ipl-logo

Examples Of Morally Ambiguous Characters In Frankenstein

502 Words3 Pages

Morally ambiguous characters make both good and bad decisions, making their character neither a hero or villain.The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley conveys a morally ambiguous character through Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein made choices that ended fatally for many but didn’t directly cause people harm. Victor Frankenstein’s moral ambiguity builds key events shaping the novel. Originally Frankenstein says that if he creates life the new creation would “owe there being” (32) to him. Frankenstein wanted to be a great scientist, but ended up playing God without taking responsibility. He created life, and no matter, you really can’t control a living being. Frankenstein thought he was doing good by finding a way to “renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (32). Frankenstein's decision to create life would prove to be the main conflict, therefore shaping the rest of the story. This doesn’t make him a great guy, but it also doesn’t make him bad either. Victor didn’t start with the intention to create a “monster,” but ultimately created one. He ends up leaving the “creature” without any direction, which ends up setting the “monster’s” path. …show more content…

While Frankenstein did reject his creation, the monster’s choices aren’t entirely Frankenstein’s fault. Victor rejected the monster because seeing his creation was making him sick with the realization of what he’d created. Instead of worrying about the life he’d let disappear, Victor worried about himself, not caring or thinking about what could come of his creation. Victor wasn’t aware of the consequences of this actions, he didn’t intentionally mean any harm. The “creature’s” loneliness would impact the rest of the novel by creating conflict within the novel. The monster decides he wants a companion, so he seeks out Frankenstein, to create him a

Open Document