A Truly Evil Creation

"It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley, 123). This is a pivotal line in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. Victor believes that the creature hopes to bring him misery through the prospect of his own death. However, the attentive reader concurs that the creature will continue his previous path of destruction through the murder of Victor's loved ones, in this case, Elizabeth. The creature is clearly an intellectual being, for he knows that Victor no longer values his own life. Rather, Victor's concern is for the well-being of his loved ones. Nothing causes Victor more pain than to see the death of his friends and family at the hand of his own creation. Victor blames himself for these deaths, and thus brings unprecedented misery upon himself. Just as the creature hoped to counter the pain of the lack of a loving father by killing who he thought was Victor's son, so to does he hope to counter the pain of the lack of a companion by killing Victor's bride-to-be. The creature seeks revenge.

Slave vs. Master .... Who is who?

Throughout the Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, we see an ironic reversal of roles. The novel presents the motif of slave vs. master. Often, the reader has to ask himself who, Victor or the creature, is acting as which role. For instance, at the beginning of the novel, one can argue that Victor acted as the master, for he was very obviously in control of the creation process, and if not for him, the creature would not exist. On the other hand, one can also argue that Victor was a slave to his obsession with the creation. Here, we see the first instance of the creature controlling Victor.
As the story continues, however, the role reversal is more apparent. As the creature reaks havoc in the life of his creator, Victor most certainly falls slave to his creation. Worse than the simple fact of this reversal, however, is the creature's recognition of his control. "Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master; --obey" (Shelley, 122)! The creature realizes that compared to Victor, he has nothing to lose in life. Thus, out of his bitterness, he feels no remorse in ruining the life of the one whom he blames to have made a miserable life for himself. Victor's agony epitomizes that control of his life that he has completely lost.

Theme

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein presents the theme of one's inability to control fate. Victor originally created the monster with the intention of conquering death and sickness; Victor was trying to control destiny. However, though both are aspects of life and fate that are unavoidable. The consequences of his attempt at altering fate are amplified by the utter destruction the creature causes in Victor's life. Though, in the absence of the creature, death and sickness would have inevitably continued to cause distress in Victor's life, the magnitude of that caused by the creature is incomparable. Victor realizes this and expresses his regret saying, "Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before....But I was doomed to live" (Shelley, 130). Here, Victor expresses that he would gladly accept death, the very thing he was trying to avoid. Moreover, Victor finally accepts fate by recognizing that he was "doomed to live." Thus, Shelley develops the theme that our destiny is beyond our control. Moreover, she emphasizes that as hard as we try to avoid sadness and unfortunate events in our lives, we will inevitably experience them at some point, and we are better off accepting life as it is.

A Bad Omen for Clerval (and Walton)

Before Clerval's death, Mary Shelley strategically foreshadows his doom. When Clerval and Victor meet up once more, Victor notices a change in Clerval. Clerval now aspires for extraordinary achievement, is eager for knowledge, and has a fascination for nature. Sound familiar? "But in Clerval I saw the image of my former self; he was inquisitive, and anxious to gain experience and instruction....He was also pursuing an object he had long had in view" (Shelley, 115). How about now? Yes, Clerval was headed down Victor's path. Just as Victor aspired for extraordinary accomplishment, so does Clerval. Just as this aspiration brought destruction upon Victor, so will it bring death upon Clerval. Altogeher, these parallel situations represent the ruin that scientific inquisitiveness can cause in one's life. Moreover, this adds a third parallel to Walton's life....DUN DUN DUNNNNN.

Further Characterization

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor is predominantly characterized as an obsessed and distraught man. Throughout the story, he rarely finds happiness, and if he does, it is only for a short period of time. Omnipresent, however, is Victor's selflessness. For instance, Shelley first produces this characterization of Victor after the death of William when Victor contemplates suicide but decides against it to save his family the grief. He selflessly opts to deal with his own agony, as well as keep the cause of his distress a secret, in order to spare his family. Shelley further amplifies this character trait after the creature tells Victor, "I shall be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley, 123). Victor believes that the creature is intending to kill him; however, instead of fear for his own life, he immediately thinks of Elizabeth. "The prospect did not move me to fear; yet when I thought of my beloved Elizabeth,--of her tears and endless sorrow, when she should find her lover so barbarously snatched from her,--tears, the first I had shed for many months, streamed from my eyes, and I resolved not to fall before my enemy without a bitter struggle" (Shelley, 123). The only motivation Victor has to preserve his life is that of Elizabeth's happiness and well-being. Victor, despite his agony and unaccepting nature toward the character, exemplifies selflessness multiple times throughout the novel.

