Frankenstein
The Modern Prometheus
Hello Everyone, this blog task is as a part of a thinking activity based on Maey Shelley’s novel Frankenstein assigned by Megha ma’am.
#Introduction:
Frankenstein novel written by Mary Sehlley. It was published in January, 1818.
It’s Genre: Gothic Fiction Novel.
This Novel tells the story of a young scientist victor Frankenstein(student of natural philosophy) who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.
This novel is one of the most well-known works of English literature. With the element of The Gothic Novel and Romantic Movement.
*Elizabeth’s Role and Resurrection:
In the Novel: In the book, Elizabeth is murdered by the Creature on their wedding night, but there is no attempt by Victor to revive her.
In Film: Victor tries to bring Elizabeth back to life, but she ends up horrified and kills herself. This subplot is absent in the novel.
*Victor’s Relationship with the Creature:
In the Novel: The relationship between Victor and the Creature in the novel is more complex and philosophical. The Creature seeks understanding and demands that Victor create a mate for him. There’s a deep exploration of themes like guilt, responsibility, and the consequences of playing God.
In Film: While some of these themes remain in the film, the movie focuses more on melodrama and action, especially toward the end. The Creature's motivations and inner struggles are not as deeply explored.
*The Ending:
Novel: The Creature disappears into the Arctic, intending to die, but his fate is left ambiguous.
Film: Both Victor and the Creature die definitively, with the Creature setting fire to the ship as a final act of self-destruction. The film gives a more concrete ending to the Creature’s fate.
*Tone and Themes:
In the Novel: The novel is more of a Gothic horror story with philosophical overtones, exploring themes of creation, abandonment, and the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition.
In Film: The film leans heavily into melodrama and visual spectacle, especially in its depiction of the Creature’s resurrection and the dramatic, fiery conclusion. While it touches on the novel’s themes, it does so in a more stylized, less introspective way.
*Captain Walton’s Role:
In the Novel: Walton plays an important role as the narrator who recounts Victor’s story, and his conversations with Victor provide insight into Victor’s tragic fate.
In Film: Captain Walton’s role is minimized in the movie. While the ship scenes remain, they do not carry the same narrative weight or thematic importance as they do in the book.
2)Who do you think is a real monster?
‘The real monster in the novel is the failure of human compassion and responsibility.’
Mary Shelley deliberately blurs the line between Victor Frankenstein and the creature, leaving room for interpretation.
)Civilized Society of shelley’s time
Here, Mary Shelley critiques many aspects of the civilized society of her time, particularly its obsession with scientific progress, its rigid social hierarchies and its lack of empathy for those who are marginalized. She presents a vision of a society that is both ambitious and flawed, warning of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the failure to nature human relationship.
)Victor’s Ignorant Creator
Victor creates life but abandons his creation the moment it comes to life. He refuses to take responsibility for his creation and leaves the creature to suffer alone.
)Desire of love
The monster is highly intelligent and uses this to manipulate victor, taunting him and making him suffer by targeting those closest to him. Also he wants his companion like him. He wants to live with her.
)Victor as the real monster
Victor’s pursuit of scientific glory and power leads him to play god but he refuses to consider the consequences. His unchecked ambition results in the suffering of not only himself but also those he loves. Victor’s obsession with revenge on the Creature becomes all-consuming, turning him into a figure driven by hatred. His unwillingness to forgive or seek peaceful resolution leads to more destruction. He refuses to take responsibility for his actions, leaving the Creature to suffer alone.
Monster as the real monster
The Creature commits several murders, including the deaths of Victor’s brother William, his friend Henry Clerval, and his wife Elizabeth. These violent acts, no matter how much they stem from his pain, are undeniable. The Creature is highly intelligent and uses this to manipulate Victor, taunting him and making him suffer by targeting those closest to him. While initially seeking companionship and understanding, the Creature eventually embraces revenge, deliberately causing harm to others to punish Victor for his abandonment.
3) Do you think the search for knowledge is dangerous and destructive?
