Contract In Frankenstein

Estelle DenOtter

Mrs. Young

English 8 Period 5

21 April 2023

Thematic Ideas Through the Novel Frankenstein

Throughout the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, there are many prominent themes that illustrate the main purpose Shelly had when writing the book. Two of such themes are the social contract (and why one should not break it) and knowledge and desire.

The thematic idea of the social contract in Frankenstein is very prevalent. During his younger life, Victor has desired to learn all about the sciences and learn from old scientists like Agrippa. However many did not agree with the studies of Agrippa and when Victor decides to study these works he is breaking a social contract. Even as a young child Victor studied and found that “these

He has never had any consequences to his actions and therefore never learned how to not break the social contract. Another way that Victor breaks the social contract is when he abandons the creature and then blames the creature when he commits murders. He says that “through the whole period during which i was the slave of my creature i allowed myself to be governed by the impulses of the moment; and my present sensations strongly intimidated that the fiend would follow me and exempt my family from the danger of his machinations'' (143). When Victor says this, he is showing how he knows that he has broken the social contract by abandoning the creature, but how it still is imprisoning him with the guilt of what he has done. When Victor is ready to marry Elizabeth, he desires to tell her of the creature . Elizabeth is concerned and Victor, in his selfishness, breaks the social contract by saying “you are sorrowful, my love. If you knew what I have suffered and what I may yet endure, you would endeavor to let me taste the quiet and freedom from despair that this

In his younger years, Victor, instead of playing with toys, wanted to learn. He made sure that his parents would provide everything for him and he began his conquest of knowledge at an early age. He says that his “temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things discriminately” (23). From this piece of information, readers can tell that Victor was a spoiled child and never had any consequences to his actions. Because of this, he never had to feel responsibility for anyone and anything, which leads to dire consequences later in the novel. While in college, Victor begins research and decides that he wants to know how to create life. He finally discovers it after months and says he “paused, examining and analyzing all the minutes of causation, as exemplified in the change from life to death, and death to life, until from the midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me...”(38). This point in the novel is a huge turning point for Victor’s character, because now that he has achieved his desire to know how to create human life, he now wants to test it out and create a person out of nothing. From this point forward, Victor’s life begins to go downhill and his own destruction, alongside the