‘Frankenstein’, a novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818, is about an open-minded scientist Victor Frankentein whose inventions through innovation and sacrifice led to the creation of a monster that he would later realize was a horrible choice. Victor’s decision had irreparable consequences, both for his own life and for the lives of his loved ones, but the main question, in my opinion, is what motivated him to create a new life, and it is to this that I am going to answer further.
Mary Shelley’s novel portrays Victor Frankenstein as one of the greatest scientists. Victor is a curious human being who is not afraid to test the limits of science. He believed that he could create a new species. He then creates a monster by using the bones of deceased humans and the pieces of animals he tortured, and with his skills, knowledge, and beliefs, he gives the monster life. Victor’s intentions for the monster were completely selfish. He did not make it so the new species would help the people around him, or make their lives easier. Victor wanted to instead create a monster with feelings and emotions so it could obey him and praise him since he is the one that gave such a thing come to life. Shelley shows this in the text, when Victor states, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me - I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (33). In this context, it is clear that Victor wanted to be ‘God’, someone who is supposedly believed to be the only one that could give life or death to everything on earth. By creating something with emotions and life, it seems that Victor also wanted to be responsible for giving life. As what we refer to as a job only ‘God’ can do. Unfortunately, the monster Victor created did not obey or praise him as he hoped to. A creation with the ability to fully express his emotions, just like a human, it felt loneliness, sadness, and anger. The monster ended up killing Victor’s brother and made it look like Justine had killed the brother. Not only did the monster take people’s lives, but it was capable of feeling lonely and manipulative. The monster’s only way to show that he needs attention is to take away people who were close to Victor’s heart. The monster begs Victor to make another monster so they can be a pair so he doesn’t have to be lonely but Victor refuses. Victor realized has gone too far with experimenting with his limits when it came to science and learned from his mistakes. Victor also realizes that he is responsible for creating chaos in not only his life but his family. Victor went after the monster hoping to destroy it, but he ended up going before the monster did.
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In summary, it was the desire to become looked on as ‘God’ that drove Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley’s novel to create a new life, and was ultimately what led to destroying his own.
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What Was Victor Frankenstein’s Motivation for Creating Life: Essay.
(2024, March 19). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/what-was-victor-frankensteins-motivation-for-creating-life-essay/
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