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.
‘Frankenstein’ or the ‘Modern Prometheus’ written by Mary Shelley was the product of a range of historical, cultural and philosophical ideologies of the time. The book was written in England during the Enlightenment Era and thus, embraces ideas relevant to the period as well. Victor Frankenstein was a scientist who in an attempt of experimentation creates a monstrous and grotesque creature using his scientific abilities. The story is about the downfall of Victor Frankenstein after the creation of this creature whom he abandons. The creature is born 8ft tall and ugly to look at, but with the mind of a new born child.
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.
Thus the linking premise is that dehumanisation or a loss of identity results once nature has been disrupted, and humanity becomes subservient to technology and scientific advancement. Frankenstein conveys the notion that the destructive thirst for scientific knowledge and pursuit for superiority results in a loss of morals, as well as a disrupted connection to the sublime world and innate self. Shelly believes that the maintenance of a moral world is structure around the need for mankind’s fair and benevolent nature; that the depth and beauty of life comes from the natural world. In the beginning, Victor Frankenstein is portrayed as a naïve individual who is inspired by the sublime: During my youthful days discontent never visited my mind; and if I was ever overcome by ennui, the sight of what is beautiful in nature could always interest my heart (p.201) However, as Frankenstein ages and develops a connection with Science, he ‘ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge’, and is then characterised as the Promethean hero who
To the reader, it seems that Shelly consistently reminds us of the lack of responsibility on the part of Frankenstein, and the monster’s inherent innocence, who is only made evil by his circumstances. But like the reader, Shelley too, is unclear about whose behaviour is most unjustifiable and unpardonable. With reference to David Punter’s essay “Gothic and Romanticism”, Victor Frankenstein can be compared to the ‘Wanderer’, the Wanderer’s essential characteristics being that he is hero and victim both, who defies God by crossing the laws of mortality and dares to touch the untouchable. The Wanderer is never satisfied with the restrictions placed on him by an ordered society, and he ultimately suffers for his disobedience. Victor clearly fits the description of the Wanderer, as his obsessive need to create life and be its sole creator has a hint of an unnatural desperation to satisfy his ego and attain gratitude.
Theirs is essentially an anti-biological reading of the tale in which the Poe hero tries in self-love “to turn the soul of the heroine into something like a physical object which can be known in direct cognition” (fate, p. 115). But if “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a drama of cognition, its cognitive impact is not circumscribed by “metaphysical speculation on the identity of matter and spirit”. (2) In this connection, Patrick F. Quinn’s suggestion that Usher is a criminal merits attention. (3) He is, in a biological reading of the story, a sexual criminal, and a critic like Richard Wilbur, who suggests that the poetic soul is out to “shake off this temporal, rational, physical world and escape . .
Obsession in Rod Serling’s “The New Exhibit” “Passion is a positive obsession. Obsession is a negative passion” is a famous quote from the author Paul Carvel (Paul). Indeed, while having a passion is seen as a healthy way through which people blossom themselves, obsession, on the other hand, is a term which bears a negative connotation and which indicates people’s state when they take their passions beyond a rational level. In The Twilight Zone’s episode “The New Exhibit”, Martin Lombard, who is insanely fascinated by the dark aspects of human nature, ends up being a murderer. The story of this episode suggests that when people have obsessions, they may unconsciously embody the traits of the objects of their fascination and may not realize this problem in time.
Tellingly, Victor bypasses the act of sex to create life, instead synthesising it independently of any maternal figure or sexual intercourse. By avoiding such a key part of creating life, one might consider the idea that he is uncomfortable in dealing with intimacy, perhaps unsure of how to deal with his sexuality or any repressed sexual feelings he might have. However, contrasting this is Frankenstein’s apparent ‘obsession’ with the ideals of the process of life. His narrative reveals the close link between his creation and birth – “After so much time spent in painful labour, to arrive at once at the summit of my decisions was the most gratifying consummation of my toils”. “Labour” and “consummation” reveal the sexual nature of the experiment, suggesting that his repressed sexual feelings are manifesting in the form of the “Creature”.
Through the minds of Palahniuk and Stevenson a common ground is reached in the two books Fight Club and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; both the narrator and Dr. Jekyll create their own misfortune in trying to fix the problems of the world, or better yet what they perceive the problems to be. In a sense the doppelganger of Dr. Jekyll and The Narrator create a misery that is eerie. These characters could be considered Byronic heroes; they start off admirable individuals but by the end of their journey we pity them. Another observation than can be made is through the birth of their alter egos Dr. Jekyll is in essence attempting to play God, and Tyler Durden (The Narrator’s doppelganger) believes he is God. The consequences of their decisions lead them to, ceaseless misery,
Mary Shelley, the author of The Frankenstein, provides valid points to prove that the creation of Frankenstein was a victim of circumstances verse a monster. It is a misguided, although a common belief that the creation of Victor Frankenstein was a monster, when in actuality based on the facts of the novel and the events that transpired their in , the creature of victor Frankenstein had the following transgression enacted upon him. The day he was brought to life, he was abandoned and left for dead by this creator, for the mere fact that his appearance was not elastically pleasing. With an overwhelming desire to live, the creature of Victor