In the historical course of world literature, monsters have always made a mark in the stories, epics, and cultures of civilization. The Ancient Greeks envisioned one-eyed giants lumbering about their plains; the Japanese of the 1950s saw enormous lizards that were capable of levelling entire cities; and modern Americans have feared the coming of otherworldly creatures from outer space out to invade the entire planet, or at least, the North American continent. In Western literature, no monster has so encapsulated this phenomenon than that created by Victor Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, first published in 1818. And yet, more monstrous than his creation is the creator himself, Victor, who embodies an unnatural motivation to obtain fame and make his mark in history. This egotistical drive is at the heart of his monstrosity, and is the seed which brings forth the peripheral issues of his morality and ethical predisposition as a scientist. In making Victor so, Mary Shelley entangles Victor in the Enlightenment discourse regarding the nature of man, as well as man’s relationship with nature.
At the surface of Shelley’s characterization of Victor Frankenstein is his identification as a good and kind human being. He is well-educated, and appears to be sensitive to the needs and concerns of his family and friends. His creation of the Monster, moreover, at first seems to be a noble cause. Shelley writes of Victor’s intentions: “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” (52). Nevertheless, as the novel progresses, Shelley eventually reveals the entirety of Victor’s monstrosity.
At the heart of Victor-as-monster, is his limitation in that he fails to take responsibility for his actions. He does not seem to think about the negative consequences of his experimentation. All he thinks about is how he must share with the world his discovery, and bask in his success as a man of science. Moreover, when Justine, a young servant girl in his household that is accused of the murder of Victor’s little brother William, Victor does not take responsibility for the heinous crime. Despite knowing that Justine is innocent, he does not reveal the true circumstances of William’s death.
Shelley reveals this “monstrosity” of Victor Frankenstein even in the subtitle of her classic tale.
By subtitling it as “The Modern Prometheus”, she configures her story in the shadow of Prometheus’ act of bringing light to humankind, concretizing the issue through examples of educational practices and their failure throughout the novel. In the Prometheus myth, the result of his actions, like Christ’s, is redemptive suffering for humanity. On the other hand, Frankenstein’s quest conversely reveals itself to be more for the attainment of personal, god-like power than for social advancement (Bloom 111). His reaction is shown in its full monstrosity as he says: “By the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs” (32). Victor eventually neglects the creature because of its hideous demeanor, and his actions are the ultimate cause of his downfall.
In the context of Enlightenment thinking, this is, in itself, a monstrous act, and egotism, a monstrous quality. When the overarching belief of human society emphasizes the accomplishment of individualism and science, Shelley points out its failures. Victor Frankenstein essentially played God in a realm reserved for humans, complete with their failures and fallacies. Nothing could have been more monstrous.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Bloom’s Guide to Frankenstein. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. Print.
