Prometheus is so closely related to Victor that it’s even the subtitle of the novel: The Modern Prometheus. Prometheus stole fire from the Gods to give it to humanity; he was cursed by Zeus and made to endure an eternal torture. As far as Victor is concerned, his own glory was basically a goal for him. With his mother’s death and his strong feeling that this death was unjust, Victor finds a way to achieve his goal, namely: create a new species which would ignore illness and disease, which would be strong and beautiful. He even talks about getting rid of death entirely. With his experiments he finally manages to bestow life to a dead creature: he has taken over powers which only God can do.
By trying to create life artificially and to destroy death itself, Victor rises against natural laws, which have been ruling the world for millions of years. He thinks that these laws are not immutable and indeed he seems to be right, as he successfully creates the monster. Even though he has managed to perform an act of God, he can never be God because he does not have the ability to do what God can do. The creation of his monster meant the destruction of himself, while he gets more and more isolated and lonely. He wanted to rise so high because of his ambition that he got burnt and fell without any hope of rising again.
Victor was born in Geneva as the eldest son in a distinguished family. As described by himself in the novel, he had a very pleasant childhood mostly thanks to two kind and indulgent parents as well as Elizabeth. Even when he was a child he had a sadistic temper, vehement passions and more so, a thirst for knowledge. His first interest was poetry but after some time his attention changed to science. This interest quickly turns into an obsession: he was completely devoted to learning "the secrets of heaven and earth". His obsession was discernible by radical changes in his character and health. He changes from a gentle, kind and healthy man to a selfish, sickly being, which in turn even loses contact with his beloved family for several years. Later, Victor says that he had been "misled by passion" and that he was under "the evil influence" of "the Angel of Destruction, which asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment I turned my reluctant steps from my father's door".
It is only after the creation of the monster that Victor starts thinking about the consequences of his actions. The obsession had apparently blinded him from doing that before. However he does not take responsibility for what has happened. Actually, he seems quite fervent to forget all about it, but of course the monster will not let him forget.
After the monster had told him his story, Victor does feel some compassion. He even feels accountable for his creation. However, the responsibility for his fellow human beings eventually takes over, as Victor decides not to act in accordance with the monster's request after all. This sense of compassion for the monster completely disappears when Elizabeth is killed. The only thing that Victor can feel after that point is hatred. His sole purpose in life, which used to be creating life from lifeless matter, now becomes avenging his family and friends by killing that newly created life: the monster.
Towards the end of his life, some of that violent hatred had disappeared but he does remain as passionate as ever. This results in some contradictory actions and comments made by Victor. On the one hand, he is telling the story of his life which can be seen as a very positive deed. By doing this, he ensures that the story is passed on to and serves as a warning for future generations. From this it might be concluded that he knows now that what he has done is wrong and that he ultimately takes responsibility for his actions. But on the other hand there is the scene on the ship when Walton's crew demands to return home. Victor responds to this by giving a very emotional and passionate speech. Among other things he accuses the men of cowardice and unmanly behaviour. If they were to abandon their expedition they would return home with a "stigma of disgrace". Judging by this speech, Victor has not learnt much of his tribulation. He apparently still feels that people should put their own feelings and desires above everybody else's. This is an appealing insight into Victor's narcissistic nature.
Another example of his selfishness is perceptible in the way he deals with the monster's coercion. It is obvious that the monster wants to hurt him. Thus Victor believes that it is only him that the monster wants to kill. It seems palpable, however, that the best way to hurt Victor is to hurt the people whom Victor loves. This is exactly what the monster does by killing Victor's friends and family. Victor, on the other hand, does not seem to realise this. If he had realised it, he would have been more protective about, for example, Elizabeth. Fundamentally, there are two ways for Victor to escape from the vengeance of the monster. One way is to kill the monster. Victor has tried this but the monster escapes him. The other way is to sacrifice his life for the life of his friends and family, in other words: to kill himself. By doing that, Victor would have taken away the means of revenge off the monster. That this tactic would have worked is proven by the final pages of the book. This drastic way of making the monster stop killing actually never crosses Victor's mind. He is not afraid to die however. When he is ill with fever, he even wishes he were dead: "Soon, oh, very soon, will death extinguish these throbbing and relieve me from the mighty weight of anguish that bears me to the dust; and, in executing the award of justice, I shall also sink to rest." This is also verification that Victor is selfish.
