Obsession With Revenge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, ambition evolves into a form of obsession with revenge. But the result of vengeance is a curse to human life and its longevity. Both main characters in the novel, Victor and the monster become obsessed and let vengeance be their downfall. Victor was a very ambitious character who longed for knowledge and the presence of new life. He soon became obsessed with his creation and said,“I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health”(p 42). Victor devoted his entire life to a science experiment that would become his biggest regret. When Victor first laid eyes on the creature he realized what kind …show more content…

After being rejected from his creator he longed for human contact with the family in the cottage. His determination to learn about their language, history, government, and personal lives took up every hour of the day. After observing the cottages and their new foreign companion Safie, he said, “My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language” (p 99). When he was ruthlessly rejected from the family his ambition changed; his goal was no longer to become friends with man but be the enemy of man. He vowed, “eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (p 121). 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. After seeing Victor dead on the ship he cried and said, “I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation. Polluted by crimes and torn by the bitterest remorse, where can I find rest but in death”(p 198)? Obsession was also the monsters downfall, he became a ruthless killer for the sole purpose of