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Examples Of Ethical Issues In Frankenstein

969 Words4 Pages

Rachael Covington
Mrs. McBreen
April 25, 2023
British Literature
Frankenstein Essay
Frankenstein’s Intent, Result, and Repercussions

‘Just because we can, should we?’ This age-old question is a perfect example of what makes bioethical dilemmas so difficult. Explained by The Hastings Center, bioethics is the interdisciplinary study of ethical issues arising in the life sciences, health care, and health and science policy (The Hastings Center). In 1816, Mary Shelley (1797-1851) wrote Frankenstein while on a vacation during the Year Without a Summer. Astoundingly, the eighteen year old produced a historic masterpiece that faces some difficult questions. Shelley’s novel was also one of the first to popularize the gothic genre of fiction. While …show more content…

He gave a decently ethical reason for his undertaking when he confesses, “…I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time… renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption,” (Shelley, pp. 53) although it quickly became apparent the scientist knew what he was doing was wrong. Keeping his employment secret, Victor refused to enlighten any of his friends or family of his project. If the man were proud of and certain in the integrity of what he was trying to accomplish, why did he refrain from informing anyone about his experiment? This is a clear sign that the title character’s intent may not have been noble or certain. After the Creature’s reanimation, another indicator is displayed in the fact that Frankenstein had no follow up plan for a successful experiment. Irresponsibly, Victor failed to stop and think of what he would name the creature, where it would stay, how it might react after being awoken, etc. Satisfied to jump feet first into his perilous operation, Frankenstein disregarded these questions in order to accomplish his endeavor, bringing about drastic …show more content…

He’d made a terrible mistake. Abruptly, Victor’s mindset changed: “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” (Shelley, pp. 56) Plagued by nightmares and wishing to forget the troubles he had caused, the title character callously abandoned his new, hideous creation. Not only had Frankenstein reanimated a living, breathing being and then completely deserted it, in doing so, he subjected everyone else to the mercy of the Creature. In the beginning of the novel, one cannot help but feel sympathy for the monster. Terrified, the poor wretch found himself forced to navigate the early stages of his life independently as he lacked any help from his maker. It was also a sorrowful factor that Frankenstein acted with repulsion to the Creature when the being strived for his creator’s love and affection. If Victor had not turned his back on the entity, and instead did his rightful duty in educating the brute, perhaps the immediate result would have been a more commendable

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In Frankenstein, Victor could have done a better job of helping the creature to acclimate to-and be accepted by- society. It all starts when Victor initially meets the creature. He is so horrified by its ugliness, and he runs away leaving the creature to explore the world with no one to help him. Victor does not see the creature for another two years, when he returns home because of the death of his brother. During those two years, the creature experienced much ridicule because of his hideousness, which cause him to want revenge on Victor Frankenstein for making him so hideous, and for not making him a female companion.

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He felt he had created an “ugly monster” and that he had made a mistake. The countenance of the creature immediately scared off Victor even though it was his creation. “Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance.” (Shelley 48)

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Victor’s creation is described as a “monster” in the story of Frankenstein. He is immediately considered to be evil because he has committed murder, even though he meant no harm. He wrongfully forges his identity according to how others see him; as an evil monster. He forges his identity on how others view him, which is an evil monster (Lall 36). At this point, he is growing out of the mental stage of an infant and is beginning to learn how to take care of himself.

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However, instead of rising to the occasion, his only response was to cower before his creation. Frankenstein says, “For this, I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardor that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart (Chapter 5).” Victor made a monster without thinking about its consequences because he was motivated by achieving glory. Unfortunately, his choice caused him and his family a lot of trouble.

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The novel Frankenstein brings to light many problems and situations that shed light on the faults of mankind. Cruelty was a huge factor in the novel; throughout Frankenstein is cruel to his body and to his creation. When he first makes the creature he runs from it, leaving the creature to fend for himself; even when reuniting with the creature he continues displays cruelty. The creature, in turn exhibits Victor cruelty right back. Within Frankenstein cruelty can be attributed, often affecting both Victor and the creature; serving as a crucial motivator and revealing their anger, pain, frustration till eventually both die.

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Throughout ‘Frankenstein’, we discover that Shelley presents Victors responsibility as flawed, We see him as childish and unable to accept his failures and mistakes. Rarley does he accept the “demonical corpse” who is “more hideous than belongs to humanity”, as his creation. Rather than dealing with the conequences and raising the monster, as his father and god. He abanondens it into society. We Can look back into Victors childhood to see where he gained his original morals, and where the drive for the creation of the monster was.

