Cost Of Conceit In Frankenstein

The Cost of Conceit

A scientist alienates himself to make a miraculous discovery only for it become an outcast to society. Literary criticisms “Frankenstein” by Susan Sylvia and Bonnie Flaig, and “An overview of Frankenstein” by George Griffith, allowed for a more complex look into the the book Frankenstein, by Mary W. Shelley. The criticisms allow for a more in depth view on Victor Frankenstein’s overwhelming fascination in science and how it resulted in him alienating himself. His fascination in science leads him to become careless and upon completion of his creation he realizes what he has done, and abandons his creation. This leads to the creature becoming an outcast to society.

Victor Frankenstein was adamant on bringing something to

Thus leaving the creature with no guidance and no knowledge about life. The creature is curious and does not have anyone to teach him about what was happening. He is left to figure out such an immense task on his own. One of his first encounters with other human beings, is not a pleasant first learning experience, “...I had hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped…” (Shelley 123). The villagers reaction towards the creature frightens him, and he begins having a negative view of himself. They do not attempt to get to know him or understand him, instead they opt to violence and treat him like an outcast. “The characters in the novel reflect the struggle against societal control. The monster, in particular, is an outcast from society, and the reader is able to empathize with his subsequent rage at being ostracized.” (Sylvia). Rejection towards the creature from the villagers and his creator causes him to become the monster they paint him to be. The creature has no other choice than to view himself as a monster, because there is no one else to tell or show him

ideal bounds” to be broken through, succeeds in his intellectual pursuit but at great cost.” (Griffith). At the start he first loses his health, and becomes ill with brain fever from the lack of care he gives himself while he is creating the creature. Once he regains health he avoids the subject of the creature. Eventually he comes face to face with the creature and the creature tells him his tale of his negative experiences and how lonely he is. The creature asks one thing of Frankenstein, which is for him to create a female counterpart so that he can have a companion that will not judge him for being so different. Frankenstein is sympathetic at first and begins the creation of the female counterpart, but he soon stops because the risks of having two creatures is too great. He bases his decision on logic instead of emotion, he cannot risk the negative outcomes of creating another creature. There is only one positive outcome out of the multiple possible outcomes. The negatives outweigh the positives, which leads to his ultimate decision of stopping the creation of the second creature. The creature could have viewed Frankenstein as being selfish because he has a companion and is happy, while the creature is lonely and there is no one else like him. Frankenstein’s decision resulted in the creature directing his