References to other pieces of media aside, I have been thinking about Frankenstein and what we can learn from it quite a bit these past few days. While I'm sure we're going to go over the major points of the remaining story in class, there is one particular incident that sticks out to me in Frankenstein. I believe it can be argued that one theme of the book can be the dangers of man's creation. In this case, the creation of Victor Frankenstein's monster. I also believe that there is an examination of human nature that can be observed throughout the book. In fact, I believe the entire book, alongside its obvious horror undertones and the fact that it addresses the dangers of the mind of man, can be seen as an insight to human nature on all fronts - how creation, fear and how instinct play into our lives.
The aforementioned incident I wish to discuss is the moment in which Frankenstein gives life to his creation. Here was Victor Frankenstein - a brilliant scientists, who toiled endlessly to reach his goal of bringing life from nothingness. The reader would almost think him to be smarter than the rest of us, given his scientific achievements and pedigree. However, when he is presented with the true reality of his creation, he flees. Despite all of the sophistication, academia and brilliance, Frankenstein is still subject to human nature like the rest of us. In his case, his nature told him to run from the monster and hide - but, most importantly, it commanded him to not acknowledge the monster's existence; at least outwardly.
I feel that this is important because if we view the book as an insight on human nature (the fear of the perceived abhorrent) it may reveal the root cause of all of Frankenstein's problems. Had he just sat down and talked to the thing (as it attempted to do with him - probably trying to ask why it was created) he perhaps could've avoided the death of his sibling and the pain the monster would go on to cause. But he did not. He ran, tried to forget all about the monster and move on with his life. Out of sight, out of mind, one could say. However, this did not just make his problems disappear - rather, his failure to address his creation from the start would come back not only to haunt him, but his family and town as well. It is human nature to flee from one's problems, but this flight will surely come back to bite us in the future, as it did for Frankenstein. This is why, perhaps, I believe the book can be seen as an axiom against fleeing from your problems - especially if you created them.
Steven, I certainly agree that the story is a commentary on facing your problems instead of hiding from them. You raise an interesting point with the idea of whether the monster would have resorted to such violence had Victor Frankenstein not abandoned him in the first place. Personally, it is hard to say if the pain, suffering, or death could have been avoided with Frankenstein involving himself more in the monster's upbringing. Obviously, Frankenstein's monster still possessed an appearance different from that of anything else that existed in the world of the graphic novel. Sadly, people still judge and act based upon an individual's looks. In the time period of the text, I doubt that folks in the society would have accepted the monster no matter what his good deeds amounted to. For example, examine the altercation that Frankenstein's monster experienced with Felix and his family. Although he displayed no visible threat to the family, Felix still beat the monster out of his home, causing him to retaliate. Certainly, having Frankenstein more engaged with the monster could have prevented some of the violence and suffering in the story. Despite his behavior, however, one also cannot assume that society would embrace the monster as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Victor's actions (or I guess, lack thereof) definitely illustrate human nature. Instead of facing his problems, he ran from them and expected them to be waiting patiently for him to deal with them at his convenience. However, by leaving his monster, he caused inadvertently more problems including the murder of his family member and Justine. To address your question of what would happen if Frankenstein stayed - it is hard to tell. However, I would predict that the monster would have turned out to be a rather pleasant fellow, considering his innate nature was shown to be curious, pleasant, and love-seeking. However, this could also have turned the monster into an even more monstrous fellow, considering Frankenstein himself is not a very pleasant person and I don't think he would have been a good "father".
ReplyDeleteThis story definitely explores the potential dangers of one's creations. Going along with the same theme as the original Prometheus story, Frankenstein defies nature (thus doing the "forbidden") by attempting to create a living being. Did Shelley believe that we should not attempt to recreate the work of "God" (which is sometimes believed to be the case)?
ReplyDeleteAs for Victor's avoidance of the monster, I find it pitiful. How could he live with himself, knowing that his lack of action caused the death of loved ones? For not speaking out, I truly think he is both selfish and evil.
Steven, I agree with you in part. The story would certainly have been much simpler had Victor stood his ground and taken care of his creation. That being said, the monster was incapable of speech at it's birth - and aside from its monstrous visage, very much like a newborn. That being said, I feel you can make a similar argument to your own in the face of this realization. Instead of the issue being that of running from one's problems, perhaps we can say instead that humans fear the unknown - or that which they do not understand.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, Victor could not understand his monster, and reviled its existence instead of attempting to understand exactly what he brought into the world. This fear and refusal of responsibility eventually led him to disaster. Really, I think this lesson is applicable to the advancement of science and technology - a great deal of which was happening at the time of the novel.