Theme Of Responsibility In Victor Frankenstein

In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the theme of responsibility for one 's creation and the actions of that creation shows up at several points. The responsibility of Victor Frankenstein to his “Creature” and its actions is similar to the responsibility of a parent for their child’s actions. In the United States, parents are legally responsible for their children in some capacity until the child is a legal adult at 18 years old. By this time the belief is that the child is mature enough to make their own decisions and assume responsibility for their actions. In the case of the creature created by Victor Frankenstein, Victor had a responsibility for his creation and it’s actions. The creature, being similar to a child, did not have the knowledge necessary to make its own decisions. The creature did not even have the judgement to know that murder is wrong, and Victor made a mistake by releasing the creature into the world without supervision. When it comes to the responsibility for something one has created, it can be broken into an analogy. If you work in a restaurant and mop the floor, the floor becomes slippery and it is the law that a cautionary “wet floor” sign must be put out, because if the sign is not out, then the restaurant will be responsible for creating a hazard for the

The lack of meaning in the creature’s life meant that he went searching for that meaning in the form of companionship, but to very little avail as most were appalled by him. The creature then seeked his maker again to create him a companion, but Victor denied the creature and kept his distance. The creature came to the same realization as Victor did early on, that it is impossible to self-create meaning in life. The creature decided to lash out to give himself a feeling of purpose and to fill the void in his life, becoming the opposite of his creator by destroying life rather than creating