Examine the complex story of Mary Shelleys novel Frankenstein.
Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is usually classed as a gothic novel. It fits into the gothic tradition, purely because it contains typical features of the gothic genre, such as: Fear, The supernatural, Terror, and Tragedy. It also features exploration of what is forbidden and the dark side of the human psyche; these were often explored by gothic authors, as they were interested in them. Frankenstein fits into this tradition well.
Mary Shelley's ideas came to her in a short stay in Switzerland. It was raining and herself and her friend, Lord Byron, had thought up of having a competition to see who could write the best ghost story. Mary Shelley was, at that time, living in an age of scientific experiments and research that could change the world forever. So, her ideas for the story were influenced by experiments and scientific debates of that time. She uses the concept of 'Galvanism' which was originally known as 'animal electricity'. This was the idea of 'Luigi Galvani', he suggested that there was a form of electricity different from any other, which was produced by lighting and the brain. This form of electricity made muscles move rapidly. This lead to further experiments on human corpses. Another experiment took place using another form of electricity. It was on the body of 'Thomas Forster', after he was hanged. The method was that wires were attached to the body, through different sensory parts, and a current then sent electricity around the body and the body began to move. Mary Shelley knew about these experiments as these were often discussed the great detail by popular newspapers, also pamphlets and lectures would have discussed these ideas.
The novel is based on Victor Frankenstein creating a monster. This monster is abominable. Victor is in from Geneva and in his early childhood, his cousin (and lover later in the novel), Elizabeth, came to stay with his family. In his late teens, his mother passed away and he went to university in Ingolstadt, whilst there he creates a monster. He never tells anyone about it, but spends long days and nights working on his creation. After, the monster comes alive Victor abandons it, and becomes very ill. His friend, Henry Clerval, nurses Victor back to health. Victor gets better and returns home to Geneva, but before returning home he receives a letter from his father stating that his brother, William, has been murdered. Victor is distraught as returns home as quickly as he can. Whilst at home, he goes to the mountains, there he meets the monster and the monster admits that he committed the murder and begs Victor for a companion. Victor makes a female monster, but later dumps it in the river. In the morning when he arrives at the river bank, he is arrested for murder. Victor then recognises the body; it is Henry. Again, Victor falls ill, but he is kept in prison until he recovers he then marries Elizabeth, but he is worried that the monster will kill him so, on his wedding night he sends Elizabeth away to a hideaway to await his return. Victor hears a scream, and rushes to the hideaway, Elizabeth is dead. Victor goes searching for the monster but he falls ill and eventually dies, and the Captain of the ship finds the monster sobbing over Victor. The monster says that now his creator is dead he will have to die. The monster then departs to the Mountain to die.
Chapter 5 describes how, on one stormy night, in the secrecy of his apartment, Victor completes his creation. But when it is brought to life, its appearance horrifies him. Victor then goes to the next room and tries to sleep, but is awoken by a dreadful dream about his late mother and Elizabeth. He wakes up to find the monster towering above his bed, Victor rushes out of the house and spend the night in the courtyard below. He then goes in to town and meets Henry. They go to his apartment, but victor is surprised the monster is gone. Victor is weakened by the energy he has spent on creating the monster and falls ill. His illness lasts for several months, but with the help of Henry he soon gets better, Henry then passes him a letter from Elizabeth.
Mary Shelley used careful words choice, alliteration and many more effects to create the dark atmosphere that that the paragraph evokes. In the beginning of the paragraph, the word 'dreary,' beheld and 'toils' add emotional weight to the narrative, making you sense what is really happening. In the phrase 'with an anxiety' the word 'anxiety' describes the way Victor feels about his creation, also 'amounted to agony' highlights this feeling. The line 'I collected the instruments of life around me' suggests that victor is consumed in his work and that he is marshalling his forces, before the push into the unknown. 'Spark of........ light' this phrase introduces the only illumination in the paragraph, creating a variation atmosphere from the rest of the paragraph. The sentences 'the rain pattered dismally against the pains', 'candle was nearly burnt out' and 'the half extinguished light' mirror the dark setting that was introduced in the beginning of chapter 5.
