Parental Abandonment In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1240 Words5 Pages

Parenting is often judged yet rarely understood. One could be the ultimate parent AND the ultimate failure, all at the same time. The guilt of corrupting someone who is your responsibility deteriorates a parent over time. It is universally accepted that as we grow older we become a mirror image of our parents. Their values become our own, just as their parents’ became theirs. Supposing this is true, what would become of those who are without parents? In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein animates a creature out of dismembered pieces of corpses. But instead of educating and guiding his creation, he washes his hands clean of the entire situation. As the creature stumbles through life, both literally and figuratively, consumed by the raging wildfire of Victor’s abandonment, and fueled by the obsession of beauty and the deprivation of a stable foundation, he wreaks havoc in Victor’s life and the lives of those who surround him. Through the use of Parental Abandonment, Shelley initiates and almost justifies the fatal unchaining of malicious acts done by the hands of the monster, by depicting the events from both Victor’s and The Monsters’ point of view, resulting in The Creature being turned into the monster that everyone thinks him to be. …show more content…

“Hideous monster! let me go. My papa is a Syndic -- he is M. Frankenstein -- he will punish you. You dare not keep me. ' " 'Frankenstein! you belong then to my enemy -- to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.” Upon his arrival to Geneva The Monster comes across a ‘beautiful child’, Victor’s younger brother William. The Monster was then enraged, and fueled by vengeance. This is Shelley’s way of revealing the Monster’s true inner character, and reminding the reader of his burning hatred for Victor. The tragic death of young William was 100% caused by the negligence of Victor. If he hadn’t of left The Creature with such a spite for him, his brother wouldn’t have suffered the