Not Without a Smile The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley reveals the irony in human life through traces of the agonizing life of a miserable scientist, Victor Frankenstein. Ever since Victor was a little boy, he had always been interested in the topic of natural science. Through innovation and guidance, as well as great effort, Victor made the extraordinary discovery of the “elixir of life” where he brought life upon an inanimate being. Such discovery, however, only resulted in everlasting remorse and vengeance that followed Victor to his grave. Victor’s smile left on his motionless body answered many questions proposed throughout the story, yet more questions were left unanswered through the medium of irony. The smile that irradiates from Victor’s cold body shows a sense of satisfaction, but also a sense of regret as he was not able to speak his last words, which emits a sense of irony. The satisfaction yet remorseful smile left on the lips of Victor shadows the ironic behavior throughout the story. It is through these ironies that the story uncovers the ironic events that challenge us every day. The last emotion left on the face of Victor Frankenstein displayed the satisfaction that Victor had longed for. Since the murder of his loved ones by the monster, Victor had only been feeling miserable, guilty and above all, ferocious. After learning that the monster was the murderer of his youngest brother William, Victor narrated that, “no one can conceive the anguish I suffered during the remainder of the night” (99). As Victor entered the room where Henry’s body lay still, Victor recalled that moment with “[shudder] and agony” along with “anguish and recognition” (183). The murder of Victor’s wife, Elizabeth, once again left Victor in an “agony of despair” (198). All of this anger and misery haunted Victor’s emotion evermore, and ultimately drove him to seek vengeance on the criminal behind these murders, devoting the remainder of his life to hunting down the monster that he created: “and I devote myself, either in my life or death, to his destruction” (202). As Victor departs from this world, the monster was yet still alive, but these emotions that haunted Victor were no more. He had lived a miserable but undeniably exhausting life: pursuing his dream while having it drive him to desolation in the endless chase of his own creation. Even in death, Victor attempted to speak words which he had no strength for; a long overdue rest was in place for Victor Frankenstein, and this realization made him felt satisfied enough to finally show a sign of happiness after years and years of despair. After Victor had shared this terrible and shameful secret with Robert Walton, there was nothing holding Victor back to depart this world of eternal suffering. Additionally, When Victor reminisces about his past, he announces that “no youth could have passed more happily than [his]” (67), and that his dreams were “undisturbed by reality” (69). The memories of these times spent with his loved ones and the freedom he had made him feel calm and at ease as opposed to when he spoke of other events in his life. This calm and satisfaction surfaced again upon his death. Victor felt more satisfied in departing from his eternal hatred and be finally free to join the ones he cared for, as he was fighting the battle forever alone by himself while all his loved ones are not of this world. The satisfaction shown on Victor’s rested face also reeks of sorrow and regret. The smile that irradiated is not only to show his content and satisfaction, but also bitter regret of what he had and couldn’t accomplish. Upon the birth of his creation, Victor immediately felt “breathless horror and disgust fill[ing] [his] heart” (84). The life of Victor’s own creation instantly brought Victor to regret what he had done. This sense of regret is not only shown to be evident afterwards, but even before the creation of the creature as Victor narrated his story to Walton. When first introducing the study that resulted in creation of the monster, Victor indicated “[n]atrual philosophy[science] is the genius that has regulated my fate” (68), and hinted at blaming his father for unintentional negative reinforcement: “If, instead of this remark, my father had taken the pains to explain to me… under such circumstances, I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside, and, with my imagination warmed as it was, should probably have applied myself to the more rational theory of chemistry which has resulted from modern discoveries.” (68)
Although Victor showed some degree of respect for his father by using “probably” more than once, it is evident he is absolutely certain things will turn out otherwise. When Victor finished his inspiring lecture with M. Krempe, he noted that it was a “memorable” day that “decided [his] future destiny” (77). These are key events that paved the way to the road that led to his ultimate regret. He spoke of “fate” and “destiny”, but it sounds more like doom and destruction. The fact he chose the words “fate” and “destiny” showed that he had true love for natural science and did not want to blame it for the mishap, instead saying all of this is “fate[d]” and “destin[ed]”. Yet it is clear that much like his description of the negative reinforcement from his father, he regrets the choice of natural science and wishes these seeds would have never been planted. At Victor’s final moments, even though he had absolutely no stamina left, “he attempted again to speak, but was unable” (216). Soon after, his life was terminated with a satisfactory smile that forever lasted. He was indeed content with the fact that it is over for him, but he was also trying to hide his regret with it, much like his use of words such as “fate” and “destiny”. The angel of death came to take Victor away as his so called “destiny” had in plan for him, but even knowing so, Victor still tried to deliver as much words as he can to Walton. The smile that had shown both satisfaction and bitter regret at the same time presents one of the reoccurring themes of the novel: irony. The fragments of irony unravel throughout the story and were most evident with Victor’s dying smile. Victor had dedicated rest of his life to hunt down the murderer of his loved ones, yet when he could not fulfill that duty, he left his unfulfilled commitment with a smile. When Victor announced that his dreams were to “banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death” (69), the event that followed was the violent death of the tree during the thunderstorm, “shattered in a singular manner” (70), and soon after that, the death of his mother. These lighting that blasted the tree to ashes is a symbol of enlightenment and knowledge (as it introduced Victor to the knowledge of “Electricity”), but it also foreshadows the destructive power such knowledge holds. There was much irony in the birth of the monster. The creature was created to uncover eternal life and the joy it shall bring, yet it caused nothing but death and misery. The creature was not grateful for the creator’s gift of life; instead it hunts down the creator and brings grief and despair to his life. The creature was shown to be gentle hearted, yet the way it seeks vengeance is devious and malicious. In many ways, the creature and Victor are the same: they both were lonely, miserable, vengeful and only wanted to do good deeds, yet they have only caused each other anger and grief. In conclusion, the smile Victor left at his deathbed showed contradictory emotions: satisfaction and regret. I was confused upon discovering why a man who was not able to speak his last words would leave this word with a smile. It is through small details like this that I uncovered the reoccurring ironies that populated the story. These direct and indirect ironies presented by the story of Victor Frankenstein hints on the irony in life we face every day, and even when we make our best efforts, we do not know that we are walking down the wrong path until it is too late.