In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is first depicted as a hero that turns tragic due to his own detrimental flaws. Victor’s demise began when his mother died while trying to nurture Elizabeth back to health. Due to his need for an escape, Victor turns to his fascination with nature. He feels trapped in his tragic, monotonous life and craves the feeling of living again. Seen first as a genius of science, Victor is loved by others only for him to turn around and become the cause of suffering for nearly every character.
You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind” (86). The monster is asking Frankenstein to take a little bit of responsibility for him. This is really all the monster wants, and technically, it is Frankenstein’s duty to do so.
The Creature also wanted revenge when Dr. Frankenstein would not create a companion for him! The Creature promised Dr. Frankenstein that he would regret his decision to not make him a counterpart. Sure enough the Creature fulfilled his promise by making him suffer by killing off Dr. Frankenstein’s best friend Clerval and his wife Elizabeth. They both lived and went out of their way to satisfy there longing for revenge. Even so, they both found solitude in the nature around
Frankenstein Sean Saenz Period 1 5/21/11 ''Ignorance is bliss, and knowledge is pain.'' This statement’s truth is argued in Frankenstein. Victor decides to bring a creature to life and that is something that god is supposedly only to be able to do. Victor soon realizes what he has done is a horrible mistake. He must then deal with the consequences unable to tell anyone what has happened and who really killed his friends and family.
Frankenstein said by all means he would chase the creature until one of them dies, but the creature on the other hand after murdering said," I have strangled the innocent as they sleep”. Regretting murdering, the creature wept at his mistakes. Frankenstein died unfulfilled, he had not done what he had hoped to. The creature stated, "I have murdered the lovely and the helpless," feeling awful for what he did and Frankenstein said that someone else might succeed in which he failed. Frankenstein from the start wanted the creature dead and as he was dying he still didn't give up stating that another may succeed.
With both Victor and the monster being similar, working in secrecy and animosity are the most present traits displayed in Frankenstein. Victor works in secrecy excluding himself from society and gives life to a monster. Victor succeeds at his goal of becoming god and achieving the power to give life but runs away from his creation. Victor flees from his experiment mostly because it
Freud argues on behalf of the monster because he interprets Victor's refusal to let the monster have a companion as a part of being mildly content. Victor convinces the real monster that he's going to build this new "companion" for him yet decides not to after considering reasoned ramifications at the costs of the lives of others he loves. Freud argues, "When any situation that is desired by the pleasure principle is prolonged, it only produces a feeling of mild contentment" (Freud 25). Victor is a monster in that he let's his own family die at the hands of the monster in order to make himself not look foolish after refusing to build the monster a woman-monster and to content himself with what is just in his eyes. Victor even travels for some time with his friend Clerval, ignoring his promised task to the monster in order to avoid further suffering.
The monster can be seen as monstrous because he is hideously ugly and rejected by society. However, he is also monstrous because he lost his innocence by killing people that were innocent to get revenge on Frankenstein. The monster kills everyone who was close to Frankenstein, including Elizabeth, the person he loved the most since childhood. This vendetta was the result of Victor breaking his promise to make a companion. Frankenstein himself also has a monstrosity to him because his ambition, secrecy, and selfishness make him isolated from society.
“(168) This novel gave the idea of suicide to the Monster which was inflicted upon being denied by everyone and not knowing his spot in humanity. As the Monster read “Paradise Lost” he connected to having a war with his creator, and believes that he was Victor’s “Satan”. Thinking in the role of Satan, the Monster kills Victor’s family, just like Satan took away God’s angels. The novel “Plutarch’s Lives” gave the monster some input on life. “The patriarchal lives of my protectors caused these impressions to take a firm hold on my mind; perhaps, if my first introduction to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations.” (170) The Monster finally found his reason for being on earth and he believes he found his spot in humanity.
In the book, Frankenstein shows his disgust of creating a mate for the creature and he goes on to talk about all the possible consequences. “Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations?” this quote could directly apply to some of the problems of genetic modification. Frankenstein eventually comes to the conclusion that he does not have any right to create a second creature to satisfy the existing creature’s wishes as well as for sake of himself. By creating a second creature, it could possibly bring unintentional consequences to the future generations. Frankenstein felt so strongly against it that he stopped the creating and damned himself.