...a person is not able to rid themself of their worst self. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, (Topic) Victor has two doppelgängers, one being Clerval and the other being his creation (Argument) because the monster is an embodiment of his worse self who doesn't take responsibility and Clerval is his better self who lives without guilt, which is reflected in their relationship to nature, and view of self. (Reason) Victor Frankenstein...
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...A Monster’s Intrigue Think many would enjoy running for their lives from the clutches of a monster? No, obviously someone would not want that. It would be terrifying, however, there is a large following of monster stories and darker ones. When I ask others for their opinion of this oddity, most were forced to scour their brains for any semblance of an answer which made sense. The reason that so many are infatuated with monstrous fiction and cinema is because the monsters are often interesting biologically, they provide complex and conflicting emotions, and often times the protagonist of the story is more complex than in normal stories. This is especially true when faced with a horrifying monster! Monstrous entities in darker stories can be...
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...clear that a true monster is created by mistreatment during the early years of their development. The creature and Grendel both want to find love for the same reason. Neither of them feel like anyone cares for them or wants them. This feeling of loneliness makes them both long for companionship. In Grendel, he imagines meeting with...
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...creature’s acts of violence are external representations of Victor Frankenstein’s internal rage. It is ironic that his own self-replication in the form of the creature brings him to his eventual demise. Another element that correlates with the Narcissus story pertains to the escapes and pursuits that are present in the novel. “Since Mary Shelley’s novel employs the element of flight (Walton to the pole, Victor from the Creature, the Creature in pursuit of Victor), Frankenstein embodies an additional element of the Narcissus complex” (Kestner 69-70). The grandiosity of his creation and pursuits end in a chase to eliminate any evidence of his mistakes. Jeffrey Berman summarizes all of these examples in comparison of narcissistic personality disorder: Victor exhibits, in fact, all the characteristics of the narcissistic personality disorder as defined in DSM-III: a grandi- sense of self-importance; preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success; exhibitionism; cool indifference or feelings of...
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...When Mary Shelley’s mother dies of “puerperal fever on September 10, 1797, she left her newborn daughter with a double burden: a powerful and ever-to-be-frustrated need to be mothered, together with a name, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, that proclaimed this small child as the fruit of the most famous literary marriage of eighteenth-century England” (Mellor 1). Mary‘s childhood is filled with a desperate need for love and affection as her father, William Godwin “found it easy to express his obvious affection when his daughters were small, but as they grew older together he became remote and awkward, more dutiful than sensitive, unable to show what he really felt for them. They, too, had to fitted into the methodical timetable, with periods allotted when they might interrupt his writing or listen to his latest story” (Locke 217). Although Godwin admires Mary, he does not seem to feel any special affection for her and finds it difficult to express his fatherly love for her. Anne K. Mellor adds, as Mary Shelley grows into the author of one of the most famous novels ever written, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, “we can never forget how much her desperate desire for a loving and supportive parent defined her character, shaped her fantasies, and produced her fictional idealizations of the bourgeois family-idealizations whose very fictiveness, as we shall see, is transparent” (1). Just as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s childhood is filled with solitude and a desperate...
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...deserving of sympathy? The theme of sympathy is used throughout the novel ‘Frankenstein’. Mary Shelley has used it in order for us as the reader to feel sorrow for both Victor Frankenstein and the monster. A reason why Mary Shelley used sympathy repeatedly could be connected to the fact that she had such a tough life, she had been surrounded by death and sadness; her mum died giving birth to her, 3 of her 4 children died, her half sister committed suicide and her sons first wife drowned herself. This pain and suffering that she has gone through her whole life is very similar to what Victor Frankenstein went through, and Shelley could have related parts of it about her. This is seen when she emphasizes the pain Victor feels for Elizabeth and William, when they are murdered by the monster. When the monster first comes to life, Frankenstein says “but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and the breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” this is the first point, where the reader sympathise for the monster because his creator, his “father” detests him, and neglects him, he receives no instruction or assistance at helping himself blend into a normal society. Later on in chapter 5, Victor meets up with his old friend Henry Clerval for the first time in ages, Henry comments on his health saying “I did not before remark how very ill you appear so thin and pale; and look as if you had been watching several nights” this makes us feel sympathy for Frankenstein...
