According to infamous philosopher John Locke, the role of a parent figure is paramount in every child’s adolescent life. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein experiences benevolent affection from both his parents in every way possible. However, when Victor obtains the chance to mimic this paternal role, he immediately abandons his creature and leaves it to fend for itself without any form of nurture. Not only does Victor mistreat his creature, but he also eliminates the need for women, emphasizing a larger gender issue. Even though some argue that Victor’s greatest sin is playing the role of God, the failure to parent his creature proves to be more despicable because it leaves the creature without any parents, validates the power
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Victor even describes this care as “my mother’s tender caress and my father’s smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are my first recollections.” (19) With this pleasurable upbringing, Victor had no reason to ever become evil; however, his actions prove otherwise. In the creation of his monster, Victor does not mean to create an evil being, but he does not realize that the moment he abandons it is the moment in which this evil is sparked. Victor Frankenstein’s desertion from his new “child” is his most evil sin, but as a person, Victor himself should not be defined as malignant due to this one mistake. Consequently, Victor’s new creature receives absolutely no nurture from any sort of parent figure. This lack of nurture leads to the birth of a monster, not because it has been taught evil actions, but because it does not know any better. Based on Rousseau’s philosophies, every person is born with natural impulses and curiosities, but without anyone there to explain rights and wrongs in adolescence, these impulses will become uncontrolled and like in the monster’s case, evilness can easily arise. After watching the daily lives of the DeLacey family for many months, the monster begins to realize the true meaning and ramifications of nurture. The monster portrays his true emotions about his own lack of nurture when he says, “no father had watched my …show more content…
Victor draws forth an important feminist issue in the creation of his humanlike creature. By scientifically generating life without a woman, Victor challenges the role of women as well as the role of mothers. With this new science, Victor can easily eliminate the need for women in society because their unique reproductive abilities will no longer be relevant or necessary. Simultaneously, Shelley emphasizes the job of a father and the life without any maternal figure. In creating the monster, Victor proudly explains that “no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.”(39) However, in the abandonment of his time-consuming project and “child”, Victor commits the worst sin possible as a father. Directly following the death of his mother earlier in the novel, Victor also commits an act of abandonment by withdrawing himself from his family completely and leaving for college. In this, Victor demonstrates the importance of women and how effective they are in the lives of others. The gender issue surrounding females further appears in Victor’s possessive attitude with Elizabeth. To Victor, Elizabeth is seen as merely an object and “more than a sister, since till death she was to be mine only.”(21) In Victor’s mind, Elizabeth only served a purpose to be his future wife, nothing else. By incorporating all of these examples, Shelley highlights the ideals of many
Victor even describes this care as “my mother’s tender caress and my father’s smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are my first recollections.” (19) With this pleasurable upbringing, Victor had no reason to ever become evil; however, his actions prove otherwise. In the creation of his monster, Victor does not mean to create an evil being, but he does not realize that the moment he abandons it is the moment in which this evil is sparked. Victor Frankenstein’s desertion from his new “child” is his most evil sin, but as a person, Victor himself should not be defined as malignant due to this one mistake. Consequently, Victor’s new creature receives absolutely no nurture from any sort of parent figure. This lack of nurture leads to the birth of a monster, not because it has been taught evil actions, but because it does not know any better. Based on Rousseau’s philosophies, every person is born with natural impulses and curiosities, but without anyone there to explain rights and wrongs in adolescence, these impulses will become uncontrolled and like in the monster’s case, evilness can easily arise. After watching the daily lives of the DeLacey family for many months, the monster begins to realize the true meaning and ramifications of nurture. The monster portrays his true emotions about his own lack of nurture when he says, “no father had watched my …show more content…
Victor draws forth an important feminist issue in the creation of his humanlike creature. By scientifically generating life without a woman, Victor challenges the role of women as well as the role of mothers. With this new science, Victor can easily eliminate the need for women in society because their unique reproductive abilities will no longer be relevant or necessary. Simultaneously, Shelley emphasizes the job of a father and the life without any maternal figure. In creating the monster, Victor proudly explains that “no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.”(39) However, in the abandonment of his time-consuming project and “child”, Victor commits the worst sin possible as a father. Directly following the death of his mother earlier in the novel, Victor also commits an act of abandonment by withdrawing himself from his family completely and leaving for college. In this, Victor demonstrates the importance of women and how effective they are in the lives of others. The gender issue surrounding females further appears in Victor’s possessive attitude with Elizabeth. To Victor, Elizabeth is seen as merely an object and “more than a sister, since till death she was to be mine only.”(21) In Victor’s mind, Elizabeth only served a purpose to be his future wife, nothing else. By incorporating all of these examples, Shelley highlights the ideals of many