Hello! I was waiting with a question during today's class but the bell won as always. We were talking (at some point) about how Victor is the monster's "evil God." I was wondering if the monster is angry against Victor because the latter didn't give him his 'blessing' as a father. Is the monster seeking Frankenstein's approval as a fellow human being by keeping him in the cave (ch.16)? If so this brings up another question: Does one needs God's approval/love to live a content life? Does God need to make a sacrifice for Adam and Eve as done in the Bible to forgive them of their sins.
i was wondering if we should really blame vicor for all of the creature actions? for once, i think that we should not blame victor because the creature knows wrong from right so therefore, he could make his own decisions.
It's true that at one point he does learn wrong from right, because of the books. However, he was born innocent, like a blank slate. What he would become later would be influenced by what he saw and learned in the world. He was first hated by everyone that he encountered. Plus, he thought he was hideous when looking at his own reflection. This is probably not ideal for someone in the early stages of life, whether man or creature. He was able to learn to read and write thanks to the cottagers. It is at this point where he learns right from wrong. At the same time, though, he learns how much a father or God must act toward his offspring. Thanks to the letters, we know that this wasn't exactly the case. Going back to the whole Freud theory of a subconscious monster inside everyone, this and the few events that follow up to William's murder, show that Victor, as well as society, were responsible for the "monster" to actually become in reality a monster. Even though he could make decisions, his sense of morality was overshadowed by his rage and monster-orientation
Something i have been thinking about is that Victor claimed he was doing good for humanity, but i do not see anything positive in the way he manifested his idea. He stitched up many bodies together and created NEW life; he didn't bring it back. This contradicted the point. Victor did not resuscitate a corps, he created a new person along with everything that came with it. Victor Plays the role of God because he creates new life, and doesn't bring back an old one, which would be more proper, understandable, in the eyes of science. The one true point I cannot understand is why, out of all people, would the CREATOR and father run away from his baby, without giving it the slightest chance of expression; to prove himself good or bad. The Creature's anger is explainable, and we tend to pardon it throughout the novel, his desire has always been to have a family and friends of his own, like Felix did. His goal now was to make Victor feel the same loneliness as he did by destroying the family he had. The trauma suffered by the monster after his first breaths of life led to this destructive character mask. This mask was the result of Victors irresponsible attitude, but also corresponded to the view people had of the creature.. As we can see in the end of the book, the monster still maintained his innocence within him, mourning his father's death on the boat.
The New Life idea was brought up in the 1950 film version of "Frankenstein" (we saw in class). It was Mary Shelley who decided for Victor to "make" the creature that way to add a more gruesome effect on the reader-the novel is supposed to be a "ghost story" in the end. The way Victor made Creature also adds to the "Evil God" impression that we saw Victor with in chapter 16. It also made Victor run away: he didn't revive something-his ultimate goal because of his dead mother-he created something. He was so caught up with the whole experiment that he only realized his mistake when he bestowed life on Creature. By then it was too late, and thats what made him run away when he saw it move.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI was waiting with a question during today's class but the bell won as always.
We were talking (at some point) about how Victor is the monster's "evil God." I was wondering if the monster is angry against Victor because the latter didn't give him his 'blessing' as a father. Is the monster seeking Frankenstein's approval as a fellow human being by keeping him in the cave (ch.16)?
If so this brings up another question: Does one needs God's approval/love to live a content life? Does God need to make a sacrifice for Adam and Eve as done in the Bible to forgive them of their sins.
i was wondering if we should really blame vicor for all of the creature actions? for once, i think that we should not blame victor because the creature knows wrong from right so therefore, he could make his own decisions.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that at one point he does learn wrong from right, because of the books.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he was born innocent, like a blank slate. What he would become later would be influenced by what he saw and learned in the world.
He was first hated by everyone that he encountered. Plus, he thought he was hideous when looking at his own reflection. This is probably not ideal for someone in the early stages of life, whether man or creature.
He was able to learn to read and write thanks to the cottagers. It is at this point where he learns right from wrong. At the same time, though, he learns how much a father or God must act toward his offspring. Thanks to the letters, we know that this wasn't exactly the case.
Going back to the whole Freud theory of a subconscious monster inside everyone, this and the few events that follow up to William's murder, show that Victor, as well as society, were responsible for the "monster" to actually become in reality a monster. Even though he could make decisions, his sense of morality was overshadowed by his rage and monster-orientation
Something i have been thinking about is that Victor claimed he was doing good for humanity, but i do not see anything positive in the way he manifested his idea. He stitched up many bodies together and created NEW life; he didn't bring it back. This contradicted the point. Victor did not resuscitate a corps, he created a new person along with everything that came with it.
ReplyDeleteVictor Plays the role of God because he creates new life, and doesn't bring back an old one, which would be more proper, understandable, in the eyes of science.
The one true point I cannot understand is why, out of all people, would the CREATOR and father run away from his baby, without giving it the slightest chance of expression; to prove himself good or bad.
The Creature's anger is explainable, and we tend to pardon it throughout the novel, his desire has always been to have a family and friends of his own, like Felix did. His goal now was to make Victor feel the same loneliness as he did by destroying the family he had. The trauma suffered by the monster after his first breaths of life led to this destructive character mask. This mask was the result of Victors irresponsible attitude, but also corresponded to the view people had of the creature.. As we can see in the end of the book, the monster still maintained his innocence within him, mourning his father's death on the boat.
The New Life idea was brought up in the 1950 film version of "Frankenstein" (we saw in class). It was Mary Shelley who decided for Victor to "make" the creature that way to add a more gruesome effect on the reader-the novel is supposed to be a "ghost story" in the end. The way Victor made Creature also adds to the "Evil God" impression that we saw Victor with in chapter 16.
ReplyDeleteIt also made Victor run away: he didn't revive something-his ultimate goal because of his dead mother-he created something. He was so caught up with the whole experiment that he only realized his mistake when he bestowed life on Creature. By then it was too late, and thats what made him run away when he saw it move.