Analysis of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - Essay Example

?An undeniable factor that led to the rise of romanticism within art, literature, and music is the fact that the industrialization of Europe, and much of the rest of the world, had so greatly emphasized the scientific determinants and causations of reality that the artists, musicians, and authors sought to break free from this overly formulaic interpretation of the world. In such a way, the imaginative, the enchanted, the emotional, and the nuanced were championed during this time. In much the same way, one can review the work of Mary Shelley in her book, Frankenstein, as a means of seeing how this particular work perfectly embodies the emotions and thought processes that were so often put forward and promoted during the romantic period. As with so many movements, the romantic period can be seen as something of a reproachful disdain for the period which proceeded it; thereby, a focus upon the natural sciences were eschewed in favor of utilizing the powers that imagination could bring to bear. As such, it will be the understanding of this particular analysis that Frankenstein exhibits and typifies this period due to the fact that it chooses its level of focus to be almost strictly based upon interpersonal and societal relations; something that has never lended itself to scientific analysis and/or definition. When Dr. Frankenstein initially created the monster from the many body parts that he collected, it was his hope that such a creation could be an overall benefit to mankind. In much the same way that a father holds his son at the moment after birth and admires the perfection that nature has done, Frankenstein beheld the creature he had created and was seized not with admiration but with panic and horror at the “thing” that he had allowed to come into this world. Again, as stated in the introduction, this is not an action that the natural sciences can understand or readily explain. Although the creature itself was incomplete and longed for human interaction, touch, love, and all of the needs that regular people have, these needs were not provided by the creator/father. Instead, the creator/father drove the creature from his sight, and eventually hid from him and cursed him. This naturally caused a great many problems. The first of these was the fact that Frankenstein himself noted, “There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery” (Shelley 17). By way of comparison, one can understand the many different psychological issues and difficulties that can and will develop in a human father and son relationship when love affection or care is not given. For this reason, the reader can see a strong parallel to the way in which Dr. Frankenstein treated the creation which he ultimately dubbed a monster and the way in which countless of scarred and traumatized young people have experienced mistreatment at the hands of their own fathers. Says Dr. Frankenstein, "I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe” (Shelley 44). Although the level of comparison is a bit of a leap, it is useful for the reader to understand the way in which the paternal rejection had a profound effect on the way in which the monster himself developed. Rather than coming into the world imperfect and developing more and more perfect attributes, the monster was brought into this world physically repulsive but having many qualities of emotional perfection that allowed him to exhibit all of the good traits that humanity had to offer and hardly any of the bad. Says Dr. Frankenstein, “Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember” (Shelley 80). However, as a direct result of the emotional damage that the father transmitted to him, the psychological harm was manifested in his actions. Firstly, the monster felt the sense of rejection. As a way of trying to work around this and determine some sense of the world, the monster went on something of a quest to gain understanding. However, rather than finding understanding, the monster only found more and more people who were fearful of him and wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the creature. In this way, the feelings of rejection that they put upon him were taken more and more severely as the monster determined that the rejection he faced from his creator was also exhibited in the population at large. In this way the reader can understand that the emotional trauma and damage that the father passed along to Frankenstein was what ultimately pushed him over the edge to behave in the horrible way he did towards humanity. This not only helps to help the reader to understand the importance of how Dr. Frankenstein ultimately scarred and destroyed what could have been a normal, although strange, relationship between the two. This also helps the reader to begin to understand the extremely important role of the father-son relationship and the means where any type of abuse or negligence can serve to deeply and irrevocably affect the course of the future both within the relationship and within the way in which such an individual acts within the world in general. Ultimately, although the actions taken by the monster were horrific, they can be traced back to the fact that the abuse and avoidance by the father had triggered the negative response in the creation. Many individuals within our current world who have been abused exhibit similar traits and symptoms. As a function of seeking to find a way to put their pain and emotion into feelings engage in negative behavior. This can of course result in criminal or other behavior that would ultimately garner a negative response on the part of either the father or society in general. Such a level of behavior is not out of the ordinary for individuals who have suffered abuse or psychological trauma. In this way, the reader can understand the reasons why Frankenstein’s monster behave in the way he did to a more full and complete sense. Naturally this cannot be seen as an excuse for the pain and trauma he caused to the world. Instead, the monster realizes that his actions have been harmful and seeks to explain to the reader as to why he has engaged on the destructive course that he has. The monster realizes the futility of human thought and human life by stating the following: “I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property” (Shelley 122). This helps to evoke a deep level of sympathy in the reader and at least partially explain the actions that have taken place and why. However, the blame for these actions is nebulous as Frankenstein himself notes “William, Justine, and Henry-they all died by my hands” (Shelley 111). Regardless of what has prompted the monster to his vengeful actions, it is clear that he has a clear understanding of why he has done these things and even within the horrors of this violence, he has something a human twinge of guilt and remorse. Work Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Penguin Books, 2007. Read More