This far into Frankenstein I have found the most interesting thing to be the relationship between Frankenstein and his creation. I don't have too much insight into it thus far, its more of an intrigue. Frankenstein spent a long time, pouring over this project of his, to the point of obsession. He seemed to become so consumed by this aspect of natural sciences that his normal thought process was put aside. He never seemed to consider the down side of what he was doing, he just continued blindly. The second that his creation was completed, instead of feeling relief or pride, he became instantly terrified. He had been staring at this project for months and yet, the second that life was brought to it, he ran and hid. Over the next couple of years he had occurrences with the "monster" eventually leading up to the murder of his younger brother. Finally, he has a face-to-face with the creature and we get the full story. Personally, after hearing the accounts of the creation, I myself half forgave him for the murder of the innocent little boy. What would anyone else have done in his situation? He started life as innocent as a new born, and through the prejudice of humans, learned that it didn't matter how innocent he was, he was never going to be accepted. The terror and rage he felt led him to his evil deeds, and it seemed natural and almost deserved that he would take out revenge on his creator with a serious vengeance.
This whole account makes me doubt the character of Frankenstein. Although his creature was unnatural and terrifying to look at, he had created him. He gave up months of his life in solitude, all dedicated to this one craft. It seems natural that he should feel some responsibility towards the monster, to be almost a father figure to him. How can you knowingly bring something to life and then just release it into the world without looking back? Even after hearing the heart-breaking story of his creation, he was still appalled by him, and felt no remorse on his account. Frankenstein comes off as heartless, and selfish; a naive youth with no realization of how his actions are always going to create an outcome. He feels no responsibility towards the thing that he brought into the world. I am thus far on the side of the monster. I pity his situation and cannot fully blame him for the crimes he has committed. He has never experienced love, acceptance, or real happiness; only witnessed it. His is a heartbreaking story, and Frankenstein is callous to it when it is all really his own doing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mandy, Reading your blog I can't help but think of systems of justice in the west. Consider the trial of Justine in the novel. Although she was innocent, it's interesting to see how no one brought up aspects of her childhood, or how she was raised, really. They just saw her as "guilty." I wonder if our feelings about the creature are similar to how we view criminals in our contemporary times. Although someone may be "guilty" of a crime, we're obsessed with the psychology behind those crimes. I wonder how that obsession with psychology came about and if this novel is just the beginning of understanding the human condition in these ways.
ReplyDelete