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How Is Frankenstein Related To The Enlightenment

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Published in the spring of 1818, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a cautionary tale of hubris and the eventual fall from grace, exploring what it is to be human and the undeniable perils of the changing world order. Released during the overlapping period between the Enlightenment and the emerging Byronic romantic movement, Frankenstein is a reflection of its time and the vastly changed landscape of both morality and existential belief. Agnosticism and atheism had become commonplace over the course of the Enlightenment, and the growing interest in existentialist philosophy quickly followed. Combined with the Bohemian Revolution of Paris and the push for recognition of the Fine Arts in Britain, this led to a polarising effect on the dominant ideologies …show more content…

Dwarfed by the height of Mont Blanc, the Creature and his creator meet for what seems like the first time. The Creature expresses the injustice dealt to him, proclaiming: “Remember that I am thy creature—I ought to be thy Adam—but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.” The Creature feels he deserves a better lot in life, staking a claim to the place of the most holy creation of God – that of the first human. From the Creature’s perspective, his fall is similar to Lucifer’s, the ‘fallen angel,’ cast from Heaven for no other reason than a disagreement with God. In the Creature’s narrowed view, this is no crime at all. He continues: “I was benevolent and good: misery made me a fiend.” The Creature is denying the fallibility of his crimes. By blaming Victor for his misery, the Creature attributes all murderous deeds unto his creator while alleviating all guilt from himself. This draws on the concept of morality’s intrinsic ties with perceived justice and personal judgement. The Creature perceives that he, and he alone, is the one who was wronged; he holds the moral high ground and has every right to demand that Victor do anything within his power to amend his failings as a creator. Even when tied to self-centered bias and personal suffering, there are still strains of justice and well-founded indignation within the Creature’s judgement of Victor. [need to

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Despite Victor being punished for creating a hideous creature, justice is served without being fair, nor just. In the story, relatives of Victor die despite being innocent or having done any wrongdoing, such as William, Elizabeth, Henry, or even, his own father. Victor no doubt did wrong, he played god with nature and created life, but rather than cherishing it, he abandoned it. In retrospect, Victor could’ve done better and is seen as evil, however, acting on his human nature, he isn’t in fact evil, but rather clumsy or human.

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Utilizing the novel’s protagonist as a symbol of the Age of Enlightenment, Shelley employs Victor Frankenstein as an example of the egotistical interests exhibited by Enlightenment thinkers. Reiterating, Victor Frankenstein is the main protagonist in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with an obsessive interest in scientific development. However, discouraged by his father, Alphonse Frankenstein, Victor was driven by his eager desire to learn from a young age. As a result, he directed toward the literary work of respected philosophers to soothe his thirst for knowledge. Consequently, a new delusion formed, “Wealth was an inferior object, but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death (26)!”

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This quote shows that even though the creature does good, his benevolence is not rewarded in a positive way. The creature wouldn’t have been so angry and seeking vengeance if he was just accepted by his creator (Victor) or by society in general. I feel as though the creatures acts of evil and the crimes he committed could have been avoided if he was just shown compassion from Victor. I have sympathy for the monster in the sense that he was brought into the world basically set up to

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"Evil stitch to evil, stitch to evil, stitch to evil." - Dr. Frankenstein In the movie Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers are effectively shown. The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers such as Hobbes and Locke, shown, and clearly Renaissance is not effectively portrayed. Therefore, Enlightenment shown in the movie.

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The creature did not care for anyone, he only felt malice since the moment he was animated. After the creature tries to help a human from death and is only returned by being shot utters this cry,“ Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind,” (Shelley 130). The creature may have tried to help someone but he only does this in the most dire of circumstances and truly only wishes evil upon mankind. After Victor has gone against his promise of creating a companion for the creature, the creature says,“ I may die but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes your misery,” (158). The creature has no compassion for killing Victor’s family and only has a heart full of vengeance due to his being inherently evil.

