The Golden Rule In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Many people learn as kids to “treat others the way they want to be treated.” Yet, as they grow older, they tend to forget this lesson. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein takes how one treats others and its consequences to extremes and reminds readers how relevant the “Golden Rule” is. Shelley uses three main storytellers to convey important lessons following this theme. R. Walton, a ship captain on a journey to Antarctica, Victor Frankenstein, a man who once obsessed with creating life now runs from the life he created, and the Creature, Frankenstein’s creation who has been exiled from society because of his hideous looks, convey Shelley’s lessons in an intriguing and gruesome way. Walton listens to Victor in a characteristic act of kindness, which saves his life. On the other hand, Victor ignores who he loves, driving him to insanity

Victor’s ignorance towards his family, while he’s obsessed with creating his monster, is the tip-off point of his insanity, teaching readers that ignorance is not bliss. When Victor reaches college he learns the secret to creating life through electricity, and the thought of creating a perfect human consumes him. His father, who had spoken to Victor before he left for college, had warned Victor to not ignore his family. Specifically, Victor’s father had said he regarded “any interruption in your correspondence as proof that your other duties are equally neglected.” (33) This ignorance of Victor’s leaves him isolated from those he loves, and he stops taking care of himself. Readers are shown Victor’s growing insanity all throughout the book, all starting with his ignorance of his family. The ignorance that Victor shows to his loved ones becomes the first step to his insanity, a valuable lesson that people should not get too caught up in their own lives as to ignore and hurt the feelings of their loved