Examples Of Passions In Frankenstein

Bodhi Lee

Mr. Stastny

ENG 102H

7 March 2023

The Danger of Passions: How Mary Shelley showed that carelessly strong passions towards another, as shown in Frankenstein, may lead to undesired consequences

In The Projection of a Double in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, author Sabindra Raj Bhandari believed that “By creating the monster, the civilized being like Frankenstein releases the violent and inner monstrous self that[‘s] full of primitive desires… [Showing] the divided self of Frankenstein that contains self-destructive passion” (Bhandari 106). Also, Bhandari says “desires” are unpredictable when manifested by one’s “inner monstrous self” (Bhandari 106). The instance of self-destruction in the characters’ reckless passions exists because

The monster’s passion for making Victor despairful was an attempt to manipulate Victor into creating a female fiend by making Victor feel obligated to create a female companion. Despite this manipulation attempt, Victor eventually found that creating another fiend was a bad idea. After the fiend tells Victor the details of William’s demise, he expects Victor to become more willing to follow his requests, but Victor avoids the manipulation. By evading the fiend’s manipulation, the monster’s ruthless murder spree became all for only the eventual sorrow and remorse that the fiend would soon

The monster’s desire to seek revenge exists because Victor was reckless in the making of his creation and proceeded to flee from its hideous appearance, which caused the monster to live a short life of agony and gain a strong feeling of hate towards his creator. Once the fiend murdered his creator, his motivation to live faded away, and he began to regret his decisions; After all, he didn’t have a reason to live. Mary Shelley demonstrated how Victor’s impetuous desires and the monster’s harmful passions toward each other only led to fateful and self-destructive consequences for both parties. Had Victor supported his creation, the fiend wouldn’t have gained a hateful rage against Victor. Also, had the monster thought through his thoughts before he killed everyone Victor loved, he might’ve been able to find something better to live for that wouldn’t end in his demise. Ultimately, strong passions can be dangerous and self-destructive, especially if they are to cause harm to another