The bodily features of the monster, are described as un-natural, this is initially shown to us through imagery. The phrase 'dull yellow eye' suggests that the body is an un-natural and that it is also breaking the laws of god and man as it is an unhealthy and unusual sight. The phrase 'convulsive motion' is usually associated with fits as it is an unhealthy action. The first description of the monster is very dramatic. The negative vocabulary adds to the tension that the first paragraph created. The first of the negative words is 'catastrophe'. This suggests that the ...
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The bodily features of the monster, are described as un-natural, this is initially shown to us through imagery. The phrase 'dull yellow eye' suggests that the body is an un-natural and that it is also breaking the laws of god and man as it is an unhealthy and unusual sight. The phrase 'convulsive motion' is usually associated with fits as it is an unhealthy action. The first description of the monster is very dramatic. The negative vocabulary adds to the tension that the first paragraph created. The first of the negative words is 'catastrophe'. This suggests that the birth is a negative event. The picture of the creature is initially created for us through imagery and descriptive vocabulary. The word 'wretch' implies that we should have pity for the creature as its features are grotesque. Victor's feelings towards his creation are both horror and shock. Also, Victor is being selfish because he doesn't have a loving feeling towards the monster because of its abnormality. Victor also repeats the word 'beautiful' this shows that he was striving for an ideal beauty in his creation because he chose the best and most beautiful body parts for his creation. Victor also shouts 'Great God'. This implies that he is turning to god even though he has betrayed him by breaking the laws of God and man. 'Lustrous black', 'flowing' and 'pearly whiteness' are all suggestive of Victor's ideal of beauty but they form a more horrid contrast, when placed together with the rest of the perfect body parts, and they don't form an ideal beauty.
Victor's reaction to his creation initiates an unforgettable theme that persists throughout the whole novel. This creates the impression that the monster in inescapable form his grotesqueness, and that it is liable to appear at any moment. Victor initially states that the mix of the most perfect body parts, doesn't make a beautiful body overall. Frankenstein implies to us that he thinks the monster is a hideous creature, but he bases his thoughts on the overall appearance of the creature and not its personality. Victor had a negative reaction to the monster when it was born, and he resents the monster and is only thinking about his own feelings. This is shown throughout the chapter. The line 'unable to compose my mind to sleep' suggests that Victor is resenting the monster once again, even though it has not been alive for long and has done nothing wrong. The monster feels abandoned and ashamed that he can not be loved by his creator because of his looks.
In the chapter, Mary Shelley uses many different words to describe the monster. Her most frequent names for the monster are 'wretch', 'creature', and 'monster'. These suggest that the monster is not welcome. These words are spoken only by Victor in the chapter. This also suggests that Victor has not got to know the monster and is just judging him on first appearances. These words make the reader feel pity for the creature as it is being abandoned by its creator. The phrase 'demonical corpse' is used. This suggests that Victor is basing the appearances of the monster on to the devils' powers, calling it a demon, just based on its looks.
I feel that Victor's reaction to the creature he has created is very negative and strong. He does not have a good thing to say about him, and runs away from his responsibilities. This is shown after the creature is born, Victor can sleep then he goes into the courtyard below. This shows that he does not care about the creature and that he can abandon it just because of its looks. Victor does not even give the creature a chance, as soon as he sees the ugliness of the creature, he disowns it immediately. This suggests and shows that he won't give the monster a chance even though the creature is giving him a chance by trying to hug and speak to him and even smiling at him. This shows that the monster wants to get on with Victor.
Mary Shelley uses the concept of the monster to criticize the way people treat others. If you are not the right height, size or weight, people do not accept you. Personally, I don't think that society has changed a lot, many people are still nasty to people because of their appearance, and many people kill themselves each year because they get picked on because of their looks. Some people don't take any notice of peoples' appearance. I look up to these people as they are strong inside. Victor's reaction is similar to the people in town in the novel, most people reject the creature.
In the chapter, there are hints that there will be terrible consequences concerning the monster and Victor's family. They are shown by Victor abandoning the monster, and the death of his brother, William. The dark atmosphere in the chapter also shows something is going to happen. The phrase 'the rain pattered dismally against the pains......my candle was nearly burnt out' emphasise the dark setting which is continued in the rest of the novel. The terrible consequences are also brought to life by the thought of Victor abandoning the monster at first sight. Victor fears the monster, because it is liable to turn up at any time and wreck something special, he has no gentle emotions for the creature, so he doesn't care but the creature knows this, the whole outcome is described as a wreck. Victor's illness also plays part in creating suspense. He suddenly falls ill after creating the monster, he gets better and then gets a letter from his father stating that his brother, William had been murdered. We do not yet know that the creature has killed William. The main hint in the novel is the dream that he has about his late mother and his lover, Elizabeth. He has a dream that he is holding Elizabeth in his arms and then she turns into his late mothers' corpse, he then awakens to find the monster towering above his bed. This shows that the novel is leading up to a mystery involving these people.
