Frankenstein's Monster and Milton's Satan
An Essay on Paradise Lost and Frankenstein
By Chris Davidson
Almost all great works of literature contain allusions to other great works of literature that enhance the meaning of the work. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is an excellent example of a major literary work that contains a sustained allusion to another major work. Frankenstein contains many references to Milton’s Paradise Lost, and the two stories are parallel in many aspects.
In Shelly’s novel Frankenstein’s monster in often compared to Adam from Milton’s epic work. In fact, the monster himself tells Victor Frankenstein that he sees himself as being very similar to Adam. Like Adam, the monster was, in a sense, perfect at his
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Rejection of one’s offspring is another theme in Shelly’s novel and is reinforced by comparing the monster to Satan because Satan was one of God’s heavenly children but was ultimately rejected by God. However, Satan and the monster differ in a key aspect: Satan fell with companions. The monster fell alone, and the monster himself brings this fact to the attention of both Victor and the reader, saying that his loneliness was the most loathsome part of his existence, reinforcing the theme that happiness lies in close companions who complete the person. The monster is also similar to Satan in that neither he nor Satan directly attacks his creator in retaliation. Rather, they both attack those closest to their creators, inflicting more pain than any direct attack could. Satan attacks God’s beloved new creation, man, and the monster attacks Victor’s closest friends and family members. The pain caused by the attacks on these close companions again illustrates the romantic idea that close companions are essential to life and the peace of the individual.
Allusions are also made that show that Frankenstein himself is also similar to Adam in Paradise Lost. Like Adam, Frankenstein brings about his own downfall by making a choice to attain knowledge that he should not have. Shelly uses this comparison to bring a very important
In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley weaves an intricate web of allusions through her characters’ expedient desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his monster allude to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Book eight of Milton’s story relates the tale of Satan’s temptation and Eve’s fateful hunger for knowledge. The infamous Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously pristine world. With one swift motion sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving pain and malevolence in its wake. The troubles of Victor Frankenstein begin with his quest for knowledge, and end where all end: death. The characters in Frankenstein are a conglomeration of those
Appeals are present in the novel. Throughout the novel, there are many characters but the main important characters are victor Frankenstein, the creature. Victor Frankenstein is a scientist who knows everything about scientific field, who wants to prove that he is a great scientist. Then, tries to create life but instead created a monster. Later on the monster started killing people. The monster killed victor brother because the monster wanted someone to love him. Then, he killed victor’s wife, and left him alone with misery. Once, victor died the monster end up being alone again. Mary Shelly uses imagery, metaphor, and personification to prove that loneliness could lead to tragedy in life but in the novel it also proves that satisfaction is not found by revenge, and beauty and appearance allows more acceptance in the society.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, themes of abandonment and isolation are shown, similar to Paradise Lost, the story of God banishing Satan. When he reflects on his short existence and reads from Paradise Lost, the monster sees that he is more like Satan who was rejected by God than like Adam who was loved by God and he seeks redemption.
Gabriella Knox 5th Period February 28, 2024 Allusion Essay There are numerous allusions in Frankenstein to other well-known pieces of literature, but a few in particular stand out as the perfect example of how the creature feels about himself and Frankenstein. The Bible, one of, if not, the oldest and most well-known books in history, starts with the story of Satan being banished and the creation of the world and man. Satan and his small army of rebel angels were banished from heaven due to their blasphemy and evil intentions. Shortly after, God created the Earth, all animals and plants, and the first human, Adam. Adam and the first woman, Eve, lived in close relation to God before they were deceived by Satan to disobey God and kicked out of the Garden of Eden.
Mary Shelley alludes to literary text, intellectual history, and her personal life in order to deliver the theme with literary style, to develop the characters’ background, and to emphasize the universality of the story. Literary texts such as Paradise Lost, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and the myth of Prometheus induces a sense of how commonplace the story of Frankenstein could be. Intellectual history adds to that effect by emphasizing the story with logic. Similarities to her personal life such as her childhood and marriage exemplifies her point. The external references in the novel serve to represent the Gothic and Romantic Movements and to encourage the readers to relate the situation to their own lives.
Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" narrates a story about a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his creation of a monster set apart from all worldly creatures. Frankenstein's creation parallels Milton's "Paradise Lost" and God's creation of man; Victor Frankenstein is symbolic of God and the monster is symbolic of Adam. The parallel emphasizes the moral limitations of mankind through Victor Frankenstein and the disjunction and correlation with "Paradise Lost". Shelly links the two stories together through Victor's creation of the monster and his "fall" from humanity which I will focus on initially. More importantly, the main divergence of the two works lies in the representation of God in "Paradise Lost" and Victor in "Frankenstein". Both the
In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley weaves an intricate web of allusions through her characters’ expedient desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his monster allude to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Book eight of Milton’s story relates the tale of Satan’s temptation and Eve’s fateful hunger for knowledge. The infamous Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously pristine world.
