When his mother dies, it seems she took with her the illusion in which Frankenstein thought he had control. Now Frankenstein is left with the sad fact that the sound of a voice so familiar and dear to the ear can be hushed never more to be heard. These descriptions by Mary Shelley make us feel sorry for Frankenstein and it is this that drives him to this project of discovering a way to prevent death. A quotation, which supports this is, ‘he wished to pour a tolerance of light into our dark world’. This put the readers curiosity to rest as to why Frankenstein created such a monstrosity. Frankenstein works on his creation for months depriving himself of his family and friends, sufficient nutrition and even basic sanitary needs. Mary Shelley gives the impression that Frankenstein had no choice in his project and his destiny was pre-ordained by saying, ‘I found that an astonishing power had been placed in my hand.’ This is like the myth of Faust. Dr Faust is an academic who rejects normal pursuits for magic because he wants to know the secrets of the universe. He sells his soul to Satan in exchange for this knowledge but does not know what to do with his power. Tormented by the deal, he eventually perishes in hell. Similarly, Frankenstein relinquishes his family for the pursuit of secret knowledge, and, working in isolation, creates a creature that he abandons. The monster revenges himself, like the devil, by destroying Victor’s family and friends.
He is fatalistic and is powerless to alter his destiny. As for the actual work Mary Shelley gives a grotesque idea by saying ‘I collected bones from the Charnel Houses and disturbed with profane fingers the tremendous secrets of the human frame.’
At this point, the reader does not know what to feel for Frankenstein. On the one hand he is idealistic and imagining a perfect invulnerable human banishing all disease and on the other hand he is collecting limbs and bones and showing lack of remorse. To him the materials are simply ‘food for the worms.’
I do not think even Frankenstein acknowledges what he has done. He had selected his features as beautiful and yet when he describes what it actually is he says ‘I might infuse a spark into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.’ He himself at this point is beginning to regret the whole thing. Once a creature show signs of life Frankenstein feelings change as he says, ‘The beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’. He cannot stand the being and here his fatal flaw shows. He saw the project through to the end.
Frankenstein has a dream, which tells us his mind is working overtime and it seems unstable. The dream of Elizabeth who when kissed turns into a corpse would be seen as an omen. Elizabeth is beautiful and the worms represent contamination. These beautiful memories are turned sick. This idea seems to drive Frankenstein and also the belief of fate. Fate plays a big part throughout the story of Frankenstein. If Frankenstein had not left his notebook in his pocket, the monster may not have learnt of its origin or how it came to be. If Frankenstein had not known Clerval maybe a female creature would already be born. If Walton had not been on his exploration, this tale would not come to be.
While Frankenstein tries to forget the monster, it finds itself on the outskirt of society. Everyone he meets is scared of him. Now knowing that he does not fit in, the monster takes refuge in a hovel to what he feels was an ‘agreeable asylum.’ To him, the cottage it was attached to seemed pleasant yet he dared not enter as he remembered the barbarity of man shown to him previously. The monster seems happy to eat, sleep and learn from where he was. Mary Shelley at this point gives the image of the monster being innocent.
How was he to know the sight of this face would cause such a commotion? On learning his lesson, the monster stays in the hovel where through cracks in the wall comes to be educated by the people inhabiting the cottage. Slowly the monster begins to appreciate the lives of which ‘his protectors’ lived. He learnt of the poverty they suffered and embraced this knowledge. Now he did not take their food but instead roamed the forest looking for his own. He would help his protectors daily by bringing firewood and uprooting the vegetables for them. His motives for doing this were the simple acts of kindness the people did for each other. It is at this point Mary Shelley turns the opinion of the reader. A question comes up in the readers mind,
‘Who was the real monster?’
A Scientist who saw fit to hack off limbs to explore a science long forgotten and to disturb the purities and rules of life and death or a simple being only wishing to join the social circle of his protectors but daring not to because of the reaction to his disfigured body. We have no choice at this point but to feel sorry for the monster and to despise Frankenstein.
Taking a chance the monster seizes the opportunity to make friends with the head of the house an old blind man. Knowing that the man could not see, the monster thought this would get him accepted. Though the man could not see his disfiguring by feeling he came to the conclusion something bad had happened. When the other cottagers returned they began to hit the monster for fear that he might hurt the old man. Although with little effort the monster could have torn them from limb from limb, he chose not to. Instead he ran out. Later he returned to find it deserted. He set the cottage on fire. At first I found this a very evil act but on researching some background notes, I found a passage by a French Philosopher.
Man’s nature is harmless but men are made evil by society. Men become monsters by the way they are treated. However, a man abandoned to himself in the midst of other men from birth would be most disfigured of all.
Putting this incident behind him, the monster moves onwards to find his creator. On the way his stumbles across a dense forest, too deep for the eyes of man so he decides to walk through. On the way he hears some voices to which he hides. A girl is running and her foot slips and she falls in the river. The monster saves her. A man appears and rips the girl from his arms and runs away. The monster runs after them not knowing why and was shot.
This was then the reward for my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction and for recompense; I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound.
The monster turns evil because people abused and rejected him. Worst of all, his creator Frankenstein, refuses to grant the monster his natural rights of freedom, equality and fraternity. This is the turning point for the monster.
The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before, gave place to a hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.