Gothic horror is a genre in which the elements of horror and romance are combined. Frankenstein is a gothic horror as it is a romantic story of a boy born into a wealthy family of Geneva and falls in love. In addition to that, the same boy, Victor Frankenstein, learns the secrets to imbuing inanimate bodies with life. This results in the creation of a horrid and terrifying man of great stature. This monster creates problems between Frankenstein and his love. Mary Shelley uses language to describe the monster and to show how Victor feels on that matter. His hatred and disgust is apparent through his fear and panic when encountering the monster. Mary Shelley uses language such as “it became a thing such as even Dante could not conceive” to describe the monster. She also quotes a poem as it is incredibly close to Frankenstein’s circumstances and this creates a very intense atmosphere. When she uses language such as “the different accidents of life are not as changeable as the feelings of human nature,” this creates a more emotional ambience and is an example of gothic horror as it concerns human nature and life.
Mary Shelley’s use of language has been put into effect to describe what the setting or the atmosphere is like. The fact that the story contains monster, “his yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath,” shows that there is an increase in suspense and there is a sense of fascination in the reader. As well as this, Mary Shelley’s use of language to describe the monster in a horrific and ugly manner foreshadows the evil which is going to take place. “Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned”, these adjectives have been used to describe the weather to help build atmosphere and setting. This particular quote suggests that it was a dreary, dull and deserted time of day which means anything is possible, it’s unpredictable. “I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited”, this shows that the setting is in a desolate and an unfamiliar environment because you would not expect someone to be in a courtyard and also there is sort of like an air of mystery as it is not in detail and not explained enough, so that is unpredictable as well and you don’t know what is going to happen.
Another reason as to why Chapter 5 is very important it is because of the fact that it contains a lot of key themes from the whole novel and links to it very as well. Such as when Victor talks about his preoccupation with creating life after death, “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate boy. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health”, this shows how desperate and away from his family he is and how determined he is to create life. Another theme is fear and revulsion, this is again shown by Victor Frankenstein, “I embraced her, but as I imprinted my first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death... and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel”, this shows the disgust which Victor feels as well as the amount of fear the monster has upon him and how much it affects him. Other key themes are that, chapter 5 shows the dark side of human nature, contains a ‘monster’, air of mystery, set in desolate environments, grotesque horrible elements and a typical protagonist. The 19th century was the time of industrial revolution, with its ambivalence towards technology as both exciting and dangerous, and its profound effect on social class with the possibility for acquired rather than inherited wealth. It was also the time as the influence of romanticism as a unified intellectual movement. One of the main key themes, romance, has been put in the story for this was the right moment in time and also the idea of creating life adds to the relation of this story and science.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that Mary Shelley has created a masterpiece and one story which will probably live on till the end of time. Also she wrote it in such a way that sometimes it felt as if the monster was the protagonist and sometimes Victor was the antagonist. This piece of writing has helped me to understand the how the society and the way people used to think in the 19th century were like. For example, Shelley portrays the creature in a malevolent manner by emphasizing the prejudice he carries (as demonstrated by killing William, an innocent victim whose only crime was to be associated with Victor) and also, by creating euphemisms such as 'fiend' and 'devil' in order to exacerbate the reader's association of evil with his character. However, she also shows the creature in a more sympathetic light by highlighting to the reader, the anguish felt by the creature as he was rejected by the people who lived in the farm and how he was ultimately corrupted by society.'
I also believe that the need for an extra family member was another factor in why Victor created the monster. Victor wanted the world to keep their beloved with them for eternity and make sure no one is alone and by themselves. The Monster in the end had no one and decided cease living and leave this place as an act of goodwill. This was most unfortunate because he never got to experience what living with a family or having anyone to love was like. As for the creator, Victor, I think should at least take some responsibility and provide his creation with these pleasures in life. In the very end, the monster does regret putting his creator through the torment that he went through. Two wrongs do not make a right, but it seemed the only reasoning that could get through Victor’s stubborn head was to it this way. In the end we learn that family is the basis for which we can continue on and have happiness.