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HUM 3306: History of Ideas

July 23, 2014
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Creator and creature: more alike than different
Mary Shelley establishes herself as a romantic writer and seems to express her
characteristic beliefs through the novel that is Frankenstein. Shelley positions herself in the
company of other romantics through her artistic portrayal of the importance of not interfering
with nature and appreciating relationships. Shelley and romantics alike disapproved of some of
the enlightenment ideas that promoted the disillusionment of nature by encouraging discovery.
While all discovery is not seen as defective, that which leads people to forsake family and
destroy nature for the purpose of knowing, having or classifying information is frowned upon.
The themes within Frankenstein, such as family, ambition, loneliness and science, are woven
together to convey the underlying and usual romantic warning: let nature be.
Shelley skillfully depicts the importance of family, the consequences of ambition and
science, and the dangers of interfering with nature. She begins her novel with Captain Robert
Walton writing letters to his sister, showing a strong familial bond while simultaneously
introducing the theme of ambition and loneliness. Captain Walton is determined to accomplish
something that no other man has been able to by reaching the North Pole. A knowingly long,
cold and dangerous journey that requires him to leave his family behind and become friendless,
but nonetheless, is still pursued. It is during this journey that the artful intertwining of stories by
Shelley occurs as the character Victor Frankenstein is introduced. Frankensteins narrative
intentionally consists of the themes introduced in Waltons letters serving as a warning to the
captain and more importantly to the readers. Frankenstein himself once embarked along a
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journey that was unpaved by any other man and one that consequently led to his encounter with
Walton on the ice. The presence of Frankenstein on the ship eventually leads to a convergence of
all storylines to a single room aboard and essentially, the completion of the arduous, romantic
appeals of Shelley. Shelleys overall opinions are arguably stated early in the novel through
Frankensteins hindsight:
If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections
and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly
mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human
mind. If this rule were always observed; if no man allowed any pursuit
whatsoever to interfere with the tranquillity of his domestic affections, Greece had
not been enslaved, Caesar would have spared his country, America would have
been discovered more gradually, and the empires of Mexico and Peru had not
been destroyed. (Shelley 53)
If Frankenstein had observed that rule, he would not have suffered as he did.
Frankensteins narrative begins explaining his early life in all its fortune and with all the
wonderful people. His patriarchal and nuclear family (which eventually became an extended
one) was described with love and in great detail. Frankensteins father, Alphonse and his mother,
Caroline were united as a result of the death of Carolines father. As Frankenstein grows older;
his younger brothers, William and Ernest are born; cousin, Elizabeth adopted and a servant girl,
Justine received into the family. The children are raised as brothers and sisters although,
Elizabeth is also seen as Frankensteins future wife. Frankenstein shows his appreciation of
Elizabeths companionship and gushes over the love of his parents, No creatures could have had
more tender parents than mine (Shelley 31). In my opinion, the presence of a loving family
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consisting of devoted parents is evident. However, there are some like Lee Zimmerman, who
claim that this is not so and question Frankensteins upbringing. In Frankenstein, Invisibility,
and Nameless Dread, Zimmerman goes as far to suggest that Frankenstein is parentless. I could
not disagree with him more; besides the love and concern demonstrated in person and through
letters by all, including his father, it would be illogical for Shelley to create a character that
shared in the creatures parentlessness (Zimmerman 135) Also, Frankenstein uses words like
tender and caring to describe his parents, which would not be expected to flow from one
without parental affection. If one were simply to think of the underlying concepts in the book,
the period in which it was written and by whom it was written, it makes sense that there exist a
contrast between the loving, present family of Frankenstein and the parentlessness of the
creature, regardless of the aforementioned positive adjectives. The contrast is used to establish
the romantic point that straying from the family unit can lead to Frankenstein as a result. If they
are both seen as parentless, then the theme of family that is so obviously apparent would in my
opinion, be reduced to irrelevance.
While family is important to Frankenstein, he leaves them to pursue an education.
Frankensteins thirst for knowledge existed from an early age and was exhibited in his love of
reading. It is the books of chemists like Cornelius Agrippa that first peak his interest in science
and the incident when lightning struck a tree sends him on a slippery slope. The science of
discovery is illustrated as the origin of future tragedies, and the departure from family as a key
vehicle into darkness. It is here that Frankensteins ambition is introduced. As Frankenstein
learns more about science he becomes maddened with a mission, and determined to do what
none has done before; a goal inspired by the lightning. The moment when the tree is obliterated
by lightning served not only as inspiration, but to foreshadow future wrecking. The spark used to
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animate the creature indirectly leads to destruction, and most of the dark scenes in the novel are
also associated with such ominous weather.
Frankenstein blames his fate on his fathers careless dismissal of his reading choice of
Agrippa rather than explaining why he should set it aside. Zimmerman, in an effort to strengthen
his parentless argument, agrees with Frankenstein. By failing to receive his son's eagerly
proffered communication, Alphonse cannot present the external world in a way that recognizes
and affirms the inner one; what might have become a potential space between subject and
object instead remains a vacuum (Zimmerman 142). Zimmermans grasp of the quick dismissal
of an eager child is a far-reaching one. It is not a sign of parentless, but actually a common one
displayed by busy or exhausted parents. Moreover, this dismissal did not lead Frankenstein to
his awful despairs. His ambition overshadowed everything; besides Frankenstein eventually
came to the conclusion that those books were trash and still continued along his path.
Frankenstein neglects his family and himself in pursuit of creating a creature. It is by these
unnatural means that there is an even further deviation from family, as Frankenstein seeks to
bypass the need of a mother to bring forth life. Shelley also uses Frankensteins experimentation
as a symbol for societys technological interferences with nature. When the experiment is
completed and Frankenstein becomes a father through unnatural means, he then abandons this
family member.
The creature is left to figure things out on his own and it is during this time that he
encounters a family living in a cottage in the woods, and thus one of the most important scenes
in the novel is illustrated through the creatures narrative. The observation of the De Lacey
family by Frankensteins creature leads to his education and strengthens his desire for
relationships. The creature learns to read and write as Safie learns and this knowledge brings him
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great joy as he is able to further connect and understand the family, but it also increases his
awareness of his oddity and lack of familial ties causing him great sadness and intense desire.
The creature familiarizes himself with all the members of the family and soon learns their names,
of which he has none. His lack of name is also representative of his lack of a family and not
belonging to society. Frankenstein is Victors family name, allowing him to belong to a group
and he is identifies as a Genevan, thus establishing a home. The creature is not afforded any of
these luxuries and is simply referred to as wretch, monster, creature, or daemon. These
epithets are the result of the creatures physical appearance. By the time, he had discovered the
family he had already encountered people and experienced their horrified reactions to him; so he
was fully appear of his ugliness. This ugliness is what leads to the creature to hide in the
shadows as he observes the familys interactions. The deduction that the father
The reader is able to witness the growth of the creature from a murmuring, uneducated
being to one that is articulate and well-travelled. The creature evolves from a nomadic existence
in the woods gathering fruit to discovering fire and enjoying all of its conveniences. The
creatures development mirrors that of man, both in the sense of from infancy to adulthood and
from Neanderthal-like to resembling modern man.