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After Victor brings the creature to life, he is immediately repulsed by his creation and abandons him. Victor's cruelty towards the creature has far-reaching consequences, setting off a chain of events that ultimately leads to tragedy. This act of cruelty is a powerful motivator for the creature, who seeks revenge against his creator for abandoning him. As the creature explains, "I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on" (Shelley 117). Victor's cruelty towards the creature ultimately leads to the deaths of several innocent people, highlighting the dangers of unchecked ambition and the human desire for power.

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The monster’s suddenly became obsessed with vengeance. He gave up all good to be a ruthless killer, in hopes to make the creator’s life miserable. On his tireless search for his creator, he of Victor and said, “The nearer I approached to you habitation, the more deeply did I feel the spirit of revenge rekindles in my heart” (p 120). Because of the monsters endowment to revenge, many lives were lost. But the monster was not satisfied with his wrongdoings, instead, he regrets his ambition of evil.

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I will not attempt to console you” (p. 77). Although the monster killed one man he is responsible for two deaths and when he confronts Victor. The Monster feels no remorse. One last reason why the monster does not deserve to live with the rest of society is because he does not know true justice. Victor promised the Monster he will make him a female companion just as ugly, so she will like the monster, but, Victor realized what he was

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As the end of his life nears, Victor’s emotions were very volatile, ranging from immense guilt and regre, to anger and despair. His world is rocked following the death of his mother which leads to the creation of a monster that causes harm. This adds to the heavy burden of guilt he carried around knowing that he could have lived a moral and prosperous life had he not made a few poor decisions. The quote shows how Victor’s path toward embracing his mortality is highlighted by strong emotions of sadness, guilt, and anger.

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The monster in “Frankenstein” very much reflects both The Enlightenment and what it means to be enlightened. Starting with The Enlightenment, although the monster did not attend formal schooling, he was an avid

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Furthermore, Shelley examines the relation that Frankenstein and his monster have towards relevant motifs of Enlightenment such as science, religion, and humanity. To begin with, the era of Enlightenment was characterized by numerous scientific discoveries in Europe. Advances were made in various scientific fields such as astronomy, physics, and mathematics. They caused large controversies which had a deep impact on people’s thinking about God and religion.

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In Mary Shelley’s Romantic novel, Frankenstein, an over-ambitious young scientist, infatuated with the creation of life without a female and the source of generation, breaks the limits of science and nature by conjuring life into a lifeless form constructed from stolen body parts. The young experimenter confesses his monstrous tale that defies nature to a captain who shares his desire for glory and the pursuit of knowledge. Though a Romantic novel itself, Frankenstein serves as a critique of part of the philosophy behind Romanticism, that is, the promotion of radical self-involvement that celebrates the individual’s pursuit of glory and knowledge. Both the lone captain and the young scientist seek glory from their quest for knowledge but ultimately their pursuits end disastrously. Throughout the novel, Shelley warns against excessive self-confidence, the ambitious overreaching in the acquirement of scientific knowledge, and the arrogant pursuit of glory, using the young scientist as a forewarning to the lone captain against his

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Frankenstein: The Sacred and Profane The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley can be interpreted as having heavy religious undertones. Shelley’s beliefs while writing the novel are debatable. The argument remains as to whether or not Shelley was pro-science or pro-religion. The book can be seen as arguing both a vitalist and materialist perspective, as proposed in the article “Frankenstein and Radical Science” by Marilyn Butler.

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The creature said that “ But in the detail which he gave you of them he could not sum up the hours and months of misery which I endured, wasting in impotent passions. For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; still I desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned.” Victor destroyed the one thing that could have given the creature happiness. The creature went through a lot and saw how cruel people can be just because you look different.

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Critical Analysis About the author Naomi Hetherington is a member of the University of Sheffield, the department of lifelong learning. She is an early researcher in sexuality, religious culture, the 19th-century literature, and gender. She holds a BA in Theology and religious studies, an MA and a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature. She currently teaches four-year pathway literature degree at Sheffield University for students who have already attained foundation degrees. Among the books, she has written the critique of Frankenstein.

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