. As this quest for knowledge continues, men can become consumed with the perilous thoughts and ponderings required to attain this wisdom. In her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explains how the pursuit of forbidden knowledge can become dangerous through symbolism, allusion, and foreshadowing proving each effectively to the reader. Employing symbolism as her first technique, Shelley uses this in the way many other enlightenment authors do. The strongest use of symbolism is prevalent while Victor is contemplating
Children have never been very good at listening, but are very good at intimidating. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor, after obtaining an abundance of knowledge unknowingly created a creature that would soon seek revenge due to his feeling of rejection. Victor had been loved unconditionally by his parents. However he was not given the direction and reinforcement he desired while he was growing up. Victor was allowed to quarantine himself by his parents, rather than being educated to a better life.
Once noted, the parallels between Frankenstein’s fears and desires and the reality the monster experiences are many. Now that Victor is in university, he no longer has family and friends to fall back upon in the unknown territory of his university. Frankenstein voices is that “[he] believed [himself] totally unfitted for the company of strangers,” irrational as it may be, and believes himself solely dependent on his family and childhood friend for companionship. Without the love guaranteed to him by his family, Victor believes he is unfit to make companions by himself and destined to a life of loneliness. He places much importance on the fact that his father and Elizabeth love him and are concerned with his well-being.
Is Victor the Ruling God? One does not simply “play God” in this world, that role is more than just a dress up and act thing. Many people say that Victor in the novel Frankenstein tries to “play God” which is absolutely true. As the novel progresses the characteristics of the creator “playing God” become more obvious to the eye of the reader. Victor “plays the Lord” when he creates the creature, when he decides what to do with the orders of the creature, and when the monster creates the connection when reading the book Paradise Lost.
By denying both main characters the sensation of domestic affection, or any other kind of social belonging, Mary Shelley highlights the importance thereof. The resulting isolation became the driving force behind both Frankenstein and his creation’s abominable actions which, in turn, shows that trying to avoid isolation and seeking the feeling of social belonging is the primary message of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and of
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells the story of passionate scientist Victor Frankenstein, whose devotion to science leads him to become obsessed with creating life, but his good intentions lead to a lifelong conflict with his problematic creation. This creature causes pain and suffering for Victor by killing his friends and family, which causes him to feel responsible for their deaths. Ambition’s dark and addictive side got the best of Victor, who became blinded by dreams of glory. Similarly, Don Quixote fails to identify the risks of ambition while exploring Spain. He wants to be a famous knight so badly that he begins to hallucinate obstacles that he must conquer.
In 1818 Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, a novel that follows Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious man on his journey to defy the natural sciences. In Volume I of the novel, Victor discusses his childhood, mentioning how wonderful and amazing it was because of how his family sheltered him from the bad in the world. “The innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me” (35). When Victor brings up his childhood, he suggests that parents play a strong in how their kids turn out, either "to happiness or misery" (35). In particular the main character was sheltered as a child to achieve this “happiness” leading to Victor never developing a coping mechanism to the evil in the world.
He reads books, studies literature, explores sciences, and finds love. Frankenstein’s ability to explore new ideas and create are his biggest sources of freedom. At a young age, Victor discovers the teachings of Cornelius
The need and mutual respect for love and companionship is what truly makes one human. In the book Frankenstein it is seen from the first time Victor brings his monster to life that he has no compassion or attachment towards him. In fact, he abandons him out of fear. Throughout the story the monster feels a lack of affection, not only from Victor but from the other people he meets and wants to make friends with, leaving him in misery. Due to persistent abandonment and apathy, the monster sought out revenge and committed treacherous acts of violence.
It is clear that the monster wasn’t born to be a murderous, deceptive, villain. Instead, it was his surroundings that slowly molded him into such a wicked being. “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you so wantonly bestowed upon me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge.”
Oftentimes people are too afraid of what people might think to show their full potential. This is not the case for Victor in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see the journey of Victor and his creation as they separately get rejected and misunderstood by society. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein supports Emerson’s ideas of self-reliance because Victor shows that fearless people can achieve greatness.
Victor’s parental figures in Frankenstein poison him by surrounding him with countless indulgences. From childhood, Victor was given all of his desires without question and this led to him becoming self-centered and dependent on the service of others. Victor describes his childhood with
However, upon realizing had created an abomination as he finished, he flees, “…now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). After a long and grueling process, Frankenstein regarded the creature as horrid, malicious, heartless, inhuman, and uncouth – simply, a monster. He wanted to create life so bad that it became an obsession for him as he would go to any extreme to reach his goal.
In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen in the novel. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Critical Analysis About the author Naomi Hetherington is a member of the University of Sheffield, the department of lifelong learning. She is an early researcher in sexuality, religious culture, the 19th-century literature, and gender. She holds a BA in Theology and religious studies, an MA and a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature. She currently teaches four-year pathway literature degree at Sheffield University for students who have already attained foundation degrees. Among the books, she has written the critique of Frankenstein.