Introduction
Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus is a novel written by Mary Shelly that was first published in 1818. The author tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who artificially animated a body assembled from parts of corpses. Although Victor intended to create a beautiful creature, the result did not meet his hopes, as the revived being caused horror and disgust in Frankenstein. This paper claims that Frankenstein’s unwillingness to accept responsibility for the fate of his creation, the monster, led to his excruciating psychological suffering and became the cause of a series of tragic events.
Parenting and Responsibility in Relations between Frankenstein and the Monster
When the creature came to life, it was ugly and looked like a dead man. Although Victor chose the most beautiful body parts that he found in the anatomical theater, the creature did not meet his hopes. It had watery eyes and yellow skin through which muscles and veins could be seen. The monster was of inhuman height since Victor could not find a way to assemble minor parts of the human body. Terrified of his creation, Victor fleed from his apartment, where the experiment took place, and when he returned, he saw that the creature has disappeared.
Further in the life of Frankenstein, tragic events unfolded, the cause of which was the free will of the monster. The novel has several storylines, and the story is told alternately on behalf of Frankenstein and the creature. The book also has a frame; it begins and ends as a story in a letter that a sea captain who has reached the North Pole writes to his sister. Using this technique, the author allows the reader to look at events from different perspectives and draw their conclusions about who was responsible for what was happening – a monster or Frankenstein.
The monster and Frankenstein are not one, but they are undoubtedly connected (Sherly 3). Victor is a selfish person who was making sacrifices in the name of his goals. He begins the experiment, pursuing his ambitions and not caring about the consequences. Therefore, the connection between Frankenstein and the monster is fatal. From the beginning of the novel, Victor perceives the creature as his sworn enemy, and eventually, it becomes his enemy. At the same time, the creature, which Frankenstein did not even give a name because of his disgust for him, is capable of deep affection and has the character of a child who gradually matures. His character is formed under the influence of a series of events that harden him. Finally, he turns into an adult looking for a way to take revenge on humanity and, most importantly, on his creator.
Scholars are mainly unanimous that the novel raises questions of responsibility and considers the connection between creator and creature as a father-son relationship. Lepore admits, “Among the many moral and political ambiguities of Shelley’s novel is the question of whether Victor Frankenstein is to be blamed for creating the monster – usurping the power of God, and of women – or for failing to love, care for, and educate him” (11). He adds, “The Frankenstein-is-Oppenheimer model considers only the former, which makes for a weak reading of the novel” (Lepore 11). In other words, the scholar emphasizes that although the monster perceives Frankenstein more as his father, and his attitude towards Victor resembles that of a son, the reader should not forget about Frankenstein’s responsibility of a different kind – to God, nature, and humanity.
He violates the spiritual and cosmic law, breathing life into an imperfect body, and must be responsible for his choice. It is noteworthy that during the first dialogue between Frankenstein and the monster, the latter pathetically exclaims, “How dare you sport thus with life?” and then asks to make him happy (Lepore 8). A monster that possesses a human self-reflective consciousness calls itself Adam, or Fallen Angel, and curses its creator (Lepore 11). Therefore, the connection between the monster and Victor can be seen as that between the creature and the demiurge.
However, the fathers and children issue is still more emphasized in the novel. This topic was important for the author, who at the time of writing the novel had lost her child and felt guilty about it (Lepore 13). Refusing to care for a monster could be viewed as a violation by Frankenstein of the parental duty since, as a rule, the child has a parent who takes care of it. Johnson notes that Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus “offers a critique of the institution of parenthood” (15). In the introduction to the novel, it is stated that “the novel has been seen as a warning against unfettered ambitions, technology, rejection of difference, and poor parenting” (Shelly 5). Therefore, it is necessary to separately consider these two essential topics – the psychological nuances of the relationship between the monster and Frankenstein and the universal responsibility for the murders.
Interestingly, Lepore notes that the acquaintance with Lord Byron influenced the formation of the image of Frankenstein, who put his ambitions above all else, just like Byron did (Lepore 12). It is known that Byron left his children, and one of his daughters, Mary’s nephew, died at the orphanage at the age of 5, after Byron forbade Mary and Percy Shelly to adopt her. Therefore, the topic of irresponsible parenthood had a very personal meaning for the author.
