Victor Frankenstein Technology Quotes

Society today is greatly affected by science. Cell phones, computers, and social media are just some of the many facets of technology that we use in our everyday lives. To most people, this technology is wonderful, but Mary Shelley provides us with a caveat. In her novel Frankenstein, science and the pursuit of knowledge are recurrent themes. The novel starts off with Walden trying to make a discovery in the North Pole, and follows with a story about how Victor Frankenstein deals with his creation. The main message in the novel is that any scientist who discovers something has a responsibility to closely monitor the discovery, because it is very easy for the discovery to be corrupted. Victor Frankenstein evolves throughout the novel in three

Victor spends two years toiling away at discovering the “elixir of life”, and when he is finally able to bring the creature back to life, Victor simply lets the creature leave. During the moment when the creature is conceived, a foreshadowing clue is given: “her[Elizabeth’s] features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form…”(Shelley 59). This quote is clearly foreshadowing Elizabeth’s demise. Mary Shelley’s placement of this quote in the middle of the moment when Victor is leaving the creature that he just created is purposeful. It is supposed to send the message that Victor’s actions here are rash and will cause great catastrophe later on. A responsible scientist would have taken care of the creation, and would have made sure that it wasn’t exposed to the general public – Victor does the exact opposite. The creature then goes on to try to help a family of villagers, who reject the creature at first sight. From this event, the creature is corrupted: “I am malicious because I am miserable”(Shelley 147). If Victor did the responsible thing – nurture the creation, and guide it carefully -, the creature wouldn’t have caused so much destruction. The reason the creature gets “malicious” in the first place is because Victor let the creature be exposed to human society, which made it “miserable”. In this way,

After the creature is finished explaining its story to Victor, there is a turning point in the novel. Victor realizes that he needs to take on some responsibility for his creation: “did I not as his maker, owe him all the portion of happiness that it was in my power to bestow?”(Shelley 148). Victor also thinks, “…the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request.”(Shelley 150). Victor is finally understanding that he needs to take on some responsibility for this creature. He learns from his previous rash actions. But still, Victor doesn’t take on complete responsibility. Victor isn’t at Mary Shelly’s ideal yet. Taking on full responsibility would mean either taking the creature into his own arms as a father would a son, or killing the creature. Instead, Victor sets out to make a female companion for the creature, so that Victor doesn’t have to see the creature ever again. These actions show more responsibility than before, but still not full responsibility. As a result, even more catastrophe is brought upon Victor: Elizabeth dies, and Victor’s father dies. These deaths show how Victor isn’t yet living up to Mary Shelley’s standards for a responsible