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...Unbeknownst to the reader at this time, the creature begins his understanding of his suffering and the unjust cause of it, his creator. Frankenstein forces the Creature into the world and does not help prepare it at all and abandons it to its, as Frankenstein believes, vices. Shelley attacks Frankenstein’s ignorance of proper caregiving. Without any compassion towards his Creature, Frankenstein displays inhumane qualities that should not...
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...Different, Yet so Alike In Marry Shelly’s novel Frankenstein she develops two different characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Creature also know as Dr. Frankenstein’s creation. Even though these two characters are not related nor do they look alike in any way, they have very distinct characteristics that make them so similar. Looking at just the surface it’s hard to see how it would be even possible to call them alike. However, after digging a little deeper it becomes easier to draw distinct parallels between the two characters. As these similarities connect them in a few ways the Creature begins to seem less like the actual monster. They are similar because of; their desire to learn, a love for nature, and a longing for revenge against their enemies; all these begin to blur the lines on who the actual Monster is, as Dr. Frankenstein begins to seem more evil. From the very start, both Dr. Frankenstein and his creation had a similar desire to learn. When Dr. Frankenstein was a young child he had an abnormal desire to learn. Surely, what ultimately led to his downfall. Beginning as just a child he was obsessed with reading books on alchemy, astrology, and pseudo-sciences. He came across a volume of Cornelius Agrippa’s books, which is what completely shaped his thinking of the world around him and his love for natural philosophy. This thirst for knowledge inspired him to go to a university to study science. During his studies he gained a lot of knowledge from his mentors and...
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...genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout his narrative, Victor uses words such as “fate” and “omen” to hint at the tragedy that has befallen him; additionally, he occasionally pauses in his recounting to collect...
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...come. Also words such as ‘extinguished’ suggest light going out perhaps in the sense of a lack of life or a hint at death. Shelley in chapter 5 uses contrasts to present the creation of the creature. Initially Frankenstein is seen crafting carefully the body parts of the creature his vision was of beauty ‘selected his features as beautiful’ which is why he specifically selected ‘ lustrous black and flowing’ ‘ teeth of a pearly whiteness,’. But the reality is a stark contrast to his vision ‘ugly … such a thing that even Dante couldn’t have conceived,”. The shocking contrast of Frankenstein’s vision and dreams opposed to reality show the reader this disappointment that he is feeling and the disheartening situation that he is in having put so much time and effort into it. ‘The beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’ this line also signifies the start of Frankenstein’s descent into self-pity and worry over his failure. ‘I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food … were now a become a hell to me,’ again this highlights the selfishness of the character even in the first breaths of the creature the attention is focused on Frankenstein and how the creature has challenged him. The...
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...immediately terrifies him and causes him to flee the monster. Now that he has seen his creation all said and done you can look back as the reader and see that there is no difference between the creation and the creator. The specific word for this being, pantheism (Romanticism). Now being all alone in the world by himself Frankenstein has figured out how to learn language skills and such on his own. Frankenstein, being by himself in the woods stumbles upon a poor family and begins to study them in their daily lives. He begins to learn who is who as in what roles in the family as well as begins to catch on to their language. So well that he can understand them and soon can speak the language. This going back to the fact that as he was recreated...
