Frankenstein vs. the Rime and the Ancient Mariner

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge both present many of the same themes throughout both literature works. Victor and the Ancient Mariner are two individuals who became completely obsessed with their pursuits and it regrettably takes over their lives. The creature that Victor created and the albatross on the Mariners ship drove them crazy and eventually to their deaths. To their misfortune they end up having to pay the ultimate price. Mary Shelly references this epic poem in her novel because The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Frankenstein are tales of life and death and they epitomize the themes of consequences, beauty, and hubris. Victor and the ancient Mariner both became obsessed with their quests; Victor with his creature and the Marnier with the albatross. These goals were so important to them that they took over their lives and blinded them from everything else. The Mariner explains that “agony returns; and till my ghastly tale is told, this heart within me burns” (Coleridge 578-580). His punishment of killing the bird is that he has to keep telling his story over and over again. Both characters knew that they were going to be punished and have to pay the ultimate price for what they had done. Victors unthinking act of creating the creature led to the murder of two of his closest loved ones. "I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts" (Shelley 100). Mary Shelly uses The Rime of the Ancient Mariner because both Victor and the Mariner did single unthinking acts that got them both severely punished. When Robert Walton finds victor he discovers that victor is determined to tell his tale just like the mariner is forced to tell his tale over and over again. Victor however knows he is dying and wants Walton to remember his
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