Both Frankenstein and Macbeth have idealistic ambitions which although they succeeded in lead to their downfall. Frankenstein has an ambition to have power over nature, over life and death, to create a living being from lifeless material, a super hero of the humans, who is not only bigger and stronger than the rest but also the most beautiful. Frankenstein had “selected his features as beautiful” with “luxurious black hair” and “pearly white teeth”, however this made the monster seem all the worse “a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes”. The eyes are meant to be the soul of a person, so Mary Shelley might have made the monster soulless to show that Frankenstein had not really created life just something that can move and think. Both Macbeth and Frankenstein’s flaws become evident very quickly Frankenstein has an obsessive nature right from the start to learn knowledge pouring over the books of “Cornelius Agrippa” and other ancient scientists, even as a boy he had a “fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature”. Shakespeare was also very quick to identify Macbeth’s flaw as he immediately realises after the witches prophecy that murdering Duncan is the fastest way to the throne within the same scene “murder yet is but fantastical”. Although the murder to Macbeth seems “fantastical” at the start within another 67 lines he is actively plotting the murder.
Macbeth is much more self aware in his wrong doing and evilness while Frankenstein is so absorbed in his creation that he fails to see his flaw. Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2 scene 1 lines 33-61 show that he is not comfortable in murdering Duncan when he speaks of his “vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself” but cannot resist the attraction of becoming King. Frankenstein on the other hand was completely taken over by his ambition and would go to any length to get it, “Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil” but even more alarming “had lost all soul or sensation for this one pursuit” in a “passing trance”. This makes Frankenstein seem less evil as he seemed to have no choice of what he was doing because of the “frantic impulse that urged” him forward. Frankenstein tries to make up for his mistake by trying to first negotiate with the monster, and finally to try to kill the monster, “I sware… to pursue the daemon until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict.” Whereas Macbeth after the murder of Duncan consciously chose to keep murdering “I am in blood Stepped in so far… Returning were as tedious as go o’er”. Macbeth did not try to make up for his flaw but just try and rid it by killing so much eventually he would free himself of the horrors he had done.
Shelley uses gothic and almost God-like imagery similarly Shakespeare uses the contrast between light and dark, both to emphasize the unnatural and horrific actions of the heroes. Frankenstein thinks that by creating life he will “pour a torrent of light into our dark world” this God-like imagery enhanced by “A new species would bless me as its creator” shows Frankenstein’s naivety and arrogance. However Frankenstein goes to “unhallowed damps of the grave” and “charnel-houses” in a “solitary chamber... separated from all other apartments”. These idea of “Unhallowed” completely contrast Frankenstein’s idea of being holy and God-like. Shelley uses gothic ideas to increase a sense of wickedness and abnormality to the creation these include isolation Frankenstein living in “solitary” and the monster was created in “a dreary night of November” not in the spring which is usually associated with new life but in the autumn which is associated with death and decay. Frankenstein’s toils have many associations with darkness again a gothic idea in his “midnight labours” with the “candle almost burnt out”. Macbeth is also full off dark images contrasting them with light to show Macbeth slowly becoming more evil. At the start of the play Duncan describes Macbeth “like stars, shall shine” this image of Macbeth and light is responded to by Macbeth a few lines later saying “Let not the light see my black and deep desires”. As the play goes on darkness becomes increasingly attached to Macbeth especially before commiting murder, he calls the “seeling night” to “Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day”. The darkness shows that Macbeth has entered a world of horror and nightmare, and as the darkness increases around Macbeth it shows him slowly becoming more and more evil until finally he is driven insane.
Both Macbeth and Frankenstein are presented as flawed heroes, with both noble at the start however both destroyed by their one major fault. Macbeth especially started off as very noble with his delayed entrance creating a sense of ore before he entered the stage. He was described with associations to light at the start of the play however as the play went on there were more connotations of darkness as he became more immoral. From the start Frankenstein life was always a cautionary tale as the book started off with Frankenstein almost destroyed, so throughout the book his acts of nobleness seemed lesser. Again in Frankenstein there were associations with light and darkness, the light often God-like was Frankenstein’s ambition however the darkness was what actually occurred. Both Frankenstein and Macbeth’s flaws was their ambition, Macbeth however was much more self-aware of his ambition and the effects of it however he could not resist it. A big difference between Frankenstein and Macbeth was the treatment of the lovers, Lady Macbeth was very behind Macbeth’s ambition, whereas Elizabeth was not at all behind Frankenstein. This may explain the difference in response between the two heroes, Frankenstein tried to put make up for his mistake, whereas Macbeth accepted in and continued in his evil ways.