Out of fear, the reader backs up Frankenstein and again we hear his narration. The monsters killings are centred around Frankenstein. First Frankenstein’s little brother William is strangled to death. The monster thought the boys’ lack of knowledge would relinquish hatred for him because of his disfigured face. With a flash of lightening, the figure of the monster shows and Frankenstein is convinced he is the murderer. (The lightning represents the creation and how it came to be.) Then Justine the servant is accused of the murder. Victor hopes to prove Justine’s innocence but fails and she is hanged. Although Frankenstein blames himself he still does not tell anyone about his creation.
This does not diminish the fact that it was right to burn the cottage but one must wonder ‘was the creature ever to blame for his actions?’ Throughout these chapters the creature is the narrator. This reminds us that Mary Shelley has created a story within a story. On hearing this story even Frankenstein sympathises with the monster. This changes though as the monster asks for a female companion as deformed and as horrible as itself. Frankenstein immediately refuses and it makes us think as its creator doesn’t Frankenstein owe him that much. Frankenstein’s anger is rekindle and he swears he ‘will never consent’. Yet when the monster mentions the vulnerability of Frankenstein’s family he grudgingly accepts. Mary Shelley now passes the narration back to Frankenstein and his fears are made clear. Tough the monster said if his request is fulfilled he and his companion will disappear to the furthest deserts Frankenstein thinks otherwise. ‘What if they do not get on? What if together they begin to destroy the world?’
On coming home to Geneva Frankenstein’s dad seems to think Frankenstein’s uneasiness is to do with another woman (someone other than Elizabeth the woman he is supposed to marry) this is partly true as his mind is on the creation a female creature.
Frankenstein decides to take a trip to England with his best friend Clerval to further his research on the human frame and here Frankenstein was to continue his work on another creature. The reason being the monster swore he would kill everyone Frankenstein knew. Clerval was a kind of barrier between creator and creation. He drew a contrast to the scenery. Every time things looked bad Clerval would appear and would seem to have the effect of lighting up the situation. Once in England Frankenstein finds Clerval distracting from his duty. The two go and visit very famous natural philosophers and yet Frankenstein feels left out. On his own, Frankenstein can fill his ‘mind with sights of heaven and earth.’ This is a major difference between the characters of Frankenstein and the monster. Frankenstein can socialise yet chooses isolation because of his work. The monster craves for social acceptance. They are on a line, which represents their relationship, which is narrow down to creator creation, good evil and victimiser victimised. Although the creation is superior in many ways the creator is the one look up at. This is what makes them hate each other.
The monster grows impatient with Frankenstein and kills Clerval. Frankenstein becomes maddened that the monster had followed him from Geneva he had malice and treachery on his face. On seeing this Frankenstein rips up the monsters bride in front of him. This shows how barbaric Frankenstein is. It can be said that victor is a creator but also in the monsters eyes the destroyer of his bride. The monster leaves him, vowing deadly consequences. Frankenstein then climbs onto a boat and lets the current take him away. He lands on an island and is accused of murder. He comes to find the victim is Clerval.
‘Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, dearest Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed, other victim await their destiny but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor.’
Frankenstein hates himself for this. Many times throughout the story, Frankenstein loses consciousness and there is never a time where there is Frankenstein, the monster and a third party. Through another story, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, we could also come to the conclusion that Frankenstein was the monster and it was simply his alter ego. Soon, all is lost. The fiend kills Frankenstein beloved Elizabeth and Frankenstein has no choice but to confess all his makings to a magistrate. Frankenstein now goes in pursuit of the monster and finds his limbs failing but he drove on with the burning desire of revenge.
‘I dared not leave my adversary in being.’
The story has come back to the start where Frankenstein meets Walton. On finishing his story Frankenstein dies. The monster comes and on seeing his creator shows expressions of misery. Walton is at first touched by this but then confronts the beast and says,
‘It is not pity that you feel, you lament only because the victim of your malignity is withdrawn from your power.’
The monster replies,
‘Why should I seek sympathy? I am content to suffer alone.’
This seemed to be the monster’s fate. Frankenstein on the other hand chooses this.
Mary Shelley seems to put Frankenstein’s character into Walton.
‘I had rather died than returned shamefully – my purpose unfulfilled.’
His sailors do not want to carry on this expedition to the North Pole.
We can say Frankenstein and Walton are similar because they both have the same fatal flaws. Frankenstein expected his creation to fail, as probably Walton did not expect himself to last this long in these conditions. Frankenstein loses control of his creation, as Walton is losing control of his sailors. Frankenstein wasted his life leaving family and friends behind, as is Walton. They both are too absorbed in their ambitions to realise the consequences. Most of all they both want to see it through to the end.
This is a simple Gothic theme, which emphasizes fear and terror, the presence of the supernatural, the placement of events within a distant time and an unfamiliar and mysterious setting. It is with this theme Mary Shelley hoped to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart. The language although complicated at times, enhances the feeling of involvement in the novel. This novel seemed to foresee a path in futuristic science. At the time people would be shocked, as they would not know if this could come true and in 1802 a scientist found electricity present in human limbs. This is probably what kept the tale of Frankenstein alive.
We are given the impression that Frankenstein was a guilty party and victim at the same time. Through the story we feel sorry for him, we emphasize with him then we come to despise him because of his actions but Mary Shelley makes Frankenstein come across as a tragic hero who found himself caught between the grips of discovery and fate and in all, we begin to understand the feelings and the whole tale of Frankenstein.
