He tells him ‘do your duty towards me and I will do mine towards you,’ and if Frankenstein refused, he threatened him by saying he would ‘glut the maw of death’. This shows how the Creature’s abandonment and lack of nurture leads him to become a murderer. Further proof of this is when, during the Creature’s tale he tell Frankenstein ‘I could not conceive how one man could go fourth and murder his fellow’ showing that he was ‘benevolent and good’ and had Frankenstein full filled his duty he may have remained so. The Creature admits to Frankenstein ‘misery made me a fiend’ implying that Frankenstein’s actions, or lack of action, lead to this misery. Primarily it is not Frankenstein who has to suffer the consequences of his creating life, it is the Creature.
One of the ways Shelley explores the dark side of the human psyche is the suppressed and forbidden knowledge which Victor Frankenstein is hungry for. We can see this when Frankenstein states 'how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge'. However it will ultimately lead to a happier life that the man 'who believes his native town to be the whole world'. This drives Frankenstein to exceed the boundaries of science hence create new life. Shelley portrays the desire of knowledge as lust which, if left unhindered, can drive a man to peril.
The Monster had done nothing to deserve what Victor has put him through, so the fact that the Creation turns on Victor was perfectly normal. Victor has no respect for his creation, abandoned him, and causes him to turn on his creator therefore, making him the real monster. The monster does not deserve the behavior he gets from Victor. He treats his creation like property when the Monster deserves to be treated normally. If parents would respect their children more then cases like Victors creation would be much
Victor mentions his upbringing ; “ No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself”(Shelley 120). Victor had grown up with loving parents who were “ possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence”(16), wealth and also knowledge which he had the opportunity to pursue. Victor at the end of the book is no longer the person he was before but someone who seemed to be what was left of Victor Frankenstein, an apparition. This downfall is due to his ambition. After isolating himself from everybody for two months while creating his monster, his health started to deteriorate, and in the end died alone.
In the novel Frankenstein, author Marry Shelley depicts character Victor Frankenstein as a scientist with a strong passion for forbidden knowledge and finding the answers to life through science. Though his intentions are good this leads him to the creation of a monster. Throughout the novel Frankenstein is constantly encountered by obstacles that test his passions for science and responsibility for his creation. For Victor it seems that the choice to abandon the monster is the easier path, rather than taking care of his creation. In the beginning of the book, right after the creation of the monster, Victor fled his home to get away from the creature, only to return and find that it had escaped.
However, the values remain consistent and thus via the respective forms of the text, composers explore issues relating to humanity and unchecked science. Within each text, the composers similarly explore how when scientific endeavour is pursued without a moral frame, the consequences for creator and created, and furthermore humanity, are devastating. The impact on mankind is reflected as Victor Frankenstein brings his monster into existence. This is evident through the use of high modality as he says ‘a new species would bless me as its creator’ and ‘natures would owe their being to me’. Victor’s distant and cold language reveals his overwhelming hubris and reflects the conflation of scientific and Romantic paradigms.
Mary Shelley uses many language devices to portray conflict in the novel Frankenstein. In chapter 5, Mary Shelley uses alliteration to convey to the reader the emotional conflict the monster is forced to face. Victor finally finishes his creation and observes its appearance: “I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster who I created”. This suggests to the reader that Victor is not pleased with his creation as he calls him a “monster”; the word “monster” makes the reader visualize a horrendous, spine-chilling, eerie creation creating a dark ambience. Furthermore, the author uses feelings to describe the monster.
Victor Frankenstein was an arrogant and ambitious scientist that wanted to play with the powers beyond human understanding and answer the ‘secret of life,’ with his “human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanisms of the Creator of the world.” Frankenstein effectively achieved this by “bestowing animation on a lifeless matter.” Shelley throughout the fourth chapter expresses the excited and ambitious scientist during the process of seeking his answers, he thought he was about to create “a new species [that] will bless [him] as its creator and source.” However this is juxtaposed with the decline of the individual which is revealed in the next chapter, “Now that [he had] finished” he realised “the beauty of the dream had vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart.” By answering the ‘secret of life,’ Frankenstein is forced to accept the consequences from releasing the ‘monster’ on the world. Shelley uses techniques of imagery to describe the unnamed monster “I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.” Shelley makes constant references to the physical and emotion price paid as a result of the individual, Victor
All of these characters shared one thing in common; they were protagonists of their respective stories. But this statement was not true in Frankenstein. It was the antagonist that deserved sympathy. The monster’s pitiless and cruel treatments from others aroused our sympathy, rather than his creator; Victor Frankenstein’s suffering, for he suffered more discrimination and lack
The Monster in the Lab Coat Many literary critics have long argued a question regarding Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Who is the real monster? One can argue that, throughout the novel, it is Victor Frankenstein, the overly ambitious scientist, who is the true monster. Victor Frankenstein is depicted as a callous creator who shows no empathy to his own innocent creature. Frankenstein fails his responsibility as a creator and abandons his creation to a life full of abhorrence. The creature has infinite potential, but it is Frankenstein’s prideful nature and negligence that makes the creature become “monstrous”.