Frankenstein: A Psychoanalytic Analysis

In his writings, Freud argues that early life experiences play a key role in forming one's personality. In the late 18th century, Mary Shelley lost her mother only a few months after her birth. The influence of this experience appears in her writing. In a psychoanalytic reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the effects of the author’s loss of her mother at a young age manifest themselves in the creature’s lack of connection with his creator to show the traumatic alienating effects of her experience. Both Shelley and the creature experience similar losses of their creators shortly after their creations. Shelley’s mother Mary Wollstonecraft passes away only a few months after her birth, and Victor deserts the creature almost immediately after …show more content…
Both the creature and Shelley illustrate a desire to establish superiority to their creator in some way. The creature does this by attempting to force Frankenstein to create a female companion for him, thus trying to directly control his creator and establish his superiority. At one point, the creature makes this explicit when he states that “you are my creator, but I am your master.” Shelley demonstrates the same desire to be superior to her mother when she chooses a writing career in the same vein as her mother. Shelley unconsciously chooses the same career because she wishes to achieve the same as her mother and more (D’Amato 121). These forms of asserting power result from a lack of contact with their creators. Rather than establish a supportive and caring relationship, the creators and their children become separated from each other and the child unconsciously develops an anger towards their creator, and compete with their creator. The children’s anger towards their creators also becomes apparent in the creature’s professions of hatred for Frankenstein. The creature curses Frankenstein “in the bitterness of [his] heart,” professing a deep hatred for his creator (Shelley 120). The creature’s hatred for his creator despite his appeals to him reflects Shelley’s view of her mother. Shelley feels that she never had the chance to connect with her mother since her mother died so soon, but also feels that even if she could have, her mother would not have accepted her, exhibiting a warped view of her mother. In all likelihood, her mother probably would not have rejected her as Frankenstein did, but Shelley seems to believe that she would have. The creature’s running from society reflects Shelley’s attempt to escape society. Society rejects the creature and thus he chooses to run away from it, similar to how Shelley left her home with