Frankenstein
1. Introduction
Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” has is more than just an ordinary
novel. It is a book that carries a profound philosophical message. The novel
touched me to my very soul. It turned out to be a book not about a struggle
against a monster but a tragedy of a scientist, who reached the goal of his
work and life and realized that breathless horror and disgust filled his heart
but all of these is on the surface. The deepest philosophical thought is covered
and hidden, but is very deep. The author tries to say that life is a gift. After
this gift is given no one can take it away and it becomes the responsibility
of the creator. The novel makes the reader concerned with the question: “Is
a human being able to take responsibility to give life?”.
2. “Frankenstein’s” philosophy.
“Frankenstein’s” philosophy is a conflict between the value
of human life and the value of a scientific discovery. This story is not only
the tragedy of Victor Frankenstein but also of his creation. It is the tragedy
of loneliness and fighting alone with the world.
The tragedy of Viktor Frankenstein was a tragedy of him being a toy in the hand
of his own parents for the believed that he “was in their hands to direct
to happiness or misery”[p.34]. The next quote shows exactly how he grew
up: “they were not the tyrants to rule our lot according to their caprice,
but the agents and creators of all the many delights which we enjoyed…”[p.37].
This subconsciously led him to the desire to have somebody he could control,
to have another toy, another enjoyment, but he was unable to take responsibility
for the creature he brought to life because this was not a toy but a living
being. His childhood was like a dream come true but behind all the joys his
parent forgot to teach him something much more important - what is right or
wrong, morality and other vital categories. Mary Shelley expressed her concern
about not bringing up children properly. She shows that a tragedy may start
even from a childhood full of happiness. One of the events that “predicted”
the tragedy was when his mother brought Elizabeth for little Viktor, a “pretty
present for my Victor” as she introduced it [p.35].
This very moment taught him to take a human being as a property and it was the
beginning of the future end. ” …She presented Elizabeth to me as
her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally,
and looked upon Elizabeth as mine-mine to protect, love, and cherish…”
– and from that moment Elizabeth became a life-toy for him, only his toy
[p.35].
So one of the reasons of the was the parent’s “love” connected
with the inability to give anything to their child except providing joys for
him. There was nothing little Viktor could do. The other reason is having Elizabeth
as his property. Could be that the “blank” that Viktor’s parent
left in his head about the true things around him made him study too much and
everything at the same time which later led him to the “wrong path”:
“ …My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but
by some law in my temperature they were turned, not towards childish pursuits,
but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately…”[p.37].
“…After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded
in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself
capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter… “[p.51] –
Viktor finds a grown-up toy and creates a monster that is doomed to be lonely
and never be loved by anybody. The creature that was doomed to suffer without
even understanding why!
The novel argues that no one in the world should ever consider himself to be
“the creator”. Each living being has the right to live and to be
happy in this world – which is the simple philosophy of life.
When the creature asks Viktor to create somebody to love it gets heartless reply:”
…Devil ... do you dare approach me? ... Be gone, vile insect! or rather,
stay that I may trample you to dust! ... Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art!
the tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched devil!
you reproach me with your creation; come on then, that I may extinguish the
spark which I so negligently bestowed”[p.68]. For him the life on this
creature is nothing, just another caprice, just something used to want and does
not need anymore. He, considering himself to be “God”, does not
care about what the creature feels and how lonely it is. Whom to blame?Analysis
shows that Victor is the victim of the mistakes his parents did, and the Creature
is a victim of Victor’s ill perception of reality. Thee answer says to
it self!
3. Conclusion
Life is a gift – and that is the main philosophy of the novel. If you
give life to somebody as a parent or create a life like Viktor Frankenstein
you have to know beforehand what to do with it and be able to take full responsibility
for giving the best to your creation. The creature was Viktor’s toy and
Viktor was the toy of his parents. Everything happened in a chain reaction.
One good deed generates another good deed and vice versa – one evil generates
another evil.
Mary Shelley share’s a philosophy that should be inside the heart of each
reader: life - is not a toy to play with! There is only one source of life and
there should be no others: “ Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at
least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how
much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than
he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow”.
What I learned from this book is that things are not always the way they appear
to be. And what seems terrifying may turn out to be just the pain of someone’s
heart. So “sharing pure love” is the only philosophy of life that
should be kept in mind of each person.
Bibliography:
Shelley, Mary “Frankenstein”/Penguin/
