The Drive And Desire For Power In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Power, the ability to control, dictate, and manipulate whatever we see fit to benefit ourselves. Power is one of mankind’s most coveted items In which we can obtain, and going to unethical measures to obtain it, if necessary. The drive and desire for power will be mankind's demise. In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, she demonstrates, through the use of her character's, how the drive and desire for power, corrupts, destroys, and is mankind’s demise. As Alexander Hamilton once said, “A fondness for power is implanted in most men, and it is natural to abuse it when acquired.” Men such as Victor Frankenstein, he wanted power, he obtained power, his life was decimated because of power.
Victor’s greed for power is what destroys his life, but …show more content…
“The beauty of the dream vanished,and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room” (Shelly 44). Victor wants nothing to do with the monster, and wishes to have nothing to do with the monster ever again. How do you fix the slight problem of how to dispose of an enormous monster. The answer…You can't dispose of the monster. Which leads us to the topic of, because of Victor Frankenstein’s greed for power, and the creation of his monster, he is responsible for the actions that our taken against his loved ones. With vengeance in mind, the monster departs from the apartment on a search for the man who created him. First, the monster strangles William, the brother of Victor, and frames his sister, Justine for the murder. With all the evidence pointing at Justine, she was found guilty of the crime she didn't commit, and was executed. As the novel progresses, years past and the monster seemed to have disappeared, leaving Victor and his family alone. But, after awhile the monster resurfaces, and has a convocation with Victor about what he had endured during his lifetime. During the convocation, Frankie talks about being lonely, and he convinced Victor to build him a companion. …show more content…
As the start of the novel, Victor is powerful, in control, and is at the top of his game. But as the novel progresses, Victors power is stripped, his life slowly crumbles, and his power is what kills him in the end. “As I sat, a train of reflection occurred to me which led me to consider the effects of what I was now doing. Three years before, I was engaged in the same maner and had created a fiend whose unparalleled barbarity had desolated my heart and filled it forever with the bitterest remorse.” (Shelly 155). This shows that the power that Victor once wanted, is the same thing that he wants to dispose of. The power he obtained, is the same power that destroys him. Because of the creation of his monster, his brother, sister, best friend, and wife are all dead, just because Victor was greedy for power. The toil of his power, is what drives victor to insanity, and eventually his demise. Although power is great, it’s what drives mankind to its