Frankenstein is a novel about progress, science, family and horror. The progress and science presented by author Shelley are easy enough to see when you read this work. At the turn of the nineteenth century the world was a different place, but at the same time things are quite similar to present day. The world that is presented to us here is one where many of the sciences and discoveries we have perfected and taken for granted today are still fresh and new, but we are also just discovering many new things in our world. The story we have here, of a man bringing together pieces and parts of dead bodies and giving them “…A spark of being…” (Shelley, 57) is extremely plausible. We now have the ability to clone anything from sheep to humans. In fact, a religious cult in Quebec claimed they had cloned a human being a few years ago during the entire hubbub around the legality of cloning and stem cell research. Victor Frankenstein is an example of how such things could go as wrong as politicians protested they would. The conflict begins when Frankenstein abandons his own creation: “Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room…” (Shelley, 57). A few months go by and we hear nothing from the creature while Frankenstein is sick, until he gets a letter from his father saying that his young brother William has been killed and a girl taken in by the family, Justine, is on trial. Victor is sure that it was his creation who has extracted vengeance on him and his for the abandonment, when he attempts to tell them though he is cut off.
“‘Victor says he knows who is the murderer of poor William’
‘We do also, unfortunately,’ replied my father…” (Shelley, 80)
His father assumes unjustly that it is Justine who Frankenstein is talking about. After she is executed for the crime, Victor takes to the hills to explore and to reconnect with his childhood after the devastating loss of two members of his family. It is there that he again sees the being he created and sits with him to hear of his whereabouts.
Some of the characters we are introduced to in the first ten chapters are Victor Frankenstein, creator of the monster; Elizabeth Lavenza, his adopted sister and suited wife; Henry Clerval, good friend of Victor; Justine Moritz, servant girl and good friend of the family; Alphonse Frankenstein, Victor’s father; and of course, the creature itself, of whom we do not see much. It is clear to see that the intended protagonist for the time being is Victor Frankenstein. Victor is the one telling us, the reader, the story, and we can see that for the first six chapters our sympathies are meant for him – however, he begins to shape himself as the antagonist as well. Chapters seven though ten allow for a man versus self conflict because Victor has begun to blame himself for the murder of his brother and the execution of Justine: “I considered the being whom I had cast upon mankind, and endowed with the will and power to effect purposes of horror…” (Shelley, 77) We also get a good look at some of Elizabeth’s character traits in these chapters. Elizabeth steps forward to speak in defense of Justine at her trail to attempt to convince others of her innocence, “…When I see a fellow-creature about to perish through the cowardice of her pretended friends, I wish to be allowed to speak…” (Shelley, 84) Elizabeth speaking on behalf of Justine’s character shows much for her own character, that she must be a good friend to stand up against the entire town to proclaim her innocence. The creature goes through his most powerful character development when he and Victor meet again in the mountains, and we see that so far his life consists basically of self-pity. “Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery?” (Shelley, 99) These are his words after he has killed a child to anger Victor. The creature seems to exist solely to feel bad for himself and to harass Victor, what a life that must be. The first two listed characters have developed considerably, especially Elizabeth given the small amount of time she has been present in Victor’s tale, not simply referred to. The creature however has only had one real chapter to develop in so far and has failed miserably, coming off as completely one dimensional. But by the same token he does have begun to tell his tale at the end of chapter ten, so beyond that these observations may change drastically.
I think a major theme being presented in the book is the destruction of “the nuclear family”. Frankenstein and his creature are representations of single parents and young mothers. The story is a warning against some of the traps of neglect and self involvement that could affect a child more in these situations than in the classic mother/father/brother/sister family. Victor rejects his child, and as a result his child rebels – ultimately ending in murder. This is a situation that can be applied to most single mothers: a child out of control, a child they are physically unable to stop from doing bad or self destructive things.
“My rage was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled by all the feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another.
He easily eluded me…” (Shelley, 99)
Another theme that can be very obviously seen is the dangers of science. In the same vein as The Stepford Wives, it was something new at the time, and because it was new people didn’t know what to make of it. People are scared of what they don’t know. Frankenstein’s creature would be the physical embodiment of those fears; everything that could go wrong with science, not even its creator could appreciate it: “My abhorrence for the fiend cannot be conceived. When I thought of him, I gnashed my teeth, my eyes became inflamed, and I so ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had to thoughtlessly bestowed.” (Shelley, 92) I’d say in this day and age we know that science can be used for marvelous things as well as horrendous things. The quote: “‘Man,’ I cried, ‘how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom!’” (Shelley, 75) doesn’t not resonate as much today as it would have then. They feared learning too much, but the learners went ahead and did it and it hasn’t affected much aside from up-ing the comfort we as humans live in.
I would say that the style so far is very different from most contemporary fiction. The gothic style of writing seems to have changed quite a bit over the years, where here it doesn’t simply hang on scaring you, it builds a story that happens to have horrible elements to it. Shelley uses her creature to play an allegory for a million different things, and creations like that come along once in a very long while. The very descriptive style of writing is enjoyable, but can become tiresome at times. Instead of “I lived near mountains” Victor describes his home as: “Blue laked and snow clad mountains.” As well as: “scene so beautiful and heavenly” (Shelley, 63, 88). In fact, on page 91 alone the author uses the words “Magnificent”; “Magnificence”; “Mighty”; “Wonderful and sublime” (Shelley, 91).Another part of the book that did not sit well with me was the introduction of the Justine character. It seems very tacked on, almost as if Shelley had written up to that point and then decided to add her as a character through Elizabeth’s letter. The frame narrative however is something I do like a lot and is not seen in very many books. In fact, I can only think of one other book that uses multiple frames.
In conclusion, Frankenstein’s first ten chapters are interesting and contain many hidden messages to decipher. This book contains a varied range of themes. Although it can suffer at times from poor character development, the characters we are meant to learn about are delved into very deeply. I will most definitely read the rest of the book with rapt attention to try and learn more about the picture Shelley is painting for us with Frankenstein.
Registered Members, login
Join now, it's free
Property of EssaySwap.com