The theme of the novel is that, there are dangers that scientific knowledge has been used incorrectly. This shows that Victor has moved his line of thoughts from God into hell or the devil. This is shown by him breaking the laws of God and man. Mary Shelley uses many references to hell in this chapter including 'demonical', 'Dante', 'frightful fiend', and 'hell'. These all suggest that the monster is created in hell or is associated with hell, also they suggest Victor dreamt of beauty but there was a death of his dreams and that why he is so bitter towards he creature and he also uses 'Dante' who was medieval artist who painted hell in his paintings could not of conceived him. These words and phrases are hints that only evil will come from what he has created.
The creation entered the bedroom that Victor was resting in. Even though the monster meant well, Victor was scared by his presence. Victor saw him in a negative way, and thought that the creature wanted to kill him even though the creature was looking for love. Victor shows these feelings by stating what he felt. This is shown using negative descriptions towards the monster like' I beheld the wretch', and 'miserable monster' these phrases show that he is disgusted with the outcome of the creature. 'his eyes...... were fixed on me. His jaw opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped.' This extract from the paragraph shows that the monster wanted to contact him, but Victor tried everything to stop this. It also shows Victor's selfish side, as he sees the monster as a threat. Victor feels that he can not stand there too long or it may attack, as he feels insecure. I think that the monster was trying to contact Victor but Victor did not know because he was thinking about the grotesqueness of the monster. I think that Victor is a selfish narrator and it should be a dual narrative, this will make the novel more balanced. It will be more interesting with a dual narrative because then the reader will not feel so much pity for the creature as there will be two points of view.
In the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein used the monster's descriptions in a positive manner as he thinks it's a good idea, but later on in the novel he used it in a negative manner. This shows that his thoughts for the monster changed over a period of time and that the creatures' appearances changed Victor's mind about it. When Victor walks out on the creature and abandons it, I think that it is quite a tough time for the creature. I believe this because the creature has only just been born, and doesn't yet know how his bodily functions work, and how to stay alive as he has to relearn these skills. The creature is upset and ashamed that he can not be loved by anyone Victor quite frequently walks out on his problems. Earlier on in the novel, Victor went to Ingolstadt after his mother died, he left behind all of his responsibilities and problems. Also, when he decided to create the monster, he stopped with his former life and started to endure on the task ahead, and forgot all of his responsibilities. These actions suggest that human nature can change as someone can be nice towards one thing and then they can be disgusted with that same thing at a different time.
Victor gets very friendly with Henry Clerval in the time that they are in Ingolstadt. Henry nurses Victor back to health when he is ill. They came to be in the same college because Henry persuaded his father to let him come to Ingolstadt, but he said that it was hard to persuade as Henry's father thought that all the skills that you need in your life are used and gained when you are a book keeper. It is ironic that Henry sees knowledge as a good thing but Victor uses scientific knowledge and turns it into a tragedy, Frankenstein should of followed in 's footsteps as Victor's creation turned out to kill Henry.
The way that Victor treated his family, is completely different to the way that Henry treated Victor. Victor dumped all of his family life behind him, and only spoke to them through short sharp letters, but Henry cared dearly for Victor and even spent useful time looking after Victor when he was seriously ill, Henry also puts his life on hold just to make him better. I think that the readers of the novel will be ashamed of Victor for abandoning his family and his creation, but also for letting Henry put his life on hold just to make him better. This is a selfish act, and Victor should be more grateful towards Henry and his family. Henry is a very caring man and has a lot of time for people, especially Victor who just takes his skills for granted. Henry's kindness is shown throughout, examples of this kindness are; 'I did not before remark how very ill you appear; so thin and pale, you look as if you have been watching for many nights.', and 'I will not mention it, if it agitates you.' These shows that Henry cares greatly for Victor and that he doesn't want to upset Victor. This caring manner contrasts with that of Victor's when he rejects the monster because of its looks. Victor's selfish side is shown throughout the novel, a few examples are; 'I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with and ardour that far exceeded moderation, but now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart', 'infinite pains', and 'I felt the bitterness of disappointment.' These show that again Victor's selfish. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. Victor also uses the personal pronoun, 'I', this states that everything is about him, so this is also a selfish action.
