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.