“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos; the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances, but cannot bring into being the substance itself.” (Shelley)
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley has offered one of the most complicated tellings related to search for knowledge, which indicates that although it might lead men towards progress and enlightenment, the very process of pursuit of knowledge can also become hazardous and ruinous when pursued heedlessly or in a way disregarding ethics.
*Victor’s obsession with knowledge:
Victor Frankenstein's ambition and his thirst for knowledge are what drive him to "play God" and unlock the secrets of life. Though he begins by seeking knowledge purely for its own sake, his obsession blinds him to the moral and ethical consequences of his acts.
Victor altogether ignores the possibility of what may happen when he creates life, while dwelling only on the glory and recognition he hopes for. That very singularity of purpose is the reason he comes to his downfall. He creates living matter but immediately rejects it, fails to take responsibility over his creation, and initiates a tragic train of events.
Shelley criticizes the unbridled ambition of unchecked scientific prowess. Knowledge left unaccompanied by responsibility leads to destructive outcomes, and so does his depiction of Victor's abandonment of the Creature and the varied subsequent deaths and personal sufferings it causes.
*The limit of Human Knowledge:
Shelley seems to warn against man being able to and should transcend natural limits in the pursuit of knowledge. The creating of life by Victor seems not to be in accordance with nature, bringing misery not just to him but to all around him. In pursuit of knowledge, the normalcy of man's power is ignored.
The novel raises a question about whether some knowledge should be left alone. Victor's tragic ending suggests that there are moral and ethical boundaries to what humans should seek to know or control, especially when it comes to matters of life, death, and creation. The novel reveals deep anxiety in tampering with nature or pushing scientific boundary lines into consideration to the harm they may incur.
The search for knowledge is not inherently dangerous, but when pursued without ethical considerations or responsibility, it becomes destructive. Mary Shelley critiques the reckless ambition of those like Victor, who seek to push the boundaries of knowledge without thinking about the consequences. The novel warns that scientific progress and the pursuit of intellectual power must be tempered by compassion, responsibility, and an understanding of human limitations.
4)Do you think Victor Frankenstein's creature was inherently evil, or did society's rejection and mistreatment turn him into a monster?
The Monster in Frankenstein is not inherently evil; instead, it’s society’s rejection and mistreatment that turn him into a "monster."
1. Innocent Beginnings: The Creature begins as a child: inquisitive and sensitive, without any evil intentions. He only needs warmth, food, and companionship.
2. Abandoned Victor: Victor creates the Creature but then abandons it in abhorrence. This unattended negligence leaves the Creature lonely and unguided.
3. Society's Revulsion: Every time that the Creature attempts to make contact with society, they either reject him or physically attack him for his countenance, not his conduct. Each act of rejection contributes to and inflames his revenge and despair.
4.Solitude and Need for Fellowship: The Creature desires affection and friendship, but in Victor's refusal and refusal to create a mate for him, this last hope is crushed, and he is driven to revenge instead.
5. The Violence Created: Violence caused by the Creature is a result of the agony and loneliness caused due to rejection, not because it was born evil. He shows signs of goodness, and cruelty from society makes him bitter.
The creature turns violent due to treatment, not because he was naturally evil. Mary Shelley reveals the fact that monsters are formed through suffering and rejections, not born the way they are.
5)Should there be limits on scientific exploration? If so, what should those limits be?
Yes, there must be limits to scientific inquiry, as Frankenstein illustrates. Here are some important takeaways:
1. Ethical Accountability: Scientists ought to consider the harm their work may do to others.
2. Accountability: They must shoulder the burden for their inventions, unlike Victor, who dumps the Creature on the world.
3. Respect Natural Constraints: There should be a control over issues like life and death and others that should never be messed with without deep contemplation.
4. Impact on Society: Science has to be concerned with the emotional and social impact that it has on people.
Quite simply, science needs some boundaries to do it responsibly with ethics and care towards the welfare of human beings and nature.
References:
Bhatt, Yesha. “Frankenstein | PPT.” SlideShare, 27 September 2021, https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/frankenstein-250307301/250307301 . Accessed 13 October 2024.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. “Frankenstein Quotes by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.” Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/4836639-frankenstein-or-the-modern-prometheus . Accessed 13 October 2024.
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