Throughout Frankenstein the author Mary Shelley uses the Prometheus myth to build her main character, Victor. The original title of Shelly’s book was Frankenstein; the Modern Prometheus, this, however is not the only connection to the myth from Mary Shelley; Victor Frankenstein is similar to Prometheus. With all the similarities that will be shared, Victor and Prometheus also have differences. They both share a similar fate, but for different reasons. While Prometheus’s goal is misunderstood by the gods, Victor’s fate stems from his abandonment of his goal. Both characters share similar emotions for what they have done, however they end up reacting differently.
The lack of an origin causes the monster to exhibit characteristics of Satan. While talking to Victor the Monster states, “Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel”(81). The monster demonstrates feelings of betrayal and abandonment as he is seen by Victor as a lesser being due to his “fallen angel”(81) status. A continuous reference to Adam demonstrates the Monsters desire to be loved by Victor for being a successful creation. However, the Monster faces reality in that he was abandoned, since Victor was “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created”(44). The Monster’s expulsion from Victor’s life fuels his insecurities as he begins to “considered Satan as the fitter emblem of [his] condition”(110). Victor’s abandonment parallels to the story of Satan as he was cast out of heaven by God, similarly to how the Monster was cast out of Victor’s life. Not only, does the Monster take on the name of Satan, but also a few of the
In the book, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the author illustrates similarities between both Victor and the Monster he creates. She draws parallels between the two regarding their feelings on family, nature, on exacting revenge, and how they both become isolated from society. Both are able to demonstrate extreme intelligence. As the novel progresses, Victor and the Monster become more similar to each other. Their relationship turns to one in which each is consumed with getting revenge on the other at all costs.
Thank you June for sharing your comments! I enjoyed learning many things about Frankenstein. I also enjoyed learning many things about evolution. Yes, science is involved with the laws of nature. Science does involve culture. Culture may be able to affect the society overall. Different cultures have a different way of living. Yes, some people may believe that it is good to earn power. Evolution does deal with organisms. Did you learn anything new while conducting your
This liberation provides new identity, shaping their mind and decisions to the point of questioning society. For many, that freedom is seen as dangerous and needs suppression because it breaks the conformity that their society needs. Through the words of Shelley, Atwood, Orwell and Zusak however the benefits become clear. In Frankenstein,The unnamed “monster” antagonist’s eloquence and mastery of language allows him to understand the depth of his constant rejection from society and the horrific manner of his creation. His newfound identity brings him the inspiration to break free from his rejection and seek ultimate revenge against the unfairness of his creator. The monster profoundly relates to the biblical text “Paradise lost” reading it as factual history which then in turn transforms his persona with relation to Satan, a “fallen angel.” Shelley’s decision to include this results in the Monster’s realization of his victimization and encourages him to challenge the manner of his creation. To the monster’s downfall, he also discovers how very little he has in this world. He questions if he is better off with the knowledge of his creation “And what was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of
The characters from Frankenstein are a lot similar with the characters from this poem. The creature is similar to Milton’s Satan respecting the fact that is being every now and then a compassionate character that is rejected by his own creator. Actually, Victor quotes from Paradise Lost in order to illustrate how he is forever condemned because of his sins against the laws of nature. Victor is Satan because both are incapable to be forgiven because they do not feel true remorse in their actions. Their pride is the main emotion that holds them back from gaining
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the inter-textual connection to the bible is prominent throughout the whole novel. Shelley connected the monster to Adam, Satan, the story of Eve and Adam and the monster reading Paradise Lost. Seeing as the bible was a highly read and recommended text during the early 19th century, Shelley’s establishment of the references served to establish Frankenstein as a sort of allegory of moralist text. She begins her biblical allusions with the idea of creations, mistakes and sins.
Beating at the heart of Paradise Lost lies a common theme that Milton’s God controls all. He makes the best choices for man and his legion of angels due to His omniscient presence. Stemming from this capacity to create life with an overarching lens, He creates the most favorable outcome for his creations. Contrary to Milton’s God’s all-knowing perspective when creating Adam, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley estranges Victor Frankenstein from his humanity during his creation of his monster. This validates that man should not play God because man does not have the vision to fully understand his own actions, leading to chaos and violence when he attempts to create life.