A New Perception of the Monster

In Chapter X of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the reader sees a new side to the monster. In Victor's previous encounter with the monster, immediately after it was created, the monster was characterized as a baby. He was inarticulate and socially inept. However, in Chapter X, Victor speaks to the monster once again. The monster says at one point, "Thus I relieve thee, my creator; thus, I take from thee a sight which you abhor. Still thou canst listen to me and grant me thy compassion. By the virtues that I once possessed, I deamand this from you...." (70).  The monster's educated manner of speaking is both shocking and confusing. Somehow, in the two years that passed since the creation, the creature obtained some sort of education and learning that enabled him to communicate properly. Moreover, this confirms the fact that Victor truly created a human being capable of functioning in society. Just as a human progresses in education from the time he is an infant to an adult, so has the monster. This shines a new light on the science Victor utilized in his creation; not only was he able to create life, but along with it, he created intellect.

Irony

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, death plays a significant role in Victor Frankenstein's life. For instance, the death of his mother's father is the reason his parents were married, death was the reason the family adopted Elizabeth, and the death of Caroline ultimately stimulated Frankenstein's desire to conquer death. Thus, death inspired the creation of the creature. Frankenstein was able to bring life into a lifeless being. This achievement seemed to be the peak of his accomplishments and the answer to his problems. However, as the story continues, an ironic situation unfolds that may disprove this notion. Death enters the story once again with the death of William, bringing Victor to tears. When he returns home, Victor visits the site of the murder where he has an unexpected an encounter. "A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon to whom I had given life....He was the murderer!" (Shelley, 50). Frankenstein concludes that the creature he created was William's murderer. Thus, irony exists between Frankenstein's intent and the outcome of the creation of the monster. Though he had intended to conquer death through his achievement, his monster actually held responsibility for increasing the death in Frankenstein's life.

Caroline as an Archetype

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor's mother Caroline is the archetype of a selfless and caring mother. Evidence for this claim is found in each instance that Frankenstein speaks of his mother. For instance, when Victor first introduces Caroline, he recounts how she cared for her ailing father prior to her marriage with Victor's father. Frankenstein describes Caroline's hard work and dedication to her father saying, "She procured plain work; she plaited straw, and by various means contrived to earn pittance scarcely sufficient to support life" (15). Here, as a young woman, Caroline epitomizes altruism by giving up her own liberty in order  to improve the quality of life and health of her father. Moreover, Caroline further proves as an archetype of a caring mother through her care for the poor in Italy as well as her willingness and eagerness to take care of the orphan Elizabeth. Naturally, because of the love and care Caroline offered to all she encountered, but especially to her children, Victor grew increasingly attached. Thus, her death left a significant void in his life. This sparked Frankenstein's obsession to find a way to raise the dead. Caroline's love brought Victor immense love during her lifetime, and her absence ultimately brought him unfathomable despair.

A Foreboding Tone

Before the Frankenstein even begins to recount his story in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the reader perceives a foreboding tone through his diction and appearnce. However, with with knowledge of the folklore, this may be shocking for the reader. Prior to reading Shelley's novel, one assumes that the monster's creator would find great excitement and achievement in bringing life to his creature. However, one quickly realizes that the original story does not fall in line with such popular notions. For example, Frankenstein describes his destiny as "utter and terrible destruction" (Shelley, 23). This provides one of the first intimations of the ominous tone that laces the story he has to tell.
Furthermore, even before Victor begins to communicate with Walton, one also gleans a sense of the ominous tone of his tale through Victor's appearance. For instance, upon seeing him for the first time, Walton describes Frankenstein as "...dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering. I never saw a man in so wretched a condition" (9). Once again, if Frankenstein had been satisfied with his creation, he would not appear this way. Thus, a foreboding tone is set for the story to come.   

Robert Walton vs. Victor Frankenstein

Mary Shelley draws many parallels between the characterization of Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein in her novel Frankenstein. For instance, both men share a unique and loving relationship with their sisters. As both men pursued their life goals, they maintained close relationships with their sisters, of all people. Moreover, both men are self-motivated and have an obsession with achieving their goals. Most importantly, however, both men are similar in their desires to have extraordinary achievements. This particular similarity is illustrated in Walton's first letter to his sister when he says, "I shal satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man," (Shelley, 1). This statement draws an explicit parallel to Frankenstein's creation of the monster, also a revolutionary accomplishment for mankind.
This parallel characterization serves a high purpose, however. The similarities between the men are a means of foreshadowing Walton's life. Frankenstein recognizes this saying, "You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently home that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been" (Shelley, 13). Because of the deeply caring relationship that has developed between the two men, Frankenstein hopes to deter a seemingly grim future for Walton by recounting the story of the creation that ultimately brought despair and destruction to Frankenstein's life.

