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Victor Frankenstein Unethical Quotes

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In the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the monster is usually thought of as the villain. But what if that is wrong? This popular novel was written in the early 1800’s, which is around the same time period that scientists really started to experiment with electricity, which might be a reason behind why Shelley wrote this novel. In the book, Victor Frankenstein wants to reanimate a corpse and become famous for his work. But, the end product of his experiment is terrifying, so he runs away. At the beginning of the novel, Victor Frankenstein is controlled by his fear, which leads him to later abandon his monster and essentially kill Justine by not standing up for her. But at the end, Victor learned from his mistakes, and made one last …show more content…

Victor’s unethical actions are motivated by his pride, and he is conflicted as to whether or not tell the truth. This is represented when he thinks to himself, “A thousand times rather would I have confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine; but I was absent when it was committed, and such a declaration would have been considered as the ravings of a madman.” (73) By saying this, it is inferred that Victor meant that he does not want people to think he is mad for claiming he was guilty in place of Justine. He knows that it is the correct, ethical thing to do, but he places his social standing, dignity, and pride over his ethics and …show more content…

This is when Frankenstein decides to do the right thing and not create a female monster for his creation to be with. When Victor is faced with a question on the subject, he thinks about his morals and says that the monster, “may render him the most miserable of men, but (the monster) shall never make base of him in his own eyes.” (129) This shows that Victor might actually have some heart after all, at least for himself, if not the ones he cares about. He believes that if he were to, “create another like (the monster), their joint wickedness may desolate the world.” (129) Ceding to the monster’s demands would be unethical because of two reasons: another monster to wreak havoc upon the world, and the potential for “monster babies”, which is to be feared for obvious reasons. Therefore, Victor is correct in refusing to grant the monster’s demands.
The decisions we make throughout our lives affect us in how we act, think, and feel. This is what Mary Shelley is showing throughout this novel. Victor’s actions, whether they be ethical or not, touch someone in his life in one way or another. It almost always hinders them and helps himself, which is a result of his unethical decisions, like abandoning the monster and essentially killing Justine. However, the one decision he makes to help people, which was to not make another monster, hurts the original monster anyways. Either

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