(Shelly 69) What Victor endured in the past still fuelled his hate and anger towards the creature. This hate consumed his whole being leading him to parade such savagery to the creature. Through the cruelty he shows buth his own body and the creature we can see Victor's selfishness.
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.
“Who did it?” is the question that has stood the test of time, from “Who ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil?” to “Who used the washroom and didn’t flush it?” In the case of Frankenstein versus Monster, it’s clear that the monster was a murderer also known as the one who did it. But is it the monster’s fault that he killed people?
The Monster believes and mentioned several times that the reason that he is so angry is because of Victor. Shelley writes,
He uses the little that he knows to fuel his hatred towards humans and his creator. This shows the exponential growth of the problems that Victor has created as a result of his desire for knowledge. Not only did he create the destructive monster, but now the monster is using a hunger for knowledge, the very thing that created it, to do even more damage. This root cause is linked to everything that is causing Victor’s suffering. The monster also compares his relationship to Victor to that of God and Adam, wishing that he had the same supplication to his creator that Adam did, “I remembered Adam’s supplication to his creator.
Victor’s true character emerges again as he is not taking responsibility for his actions and is still trying to convince himself of his innocence. Yet again, Victor does not feel genuine remorse; he regrets his decision, but it does not truly change him, and his unwillingness to admit his mistake shows his stubbornness. On the ship, the Monster comments on his life: “You hate me; but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself” (Shelley 215). The Monster’s high character shines through here because he is genuinely remorseful for his actions. Despite his ugliness, The Monster’s true remorse illustrates his
It actually goes hand in hand with being selfish. Victor is a narcissist in the sense that he behaves as if the whole world revolves around him. In most his decisions, he does not think about anybody but himself (the consequences his actions could have on other people). For example, the monster once tells Victor, “I will be with you on your wedding night”. Most readers can easily understand that Elizabeth will be killed on their wedding night, but the creator only thought about himself.
Victor Frankenstein is selfish. The novel portrays Victor as a selfish character who is only concerned about his own well-being. Frankenstein wanted to manipulate the power of life. He abandons his creation because of the creature’s appearance and also withholds information or lies about his creation. Due to Victor 's selfishness, readers feel sorry for his creation.
Frankenstein’s Inner Struggles Have you ever wondered why someone is behaving a certain way, or maybe even wondered these things about yourself? Something is usually always causing these actions and behaviors, yet you may not even be aware of it. This question left me wanting to find the causes of Victor Frankenstein’s actions and why he did some of the things that he did.
Victor fully trusted in himself which gave him the ability to do what he did. Like Emerson says, “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” If you trust yourself you can truly be content with whatever you do. If you work hard you can achieve greatness. Victor shows us that not all that comes
Throughout Frankenstein, most readers will notice how egocentric Victor appears from messing around with his own monstrous creation as well as the people he cares about. Victor doesn’t realize what
A Human Monster Although humans are similar to other mammals around the world, the thing that most elevates them above these other creatures is human nature. Human nature is something that we all understand and experience, but is difficult to truly define. Our human nature is essentially centered around our want for social interaction, capacity for emotions, creative and higher level of thinking.
He despised the monster he believed he is; he stated that “when [he] heard the details of vice and bloodshed, [his] wonder ceased, and [he] turned away with disgust and loathing” (104). Therefore, he realized his flaws, which Victor failed to
Such passion is seen in Victor’s ‘noble intent’ to design a being that could contribute to society, but he had overextended himself, falling under the spell of playing ‘God,’ further digging his grave as he is blinded by glory. His creation – aptly called monstrous being due to its stature, appearance, and strength – proved to be more of a pure and intellectually disposed ‘child’ that moves throughout the novel as a mere oddity, given the short end of the stick in relation to a lack of familial figures within his life, especially that of parents. Clearly, Victor Frankenstein had sealed his fate: by playing God he was losing his humanity, ultimately becoming the manifestation of Mary Shelley’s hidden desires, deteriorating into The Lucifer Principle by which the author Howard Bloom notes social groups, not individuals, as the primary “unit of selection” in human psychological
