Frankenstein
...en this tale and the lightening Victor uses to reanimate his monster. We can see that Shelley has given many of the attributes of Prometheus to Victor. He is ambitious, hardworking and obsessive. God punished Prometheus for what he did. Was Victor punished for daring to produce life without God; for taking on ‘the Role of God’, or was he punished for failing to nurture his creation, his ‘child’? Victor, like Prometheus, went one step too far and was punished. Mary Shelley has also included parallels between her novel Frankenstein and ‘Paradise Lost’. From reading the novel we can see that Victor has taken on the role of God, and that the monster is Adam. The creature was new-born and innocent, just as Adam was. However, there is a problem with this similarity as Victor can no longer be seen in his Prometheus role; a rebel against the Gods. The monster analogy also presents contradictions; the monster begins good, but ends as a demonic figure causing catastrophes. He could be Satan who brings the evil to Adam, and sin into the world. “I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.” (pg 96) Here the monster is explaining to Victor that his explorations and experiences in the world have changed him into this evil creature. He shows that he did ask to be ‘created’ and therefore did not deserve rejection, as he did no wrong. The creature changes from his naturally kind state as a child to an angry, embittered adult because of his neglected "childhood". It is in chapter 5 that Frankenstein first realises his work is evil and he is sickened by what he has done. He also knows he should not try to act as God. His attitude changes from that of a respected scientist (God) to a possessed and obsessive person (Prometheus). Mary Shelley is weaving together two strong analogies. Although they could be seen as contradicting, they actually run smoothly side by side. This allows our own opinions of who Victor and the Monster are most similar to, evolve in our minds. Although Victor and the monster seem very different, they are often seen as one. Victor is the embodiment of the civilised and socially correct façade we all display to the world, whereas the Monster represents the terrible beast that lies within us all. Through this we can see the violent, reactionary being that society has hindered, but not destroyed. This theory of a ‘double’ creates another issue. If they are mirror images of each other, then we must begin to see Victor as a satanic figure, not God. This refocuses our viewpoint and opinions as we see how Shelley is criticising Victor’s ambition, pride and obsessions. “… I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour.” (pg 52) In attempting to take God’s place Victor shows the same pride as the fallen angel; Satan. In ‘Paradise Lost’ Satan talks of the pain that comes from within him, and so Shelley shows us that Victor’s real agony lies in his mind, not his body. Mary Shelley has also made a connection with ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, a poem by Coleridge that was published in 1798. It is about a sailor on a journey who disobeys God. The obvious connection is with Walton’s journey and his subsequent entrapment in the ice. There are also less visible correlation’s between the characters in the novel and the sailor in Coleridge’s poem. We can also see Victor as the mariner who defies God and is punished. This shows great conflict between the character’s identities. We become more involved in our opinions and views on the characters and their morality. The Monster, Victor and the mariner are all alienated figures who cannot communicate normally with others. All three are offered insights into the working of the human mind through their experiences. There is conflict between Victor and God, Adam and God, and the Monster and God, subsequently linking back to the conflict between good and evil; Victor and the Monster. By creating the monster Victor usurps the role of women in society. He also denies the need for sex when he produces a creature born outside of the womb. He begins to explore the idea of genetic cloning which is an issue now. Victor completely undermines the respect and honour for relationships and the creation of life. Victor is involved in many complicated relationships in the novel, which have to be explored, to be fully understood. Frequently throughout the novel, Elizabeth is referred to as a possession that was given to Victor by his mother. “…she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine…a possession of my own.” (pg 34) Victor falls in love with Elizabeth, and there is great confusion as to why the marriage is constantly delayed, and at no time do we feel any sexual tension between the two. The Monster, as Victor’s double, kills Elizabeth on her wedding night. This could be an expression of Victor’s horror at the thought of consummating his marriage. It is quite amusing that the Monster spends the wedding night with Elizabeth, in place of Victor; as his double. It is interesting to notice that Safie too was presented as a gift to a man (Felix). This idea of the man protecting the female was the stereotypical belief of the time, with women being expected to stay at home, have children and raise them. Elizabeth is often compared to Victor’s mother and although Victor loves both women, it is a love that is not altogether healthy. In Chapter 5 Victor dreams of Elizabeth who turns into his dead mother. This may be one reason why Victor was so reluctant to marry, as he associated Elizabeth with his mother. “…I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstast…as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death…I held the corpse of my dead mother.” (pg 56) This all expresses a violent abhorrence of normal sexual relations, perhaps a fear of incestuous thought and a very abnormal obsession with his mother. This is one important case of conflict within Victor’s mind. He loves Elizabeth but it is doubtful that he loves her for the right reasons. One of the main themes Mary Shelley is trying to stress in the novel is that society is unjust. The treatment of the Monster and the trial of Justine are just two examples of how unjust and unfair society can be. Mary Shelley uses the novel, and the monster, to explore the inequalities and oppression in the society surrounding her in her life. She express’ strong opinions that could be linked to her family casting her out of society when she was sixteen. She is typically scathing of the church and the courts and how they are not always correct. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley has concentrated more on the description in the novel, than dramatic action. She puts much more emphasis on telling, rather then showing the story. The language used is often emotional and threatening, allowing us to experience and understand the conflict from our own point of view, creating our own opinions. A good example of how Shelley allows us to explore our own ideas on the story is in chapter 5 when the monster is ‘born’. She uses language that is brief, but descriptive letting the reader really imagine the story without restraints. The language and narrative used in the novel is very important. Much of the text used by Mary Shelley is rhetorical, yet strangely we learn little of the real emotions and feelings of the characters. The characters’ impression...