Name: Binh Le
English 1B
Prof. Mohsenzadegan
Research essay (Revised)
Victor Frankenstein
The novel Frankenstein follows a man called Victor Frankenstein who tries to revive a dead body and create new life. It then follows his guilt for creating such a cruel and monstrous being, and how the monster which is also known as Frankenstein seeks revenge for giving him a life not worth living.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein highlights key issues that are prevalent not only in her society but others also. One of the central flaws displayed in the book is a misrepresented sense of morality and guilt. Victor doesn’t consider what will happen after he animates his creation or whether creating life unnaturally with science is a morally sound thing to do. The monster blames his aggressive action on the treatment he has received from everybody he has came in contact with. He especially blames Victor, his creator, for his abandonment. Both Victor Frankenstein and his creation blame their actions and reactions on other people or higher powers, things or beings they think to be out of their control.
Even though Victor feels guilty about all deaths because of his scientific research, he didn’t commit that was his fault. The deaths of Victor’s brother William, Justine Moritz, Elizabeth, Alphonse Frankenstein, and Victor himself are caused by the creation of the monster. The monster kills William after Victor runs away from him, Justine Moritz is executed for the murder of William which she obviously did not commit, Elizabeth is killed by the monster on the night of her weeding with Victor, Victor’s father dies of grief after the deaths of so many of his children, and Victor dies after trying to kill the monster. After everything he has done, he could use deferring as the way to protect him against all damages that he have caused.
When Victor had first started studying alchemy and metaphysical science, his father and teacher M. Krempe told him to dismiss his readings as they were a waste of time and had since been distrusted. Victor once mentioned, “A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind, and, bounding with joy, I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the titlepage of my book and said, ‘Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash.’ ” Victor partially blames his father for his downfall as he claims “If, instead of this remark, [his] father had taken the pains to explain to [him] that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded, … under such circumstances [he] should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented [his] imagination, warmed as it was, by returning with greater ardour to [his] former studies.” Victor blames his father for not taking the time to explain his dismissal of the authors he was studying. When his professor tells him he should restart his studies because he has been reading nonsense, Victor ignores his advice because he thinks M. Krempe is very annoying. “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.” Destiny is the last thing that Victor blames for. He thought that the destiny has chosen him and he has no power to change it. He wants to believe that there is nothing he could have done because everything wouldn’t be his fault but the blame is honestly his. He made the decision to read those books about alchemy and magic and ignored the people who told him to study something else. Even though people around advise him to study something else, he actually ignored them and chose to read books about alchemy and magic. Creating the monster wasn’t really the cause of all the destruction. Victor hadn’t abandoned his creating after its animation, so it had gone through all experiences and become a cruel killing machine. There would have been no motivation for revenge on Victor. Victor himself isn’t the most righteous person. He, like everybody else in his society, can be wrong. “This capacity