Miss Brill

In Katherine Mansfield's short story Miss Brill, Miss Brill is characterized as a woman who is not truly a participant in society, but rather a mere spectator. "Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play" (Mansfield, 184). Here, Miss Brill's life is compared to watching a play. Moreover, Mansfield continues this characterization with the line, "She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn't listen, at sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talked around her" (Mansfield, 184). Here, the reader gleans the notion that Miss Brill is not necessarily socially awkward, but rather deliberately chooses not to partake in society or build relationships with others. This choosing of Miss Brill's in itself is characterizes her as someone who does not feel connection to society.  She is not emotionally attached to any person, and thus, she feels no need to build relationships. She lives within herself and for herself. This is supported by the only connection she seems to make at all, which is the fur she talks to. This is, in a way, just another part of herself.

Human Nature

In APO 96225, author Larry Rottmann presents the theme of the tendency of humans to ignore unpleasant reality. This theme is illustrated more than once, and through more than one character. For instance, when the mother continues to beg her son to provide in his letters more detail of his activities, he ignores her with responses such as, "Wow! You ought to see the funny monkeys" and "The sunsets are spectacular!" (Rottmann, 846). These are examples of the son's attempt to ignore the reality of his life as a soldier; the false cheer he protrays is an attempt to escape what he knows is real. The next example of a character's attempt to escape reality comes at the end of the poem when the father responds to his son's last descriptive letter saying, "'Please don't write such depressing letters. You're upsetting your mother" (Rottmann, 846).  Here we see the mother who would rather believe that her son is not partaking in such brutal and violent action. Likewise, in life, sometimes we attempt to convince ourselves that our problems do not exist. For instance, when I have a lot of homework, I attempt to ignore it by finding anything else to occupy my time, such as cleaning, sports, or often napping. This is my attempt to ignore reality. Such actions are not not healthy, but hard to avoid nonetheless.

Conformity at its Finest

Emily Dickinson's Much Madness is divinest Sense  presents a theme about the negative view society and leaders often hold for dissenters of opinion. "Assent-and you are sane-Demur-you're straightway dangerous" (Dickinson, 830). This quote presents the idea that society does not like change or disruption; rather, those in power prefer likeminded thinking so as not to disrupt their rule or order. These ideas remind me of the theme of Lois Lowry's The Giver. In this novel, citizens of  the city live completely by the laws of the rulers without question. Doing so, however, leads to the blind acceptance of possibly inhumane practices, such as the killing of the babies at the end of Lowry's novel. Another example of the result of failing to question tradition is presented in last unit's short story The Lottery. Dickinson is attmepting to warn against such tragedy with her extreme diction near the end of the poem. By using the phrase, "handled with a chain" (Dickinson, 830), Dickinson hopes to bring to light the extremely disapproval some societies have for the questioning of authority, and in turn, she hopes to call the reader to action.

Crazy Crazy Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Emily Dickinson's I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, Dickinson makes an extended reference to the brief moments of insanity that normal humans suffer from. Firstly, she produces profund and loud imagery through her speaker's description of the activity in his mind. "Kept treading-treading-till it seemed that sense was breaking through-and when they all were seated, a service like a drum-kept beating-beating-till I thought my mind was going numb-" (Dickinson, 776). These couple of lines produce the feeling of being franitc, nervous, and altogether mentally tortured. The speaker seems to be affected dramatically by whatever happened in his life. He seems to be disconnected from life, and traveling farther and farther away as he become more frantic until he "dropped down-and hit a World, at every plunge, and Finished knowing-then" (Dickinson, 776). Thus, without explicitly stating it, Dickinson uses imagery to present the subject of the poem to the reader. Moreover, because her descriptions are so loud and extreme, one may believe that Dickinson is attmepting to describe the mindset of a truly mentally insane person. However, she is merely hoping to relate to the reader throught the description of moments when one's mind turns frantic, such as before a big athletic event, a speech before a big crowd, or anticipating the outcome of a trip to the dean's office for tweeting mean things about a rival school. Everyone has these experiences, right?

Pathos Party of Two

Near the beginning of Bartleby the Scrivener, Herman Melville uses the narrarator to evoke pathos for Bartleby. "My first emotions had been those of pure melancholy and sincerest pity....I might give alms to his body, but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach" (Melville, 658).  As summarized by this quote, this pathos is predominantly the result of the apparent loneliness and detachment of Bartleby.What is more, the fact that Bartleby's problems go further than physical sickness but possibly to mental sickness or disorder, intesifiees this pathos. The reader sympathizes with Bartleby for his inability to conduct himself socially and altogether indifference to life. However, as the story continues, the same pathos is evoked for the narrator because the reader begins to see the parallels between the two characters. For instance, the parallels between the characters are initially drawn when the reader realizes that both men are passive and simplistic in their dealing with other people such as Nippers, Turkey, and Ginger Nut. Moreover, at the end of the story, the reader realizes that the fact that Bartleby used to work in  a Dead Letter shop might be a possible cause for his behavior. With the parallels already drawn at this point, this acts a foreshadowing of the narrarator's possible future, for he too works in a job that lacks major purpose. Thus, pathos is evoked for the reader as well.