Psychological Nuances and Universal Responsibility for Killings
Given the interpretation of the relationship between the monster and Frankenstein presented above, it is evident that this connection was psychologically highly intense. From the monster’s confession, the reader learns about his initial innocence, confusion, and desire to become a part of the world, a part of someone’s life. However, he is met with violent rejection and fear; the monster confesses that he is horrified by the sound of his own voice. After the first painful encounter with reality and remembering the horror and disgust on the face of its creator, the creature decides to take revenge on humanity for its pain of loneliness and physical sufferings. He finds books in the forest, which is an impetus for the monster to develop critical thinking. After analyzing his unfortunate situation, he begins to see in Frankenstein, his creator, the cause of his suffering. The monster also makes him responsible for his happiness and, being unhappy, makes Victor the target of his revenge.
The monster intends to destroy everything that is dear to Victor to make him feel alone and completely helpless. Therefore, the monster kills his brother William and tosses the medallion to his nanny, who is then executed. After that, Frankenstein finds the monster, and he confirms Frankenstein’s guesses about the murders. Victor feels terrible fear and guilt for creating a creature that has become a murderer. The intensity of his experiences is so strong that his psyche ousts them from a sense of self-preservation, and Victor fails to take the universal responsibility for the monster’s deeds.
It must be admitted that the author probably does not consider Victor to be the only culprit in a series of tragic events. At the end of the novel, the reader hears the monster’s confession that after the brutal murders he committed, Frankenstein’s death made him even more miserable than Victor. Crushed by the awareness of its responsibility and feelings of guilt and loss, the monster promises to disappear and never be seen by people again, from which the author of the letter concludes that the monster committed suicide.
The culmination of pain and awareness for Victor occurs when the monster fulfills the threat of being with Frankenstein on his wedding night. Victor suggests that the monster threatens to kill him when he finally finds happiness, but the creature’s plan is far more sophisticated. Trying to take revenge on the scientist for destroying the female prototype, which could become his partner and save him from the suffering of loneliness, the monster decides to kill Victor’s beloved. He does not regret his deed but enjoys revenge by pointing out the window at Elizabeth’s body while Frankenstein searches for the monster outside, weapon in hand.
At this moment, the monster’s kinship and attachment to Victor are completely destroyed, and Frankenstein decides to pursue the creature to take revenge on him and prevent possible future murders. Heartbroken and desperate, Victor follows the creature to the North Pole, where he dies exhausted on the ship that picked him up. Before his death, Frankenstein bequeathed to the assembled public to seek happiness in peace and avoid ambition.
From a philosophical point of view, it cannot be said that Frankenstein’s dislike of the monster inevitably led him to murder and hatred of people. The creature was rejected and disappointed by humanity in general, and he did not have anyone to comfort him in a moment of despair. In general, the tragic events in the novel can be seen in part as the result of a dramatic accident or unfortunate coincidence. It must be admitted that Frankenstein was genuinely inspired by his experiment and believed that he was on the verge of some miraculous scientific discovery. All the more bitter was his disappointment when he realized that the monster was ugly outside and unhappy inside.
Disappointment and resentment at the creation did not allow Victor to complete the second experiment to create a pair for the monster, as the thought maddened him that he should make another equally ugly and evil creature. Of course, these two creatures could not threaten humanity as a species. But they threatened Victor’s pride as a scientist and exacerbated his frustration, so he could not sacrifice his inner peace in the name of the creature’s happiness.
Thus, it was argued how Frankenstein’s unwillingness to take responsibility for the fate of his creation, the monster, led to his excruciating psychological suffering and caused a series of tragic events. The characters of the monster and Frankenstein are linked by the bond of the demiurge and creation; Frankenstein is also the symbolic parent of the creature. In an attempt to avenge the denial of responsibility and recognition of its role, the creature takes revenge on Victor. The monster curses him as a creator and does inhuman deeds to darken Frankenstein’s scientific awe. He also kills his loved ones, which is an act of more personal revenge because Victor refused to care for the creation and doomed him to loneliness and suffering.
References
Johnson, Barbara. “My Monster/My Self” (1982). A Life with Mary Shelley. Stanford University Press, 2020. 15-26.
Lepore, Jill. “The Strange and Twisted Life of Frankenstein.” The New Yorker 5 (2018).
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. ARC, Amsterdam University Press, 2018.
Sherly, Dwi Putri. Monstrosity and Humanity in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: A Formalistic Reading. Diss. Universitas Andalas, 2020.