Who Is Victor Frankenstein Responsible

George Washington once said, “happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected”. A person must be able to cope with their actions and decisions if they wish to live a meaningful, pleasant life with little to no regret. In Mary Shelley’s revolutionary gothic science fiction novel, Frankenstein, written during the height of the romantic era, the main character Victor Frankenstein does not fulfill his moral responsibility of caring for the creature he haphazardly and immorally bestows life upon, and is punished for it. Shelley uses scenes of Victor’s intentional selfish ignorance, hatred towards his monster, the subsequent effects on his creation and loved ones, and unfulfilling revenge to demonstrate the importance of facing one’s issues and

At the beginning of the novel, he warns Robert not to do what he has done, pleading, “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did…when I reflect that you are pursuing the same course, exposing yourself to the same dangers which have rendered me what I am, I imagine you may deduce an apt moral from my tale” (Shelley 17). Immediately it is seen that he has done something immoral and Robert (and by default the reader) must learn from his mistakes to avoid misery such as his. Later in the story, the source of immorality is discovered. Victor spent years of his young adult life giving life to a creature and ignoring everything around him only to abandon the monster upon creation, saying, “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe…now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room…” (Shelley 44). Initially, Frankenstein feels no responsibility for the life he bestowed and only regrets the appearance of the creature. He was aware of said appearance the entire time he was constructing the creature and still managed to be shocked. He is an extremely shallow character. Then, Victor spends his life ignoring his problems and forgetting

After experiencing abandonment and terror his entire life, then having his creator disrespect him a final time by refusing him his bride, the creature decides to stop at nothing to make Victor as miserable as him. First was William, the demon saying, “I gazed on my victim, and my heart swarmed with exultation and hellish triumph; clapping my hands, I exclaimed, ‘I too can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable…a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him” (Shelley 129). As well as solidifying the point of no return for the creature who now wholly lives up to the label of ‘daemon’, the fate of both Victor and his creation is sealed. Until this moment the creature had proved society wrong. However, it seems one’s nature can only carry so far if society treats that person as an abomination. Both Victor and society’s lack of nurture is to blame for the violent shift. They are now sworn to live revolving around each other’s displeasure and pain. The creature goes on to frame Justine, kill Henry Clarval, Murder Elizabeth on her wedding night, and indirectly cause the death of Victor’s father and then Victor himself. Although Victor is the cause of the monster going haywire, Shelley is also commenting on the depths of moral responsibility. Although he was wronged countless times, the