Mary Shelley 's ' Frankenstein '

Victor obsession with his creation represents the dark side of ambition. By creating the monster, “darkness” follow him wherever he goes through the representation of deaths and daunting weather like lightning. After his release from prison, he saw around him “nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me” (Shelley 160). By trying to turn himself into a god through the creation of the monster, that is, the unnatural, Victor is deprived of joy and is tormented by fevers, anxiety, and stress because he had thrown nature into the state of imbalance. Rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment through his scientific achievement, he lives in fear and guilt knowing that he is the cause for the destruction of his

The creature is renounced by Victor throughout the book, which removes any positive role model that the creature might have had. The two encounters that Victor has with the creature when it is first created are evidence of his rejection. The first is when Victor finishes creating the creature. During the process of creation, Victor dedicates himself so greatly that he "pursued [his] undertaking with unremitting ardour" (32). He puts aside everything else in his life, and concentrates completely on his purpose, which is to bring a being to life that would serve him. In order to do so, he spent an entire summer "engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit" (32). Because of the hard work that Victor puts into his work of creation, he never really examines the fruits of his labour. He is too caught up in his work, and has "lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit" (32) of finishing his work on making the creature. So in the process of his creation, Victor is never really aware of what he is creating because he is too focused on the actual act of creation. However, when Victor finally finishes the work of making the creature, and takes time to look at what he has done, he is horrified by his accomplishment. As the creation opens an eye, and

The once admirable and loving tone Victor once had for his creation quickly changes to becoming mortified as his dreams has turned into a living nightmare. Instead of seeing the creature he fell in love with at first he now sees a hideous monster. The creature scared Victor to the extent that he “escaped and rushed downstairs” as he escapes to the courtyard to hide from the creature. Victor took every precaution, “ catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life”. The creature had become so frightening to the point that it had become a disgrace to Victor’s eye.

The creature is telling Victor how he feels about his isolation, “You, my creator abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing?” (Shelley 114). However, Victor uses Logos for his response, even though the creature already assumed he would say this, which continues to express his logical response in the story. It creates a commanding tone when Victor expresses, “all men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” (Shelley 113).

The enormous difference in the way Victor views the creature before and after its completion shows that he has an altered state of mind while he works on it. As a result of Victor’s secrecy about his creation, he sacrifices his health and happiness to make a creature that disgusts him.

Due to Victor’s unwillingness to accept him, the creature was unable to conform to societal norms. From the creature’s very first moments, he is feared by others - the instant his eyes open, his creator cries out in terror and runs to his quarters. If only Victor had stayed and attempted to nurture his creation, instead of having “turned from [him] in disgust” (93), the creature may have enjoyed a gentle, upbringing in which he

Because of Victor’s desire to create something perfect, the creature has a muscular build with more strength than an average human being. However, his strength shows his capability to commit evil acts, which he carries out; he is responsible for the murder of numerous innocent people, including Victor’s friend, wife, and little brother. The creature even framed the murder of Victor’s little brother as an innocent lady who, after being labelled guilty in the court trial, was sentenced to death. Not only does he have the blood of several innocents on his hands, but the creature also manipulates Victor, his creator, into demands and takes pleasure in his pain and suffering, such as when he forces Victor into chasing him to the North Pole after murdering his family, even writing scoffing notes to him saying, “‘Come on, my enemy; we have yet to wrestle for our lives; but many hard and miserable hours must you endure until that period shall arrive’” (Chapter _) showing just how sadistic the monster is towards his

Victor’s initial reaction to his creation is the first taste of what the world has to offer the creature, an identity. However, this is not the identity that the creature wishes to posses. He desires to be someone’s son, yet when he goes to Victor for this relationship, he is rejected. In the beginning of the creature’s existence he has "one hand…stretched out" (35) to reach towards his creator. This is parallel to a Sistine Chapel painting in which Adam reaches out to God. However, there is a significant difference in the

Victor Frankenstein's upbringing in a perfect society ultimately led to the destruction of his life which coincided with the lives of those emotionally close to

This shows Victor even more about the creature and does nothing but make him want to destroy and hate the creature more and more. Victor has a hatred as seen in the novel for the creature from the beginning. One might ask why he is making this creation. He states that his purpose for making the creature is because he wants to make a new race of people. His desire for a new race is not in the right mind though, he is in search of gratitude by making this race. He is craving this sense of thankfulness where he wants people to thank him for making such a great race of creatures. Although, he does not receive this gratitude, he actually recives quite the opposite as people are disgusted by his creature. Throughout the story people such as Victor 's father and his professor go to him and provide him with suggestions and try and help him. Although Victor blatantly brushes them off and acts as he pleases.

Victor announces in chapter one that, “whose future it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me” pg. 38. Victor feels that he does not owe anyone anything, but people owe him. He thinks that if he creates the creature we would receive accolades by the creature and others. Mary Shelly gives the spiritual message on entitlement. God created men to love others and to aim to act more like Jesus did. Entitlement leads to spiritual laziness and laziness in general. Mankind is called to go out and help others by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, attending mass, praising God, and putting others before themselves. God does not anyone anything. God sent down his only son to die for mankind’s sins. Entitlement damages not only a relationship with God but others. God created mankind to work hard and have faith. Entitlement prohibits individuals from using their God given talents and caring for Gods people because the person feels everyone owes them something. In chapter five Victor describes his creator as tall, powerful, muscular and, “his features as beautiful…his hair was of lustrous black and flowing: his teeth of pearly whiteness” pg. 75. Victor sees himself in the creature, and a reflection of how he sees himself. A walking monument. People need to bow down to him and praise him. Victor sees

This complete contrast to Victor’s childhood explains why the creature is so miserable and fiendish. Victor’s duty as the creature’s creator is to provide care and love, yet Victor rejects his duty and gives the creature misery and hate. The creature furthermore entreats Victor for companionship in the Alps. His desperation is seen when he exclaims, “‘No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses..’”(124). This melancholy confession evinces the creature’s sadness, loneliness, and need for more love.

He argues that he was once kind but when Victor rejected him he became evil and violent. This is what led him to kill William and Justine. The creature offers an ultimatum to Victor saying, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being” (Shelley, 124). Afterwards, the creation says to Victor, “How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends” (Shelley, 113). He says if Victor does this for him no other human being will see him ever again but if not he will continue to kill. Victor then begins to realize the consequences of his creation, but he also realizes that no one else can relate to him besides a creature that is like

After Victor created the creature and brought him to life, Victor turned his back and abandoned the creature. Even though Victor knew his parents had a responsibility towards him “to bring [him] up good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct happiness or misery, according [to how] they fulfilled their duties towards [him]” and he knew in turn that he had the same responsibility toward his creature, yet he still fled his creature and left him to fend for himself (Shelley). The monster even recognizes that Victor has responsibility toward him when he tells Victor to “do your duty toward me” because he knows that Victor's “justice, and even [his] clemency and affection, is most due." (Shelley). Yet Victor turned his back on the monster and told him to “begone”(Shelley).