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...in his article “Why Monsters Have Become Alien to Us” originally appearing in the Christianity magazine, U.S. Catholic (1996), argues that monsters, especially in modern movies, are simply a representation of humans and our disconnection to needy individuals in the real world. McCormick supports his argument by comparing classic monster tales with characters of a certain depth and humanity, such as Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster, that grabs at the compassionate hearts of audiences to contemporary films that often include a united human race defeating alien-like monsters without hesitation. The purpose of McCormick’s essay is to show how most people treat monsters, no matter how they were created or place themselves in this world, in order to answer the question of whether monsters reside within us. Given the article's location in a sophisticated magazine, McCormick aims this essay at an educated audience interested in the human need to destroy, rather than accept, monsters. 1. There are many reasons why monster stories have endured popularity over the years. One reason McCormick points out is the action and adrenaline associated with modern movies. He claims that these movies tend to be designed for theme park rides and video games since they are all about the fight or flight response that adrenaline. The contemporary...
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...Romantic Era Novels: How did Women Writers Refashion the Grand Self and Embrace Feminism? The romantic atmosphere is ideal for recognizing women as deserving equals. In this period, the feminist writings was brought and create a debate on the merits of women’ rights. A surge of women began writing and expressing themselves through novels and other literary works, such as Mary Shelley, Jane Austen. The feminist novels have tested the central “I” of women and also have shaken up gender roles of men. The female writers focused on the moral and ideological issues arising out of daily life and basic human relationships, and they advocate for female equality during romantic period fought to obtain better rights for women. The images of women across genres can be varied as the authors themselves. Mary Wollstonecraft is the radical feminist who contributed to those debates and typically revolted against the social condition of women. In her work of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, she believed in a push for growth in women and was disturbed by the lack of education. For most romantic feminists, their literary works focused on both the source of women’s inequality and its potential solution. The feminist novels in romantic era raised concerns about the ability of women to reject silence and express themselves. A feminist view from William Blake pointed out that female liberation some kind can make men free from the relationships based on power. Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein...
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...wonderful forms include true moral agents who respond to real moral facts and who form a natural moral community. Their existence contributes to the grandeur of Darwin’s evolutionary view of life. What is a moral agent? A moral agent is a decision maker who chooses between right and wrong and is, therefore, morally responsible for his acts. In this essay I will argue that creature in Marry Shelly’s novel Frankenstein is not a moral agent. The monster in Marry Shelly’s novel Frankenstein is Victor Frankenstein's creation, assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, spirited by the mysterious spark of life. He awakes eight feet tall and enormously strong but with the mind of a baby. Abandoned by his creator and confused, he tries to get accepted into society, only to be rejected. Looking at his reflection, he realizes his grotesqueness, a characteristic that hides his gentleness from society. He seeks revenge on his creator, killing Victor's younger brother. Later, after Victor destroys his work on the female monster, the monster murders Victor's best friend and then his new wife. What does it take to be able to choose between right and wrong? Moral agents must have enough knowledge and intelligence to understand how to apply moral principles and to choose whether to be guided by them in planning their actions. A moral agent also needs memory and self-consciousness, so he can remember and evaluate his options. Reason is a tool for achieving inborn...
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...Frankenstein, the author Mary Shelley portrays the limitations of man in his pursuit of scientific creativity. She illustrates Victor Frankenstein’s attempts and success at creating a human being in his laboratory as an immoral attempt to play the role of God. Shelley repeatedly shows the monster’s harmful effects on society and often places blame on Victor for the Monster’s detrimental actions. In order to emphasize the immorality and mistakes in Victor’s attempts to play God, Shelley constructs a recognizable parallel to the story of Genesis when God creates man and woman. In order to show her disapproval of such an endeavor, Shelley intentionally causes Victor to fail. This deviation from the parallel in Genesis demonstrates that man cannot exceed his natural limitations, or mimic the role of God. The story begins with Victor’s decision to create the Monster. Victor says that he “[s]ucceeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, [he] became capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (Shelley 43). Immediately, a parallel is drawn to the creation of man in Genesis. This parallel continues when Victor discloses to the reader that he, “[c]ollected bones from charnel-houses and distrusted, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame” (Shelley 45). Shelley portrays the creation of Victor’s monster in a subtle but similar way that God created man. Her intention is for readers to focus on the similarities, and at the same time notice...
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