Examples Of Innocence In Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the main character Victor tells a story that is supposed to teach his listener, Robert, about the consequences of knowledge. Though it is clear that Victor’s story is rooted in this key lesson, it is unclear exactly why Victor chooses to share this specific thesis with Robert. Through further examination of Victor’s fears, his reasoning becomes more evident. Victor is afraid of killing Elizabeth, who to him represents innocence. Though he seems to be afraid of physically killing the innocent, in reality, this fear is a manifestation of his greater fear of corrupting the innocent through knowledge. Victor’s fear of his own ability to corrupt the innocent pushes him to explain the problems with knowledge to Robert.

Additionally, the word “appeared” is very subjective, and therefore demonstrates that Elizabeth seems innocent specifically to Victor. This idea of Elizabeth’s innocence continues throughout the passage, as Victor says that he “loved to tend on her.” By saying this, Victor demotes Elizabeth to a level beneath him, and conjures the imagery of a child who needs to be taken care of. This further indicates that Elizabeth represents innocence to

According to OED, “imprint” means “to mark by pressure” or “to stamp.” Therefore, it is clear that by kissing Elizabeth, Victor is leaving a mark on her, and therefore is physically changing her. Victor then goes on to describe this change, saying that Elizabeth transformed into the corpse of his mother, and that “grave-worms” were crawling around her. This graphic imagery of death clearly indicates what has truly happened in the dream -- Victor has taken something previously healthy and has killed it simply by marking it. This frightens Victor quite a bit, causing him to wake up with “horror.” Knowing that to Victor Elizabeth symbolizes the innocent, it is clear that what Victor is really seeing in this dream is his ability to kill the innocent, and this scares him