What was Victor Frankenstein’s Motivation for Creating Life

Introduction

In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley reinvents the definition of 'romanticism' by creating a novel filled with loss of innocence and lonely characters. Through the power of education, the development of various narratives, and the conflict between seclusion and nature, Shelley stresses the relevance of individualism in Romantic Literature.

Body

Victor Frankenstein's Romantic Quest for Knowledge and Creation

The rise of Romanticism began with the intent to express new ideas and to create a visionary connection with imagination. Poets of the romantic period constantly sought out ways to capture subliminal moments.

However, Mary Shelley takes on a new mindset by both capturing and opposing the common ideals of Romanticism in her novel Frankenstein. Shelley's new way of thinking is displayed through Victor's quest to utilize his extensive knowledge to create life. Victor himself is an extremely secluded character who basks in his own melancholy, which is unlike the usual natural and peaceful environments of most romantic texts. Yet Victor mentions nature when discussing his feelings about creating a new life, claiming that a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me (Shelley 54). This quote reflects that Victor's character contains certain forms of Romanticism, being that he mirrors romantic authors' dedication to seeing the world in a new way.

Education as a Symbolic Theme

Romantic supporters followed the belief that a new understanding of the world could be created through individual imagination, which would ultimately lead to a vision of utopia for human beings and their societies. Since Victor is constantly worried about unearthly things and unreachable ideas, he embodies the ultimate dreamer. So, in the sense that Victor is a dreamer who is attempting to follow his own path, he is a highly romantic character. The novel also utilizes the power of education, an important theme that is crucial in understanding each character and their intent. Education is used on a symbolic level through Victor's quest to push against his human limitations and strive to play the role of God by creating life. In Victor's attempts to become a perfected scientist by creating a flawless human, he creates a monster. Once he succeeds in creating his monster, it is then monitored by multiple systems and institutions that have been created by mankind and that are all equally imperfect. Victor's monster, however, may hold the most engrossing perspective on education. Having been created from nothing, the monster's mental state reflects that of a child, and after being abandoned by Victor, he is left to learn of the world on his own. The monster is motivated by knowledge and love, which has been stolen from him. When searching for answers and acceptance, he is taught just how different he is and that he must reside in solitude and loneliness. After observing the family he was secretly living with and teaching himself to read, the monster realizes just how different he is. He states, 'Increase knowledge only discovered to me more clearly what a wretched outcast I was' (Shelley 156). I believe that in the case of Victor's search for human life and the monster's search for acceptance, Shelley is trying to prove that there is no such thing as perfection and that human beings will only create flawed inventions.

The various narratives in the novel also contribute to individualism, as each individual character's emotion is displayed throughout the novel. The novel begins from the perspective of Robert Walton, who is on a journey to travel to a vacant land that none have traveled before. Walton narrates the story through a series of letters to his sister, and we learn that although he is on the ship with other people, he still feels as if he is alone. The narrative is then switched to Frankenstein's perspective, where the theme of isolation really begins. Victor's perspective reveals that alienation is not unfamiliar to him because it is something he experienced throughout his childhood, work, and family. That isolation eventually drives Victor to create a form of human life, which he spends the remainder of his own life hunting down. Although Victor chooses to alienate himself from the world and his family, he constantly insists that the creator is at fault for his isolation. He claims, 'I must absent myself from all I loved while thus employed. Once commenced…I might be restored to my family in peace and happiness (Shelley 184).

Individualism through Multiple Narratives

This proves that Victor's creation forced him to alienate himself as a means of protection for the world. As the narrative turns to Frankenstein's monster, the reader gets an insight into the harsh cruelty and loneliness he had to endure. Throughout the novel, each individual character's expression of emotion is highlighted, and the development of each character is presented alone. The split narratives benefit the theme of isolation because it gives insight into the characters and allows the story to fill in holes that other characters may have left out. As Walton, Frankenstein, and the monster tell their stories, they isolate themselves further and further from others. The role of individualism in the novel allows a better understanding of each character because it reveals that by the end of the novel, each one is left alone.

The correlation between seclusion and nature also contributes to the major role individualism plays in the novel. Nature not only reflects and restores the characters' moods, but it can also be unforgiving when it is mistreated. Both Victor and his creation experience feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and guilt. Whenever Victor falls ill or temporarily goes mad, he escapes to nature in an attempt to heal his soul and spirits. After the woman he loves, Justine, dies, Victor escapes to Mount Blanc in an attempt to relieve his mind and calm his thoughts. The sight of the mountain serves as a reminder of Victor's home, bringing back feelings associated with his childhood and family. During his time on the mountain, Victor's feelings pass between guilt and the joy of familiarity. Mont Blanc is associated with security, home, and stability, so Victor and Elizabeth both return to put their hearts at ease. However, nature turns against Victor when he tries to create a human life. Defying the rules of nature by attempting to suppress its natural limits, he is left with a monster. At first, Victor describes his monster as a 'beautiful' creation, by soon realizes that 'the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror…filled my heart' (Shelley 59).

The Dichotomy of Seclusion and Nature

As Frankenstein draws near a psychological breakdown, the novel reveals that going against nature will ultimately lead to destruction. Nature restores Victor's monster as well. When he is rejected by society, he hides in a cave and experiences the beauty of the world. He uses nature to alienate himself from humans once he realizes how cruel they are. Shelley also uses ice to represent the monster's solidarity. The monster tells Victor to follow him in order to 'seek the everlasting ices of the north' (Shelley 253), making their interaction more intense. The ice represents the monster's feelings of desolation and symbolizes the qualities of loneliness an individual of the romantic era is supposed to represent. Nature is the most important agent to Victor's health and sanity in the story, and as the novel unfolds, the portraits of natural settings become countless. While Victor claims that the monster's murders destroyed him, he is constantly drawn to nature for support instead of going to his family or friends. As he is further shunned by humanity, he becomes more obsessed with nature. Shelley's extensive use of nature proves that Victor's only source of stability comes from the nature of a world that he himself has undone. Overall, Shelley is making a statement on how powerful nature is and that no one should go against it.

Conclusion

In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley creates something that had never been imagined before in the romantic era. By experimenting with new ideas, she disregards the typical rules of romantic literature and opposes the normal views on logic and life. This new way of thinking leads to the creation of her monster. Shelley highlights individualism herself when she defies the standard laws of creation and reimagines a completely new law that becomes the first of its kind. Shelley's characters also embody individualism in that they each experience hardships which push them to become their inner selves. Each character, good or bad, inevitably becomes true to their identity and conforms to self-repression. Shelley uses this conformity to paint a disturbing picture of the unsettling realities of creation and isolation. Shelley uses a melancholic tone when describing Victor Frankenstein's story of attempting to create a life, which then turns into a horrifying monster. This portrayal of melancholy, exploited through dark imagery and constant references to the destruction of beauty, shows that isolation reveals the darker side of humanity, the hardest yet realist version of oneself to accept.

References

1. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Edited by J. Paul Hunter, W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.

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