Victor keeps his creation a secret, he does not want to tell anyone as he is not yet sure of the outcome of the creature, but after the birth of the creation, he is ashamed of it, he believes that it is a product of hell and that the monster is beyond control and just decides to keep it to himself and lie to other people. This influences the readers' attitude towards Victor in the rest of the novel because the readers may now believe that he can not tell the truth and that the narration of the story may be biased. This relates to the theme of secrecy in the rest of the novel, for example; when he makes a companion for the monster, and also not telling anyone that he knew what killed someone of his family and friends. Mary Shelley suggests that lots of people do keep secrets and do not want to tell anyone. We keep secrets because it will ruin something special, the person is ashamed or embarrassed of it, the person can not confide in anyone, or they just do not want to tell anyone, as it may get someone in trouble. People do keep secrets and usually lie, it may be small lies or it may be a serious lie. People tell lies to put the problem off for as long as they can until they crack, they do this because they think it is an easy option, but in the long run, it is the hardest option as it drags a lot out of your self esteem.
The ending of the chapter is a contrast of the rest of the chapter, especially the beginning, the weather and the atmosphere created. In the begging of the chapter the weather is dull, and gloomy. This is shown throughout the opening paragraph. The phrases 'the rain pattered dismally against the pains,' and 'dreary' suggest that the weather reflects on the dark atmosphere created by the near birth of the creature, it also suggests that something may happen may happen later on in the chapter. In the ending paragraph, the atmosphere created is completely different. The descriptions show that there is change as it is now light. This is a pleasurable sight for Victor as the weather was so uninviting earlier on in the chapter. The phrase 'young buds were shooting forth from trees that shaded my window. It was a divine spring,' shows that the darkness has subsided to make way for the light. Also, there was a new beginning for the natural processes, growing of buds etc. There was a non artificial mood in the air as everything that was happening was completely natural, so this is a great contrast to everything that was happening in the first paragraph of the chapter. The word 'divine' is connected with heaven, so everything is moving on from Victor's deed. It is also to do with God, so it is a contrast between the thought of hell earlier on in the chapter. In the following chapter people may think that Victor tries to accept the monster and is not so selfish towards it and also the rest of his family, because the chapter ends with relief for Victor. The reader, at the end of the chapter, may be wondering where the monster has gone and what the monster is really doing. It may be that they think he has gone to commit another deadly murder.
To conclude, this chapter is very vital. In it, there is always something going on. The chapter helps you to see how Victor really is and how he treats people in times of struggle. When, the monster is created, we get the impression that Victor was excited, but then he was ashamed of the outcome. Furthermore, when the monster disappears he felt relieved even though it could still come back. At the time when the monster disappeared, it was like Victor started a whole new life, this showed that he was not really bothered about what would happen if the monster was let loosen the world. From this chapter, we find that when Victor gets engrossed in something, he forgets about the whole world around him and abandons people, like his family. Victor is prone to abandoning things and people in this chapter. For example; he abandons the monster just because of the way it looks, and hurts its feelings, making it commit murders on people close to Victor to get its own back. We find that Victor is to blame for the actions of the monster, and that Victor is very selfish. This is shown when he uses the person pronoun 'I', which shows that he is completely aware of himself and that he does not care much for other people. The secrecy in the novel is constant. Victor is always keeping secrets from his loved ones, whether large or small. The scientific ideas that Victor has are also important, as they bring together the whole story, as he knows man can create life with the correct theories and equipment. The theories that Victor has are going against God as it is an un-natural process, and that the creation will be forever criticized whether it is handsome or ugly. It also sums up how we treat each other in society today. I don not feel the same way as Victor did towards his creation. I think the actual monsters are Victor Frankenstein and M. Waldman these people both tried to create the creature, but Victor got further. They both created an abominable creature. I think some of the concerns in the novel are relevant today because not many people abandon things like children and pets, but the lucky ones get looked after. People also get abused because of the way they look, I think that this is wrong and should be stopped.
By Samantha Loader Page 1
