Frankenstein- Mary Shelley

Synopsis:

The tale begins as an epistolary novel, through the letters of Robert Walton- an ambitious explorer beginning his perilous voyage to the undiscovered lands of the North Pole. During his journey, Walton encounters a mysterious and emaciated stranger- Victor Frankenstein- who, sensing the parallels between his own tragic ambition and Walton’s, decides to share his cautionary tale as a way to deter future generations from the temptation of world glory.

Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but dangerously obsessive young scientist, holds a menacing craving for understanding the cognitions of the natural world- hence, he conjures the idea to create life from dead human parts, taking the role of God ( the creator ), and unintentionally wreaking havoc amongst a Victorian society. Subsequent to seeing his creation take human form, Victor’s mindset utterly changes; he sees his construction for only its unconventional and ‘daemon’-like features, causing him to flee his laboratory- therefore setting in motion a tragic chain of events.

The creature, endowed with human intelligence and emotion, is shunned by society for its grotesque appearance, causing it to endure profound loneliness, rejection, and despair; this pain soon turns to vengeance and fury. Targeting Victor’s loved ones, the creature aims to make his creator feel the same isolation that was bestowed upon itself- yet its aggression is constantly underpinned by a deep-rooted self-hatred and guilt.

Finally, the novel ends with the creature discovering Victor’s whereabouts on his quest for revenge and meeting with Walton. However, the creature arrives too late ( as Victor is already dead ), yet rather than bathing in his glory, the ‘creation ‘monster’ shares his regret and sadness with Walton, who is thereon convinced to abort his mission and return homewards- displaying his character development- as he has now learnt to prioritize the relationship he has with his family over that of his vaulting ambition and yearning for knowledge.

Significance of the Romantic era:

Using nature and the writing style of Romanticism as a device to portray Victor’s emotions throughout his quest for power, a reader is fully able to understand his channel of thinking. Before his experiment, Shelley describes the setting with great emphasis on its natural beauty and calm persona, however during and after his experiment, the weather changes to harsh, blustery, and dire: representing the upturning of the natural order he has caused in ‘playing God’. Similarly, when encountered with family and loved ones, both Victor and the creature are met with gentle and bright weather conditions- mirroring their joyous emotions. Also, perhaps Shelley was aiming to highlight that the antidote to dangerous ambition is surrounding oneself with love and relationships- highlighting how this force will always overpower the dire effects of aspiration.

The narrative:

As I was reading, I found myself really enjoying Shelley’s use of retrospective narration in order to highlight Victor’s personal reflection and character development. For example, when recalling the events of his experiment, Shelley contrasts Victors prior emotions of euphoria, to his current emotions of cognitive dissonance- displaying to a reader the extent of his regret. Due to this, we are able to sympathize with our protagonist, as it is displayed just how much these events affected his emotional state. Without the use of such literary technique, I believe I would have found it difficult to perceive Victor’s advancement- therefore leading me to grow disdain towards him and his selfish actions.

Shelley’s intentions:

This brings us to a deeper and more philosophical question: ‘Was anyone inherently to blame for the chaos that ensued from Victor’s actions, or was it simply a consequence of an overly ambitious society?’. Yes, on surface level, it’s easy to target blame towards the protagonist, as he was the one who created such an outcast being, however, we must consider where Victor’s ambition stemmed from. The novel was set in a time of great societal advancement; the beginning of the industrial revolution, and at a time called the age of revolution- where scientific knowledge was arising. At this time, we did not hold the understanding of the dangers of scientific experiments as we do now; meaning there were no boundaries on what could be explored. One could argue that Victor simply followed suit of other scientists who carried out experiments which, years ago, would have seemed impossible.

Secondly, relating to Victor’s abandonment of his creation, was this also a result of society’s mechanisms? Ask yourself now, if you saw a deranged-looking, wild creature, what would your first instinct be to do? I can almost guarantee you would not wait around to get to know such creature- you would run for your life. That’s not cruelty- its simply human instinct. However, we also must account for the responsibility which Victor had in crafting such life, and how he disregarded it once its visage was not as expected. Personally, I think what is most damning is how this creature was born innocent in nature and kind in heart; just like a newborn baby, it was not yet exposed to the corruption of society, and therefore was able to view the world through a rose-coloured lens. To me, I perceived this as a metaphor for our human race. We are all born with the same lust for love and care; we want people to hug us, to feed us, to give us shelter- it is solely human nature. Yet, through language and appearance, we have created a hatred and fear towards others who are ‘different’- we have conjured a division which instinctively was not programmed into our brains- causing only havoc and hatred. Perhaps Shelley is challenging this notion and asking us to truly think deeper into our reasoning as to why we marginalize others who are unfamiliar, when essentially, all we desire as humans is family and intimacy.