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Victor Frankenstein, is at fault for the creature’s actions. Victor was looking for some honor and triumph, but when he accomplished his experiment, not only did it bring terror to Victor, but to the whole world. The monster never learned right from wrong and was never raised correctly, his first moment of life, all he experienced was the fear in Victor's emotion, and was abandoned right from the start. Victor selfishly isolated himself from society and ran away from his responsibilities which caused destruction to the people Victor cared for and loved deeply. The creature was known as a monster and was doomed due to his appearance.

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Victor Frankenstein turns away from his responsibilities by ignoring the existence of his creation. Throughout the novel, Victor is constantly running away from the monster and not giving him attention, which resulted in the monsters change of personalities. For example, in page 71 the creation said, “All men hate the wretched; how must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.” This quote suggests that because of the ignorance of Victor the monster began to become evil and have the urge to seek

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Victor does not handle his monster, or his fears, well. When Frankenstein first sees his monster, he immediately “escaped, [from the room the monster was in] and rushed down stairs. p50” As the monster is an externalization of Frankenstein’s fears, this escape, this inability to so much as look at the monster, can be interpreted as Frankenstein’s inability to acknowledge his fears and anxieties. Like with anxiety, denying the monster’s existence only causes him to grow more destructive.

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Victor's ambition, or pressure to win his father’s approval, urges him to make a creature that would be “inferior, in size, to no one” (Claridge 18), and this action is one of anger towards his family and one to compensate for the insecurity he felt under the expectations of his father. Victor was driven by only retaliation and desperation, and so he was not considering all of the morals of science stacked against him: “Frankenstein, being a mere man and not God, was incapable of manufacturing the goodness-instilling portions of the soul” (Foht 84). He says his father never corrected his studies with modern science or limited his aspirations, so Victor says, “My dreams were therefore undisturbed by reality” (Shelley 26). Victor’s parenting is not much of a contrast to that of Alphonse Frankenstein.

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Joyce Carol Oates states in her essay Frankenstein Fallen Angel, “…he (Victor) seems blind to the fact that is apparent to any reader – that he has loosed a fearful power into the world, whether it strikes his eye as aesthetically pleasing or not, and he must take responsibility for it.” Victor is unwilling to care for the creature, because he finds him dreadful, so he takes the easy way out and leaves the creature to take care of himself, which he is not capable of doing. Victor’s obsession to act superhuman blinded him while he was creating the creature because he had a desire to assemble the creature from makeshift parts so that the creature would be hideous and therefore inferior to Victor. The creature is formed as an ugly being so that it is easier for Victor to walk away from. Victor is willing to abandon his own creation because he views the creature as a, “… filthy mass that moved and talked” (136).

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In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein spends two whole years toiling to create a being which is comprised of the body parts of various dead corpses, for the purposes of science. Finally, he creates the “monster”, who commits a multitude of crimes, resulting in the deaths of many innocent people. These horrific murders raise many questions concerning who is to be held accountable. Victor walked away from the situation he created instead of facing his actions. If he had chosen to stay this could have prevented the heinous crimes committed by the monster as a result of Victor’s mental and emotional Neglect.

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The monsters revenge on Frankenstein, drives him too to be full of hatred and need for vengeance because he destroyed everything good in his life. He feels as the death of his loved ones is his fault because he is the one that created the horrid creature in the first place (Brackett). “As time passed away I became more calm; misery had her dwelling in my heart, but I no longer talked in the same incoherent manner of my own crimes; sufficient for me was the consciousness of them” (Shelley 158). The monster wanted Victor to feel the same thing as him, lonely and sadness. The monsters revenge works, Victor becomes rejected by people and has nobody but himself.

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Frankenstein created the creature so he could manipulate the power of life, not to learn from the experience. He is so immersed in his studies, fascinated by the creation of life. He studies what the human body is made up of and how it falls apart. Victor completely disengages from the world when away at school after his mother dies of scarlet fever.

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When it comes to scientific methods, there are a variety of ways in which one can reach their goal. Of course, there are certain rules that one must follow when it comes to scientific research. The foremost of these rules is to abide by a certain code of ethics. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein disregards the ethics of research, preferring to accomplish his goals without thoroughly thinking of the consequences that might arise from creating life for the dead. Of course, he wasn’t the only one ignoring the ethical guidelines of research.

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