Ambition is connotatively a positive characteristic— something that serves as a stepping stone towards success. However, in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Victor Frankenstein, two characters filled with ambition, never attain the results they want. The characters both struggle with mental and emotional issues, deterring them from attaining their desired results. The novels Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein suggest that the involvement of anxiety, isolation, and selfishness in one’s ambition causes the potential for happiness and success to transform into inevitable failure.
As characters become anxious about obtaining their goals, they …show more content…
With his position as a respected professional, Jekyll is expected to remain controlled, proper, and moral, justifying his desire to eliminate his bad traits. Ironically, Dr. Jekyll eventually loses his valued self-control as Hyde overtakes him. Conclusively, Dr. Jekyll’s ambitious nature spiraled into anxiety; This anxiety led to the creation of Hyde, who can be seen as the source of Dr. Jekyll’s downfall. In “Frankenstein”, Victor’s anxiety about the destructive nature of his creation leads to a loss of focus and patience, causing both him and his loved ones to get hurt. After the creation of the monster, Victor described himself as “calm during the day, but so soon as night obscured the shapes of objects, a thousand fears arose in my mind. I was anxious and watchful, while my right hand grasped a pistol which was hidden in my bosom; every sound terrified me…[Elizabeth] left me, and I continued some time walking up and down the passages of the house and inspecting every corner that might afford a retreat to my adversary…suddenly I heard a shrill and dreadful scream” (Shelley 185-186). Walking up and down a routine path is known as pacing, a common sign of anxiety. Victor’s fear of the monster’s presence causes him to inspect every aspect of the house instead of sticking by his lover’s side. The hyperbole of ‘checking every corner’ suggests that Victor wastes his time
As characters become anxious about obtaining their goals, they …show more content…
With his position as a respected professional, Jekyll is expected to remain controlled, proper, and moral, justifying his desire to eliminate his bad traits. Ironically, Dr. Jekyll eventually loses his valued self-control as Hyde overtakes him. Conclusively, Dr. Jekyll’s ambitious nature spiraled into anxiety; This anxiety led to the creation of Hyde, who can be seen as the source of Dr. Jekyll’s downfall. In “Frankenstein”, Victor’s anxiety about the destructive nature of his creation leads to a loss of focus and patience, causing both him and his loved ones to get hurt. After the creation of the monster, Victor described himself as “calm during the day, but so soon as night obscured the shapes of objects, a thousand fears arose in my mind. I was anxious and watchful, while my right hand grasped a pistol which was hidden in my bosom; every sound terrified me…[Elizabeth] left me, and I continued some time walking up and down the passages of the house and inspecting every corner that might afford a retreat to my adversary…suddenly I heard a shrill and dreadful scream” (Shelley 185-186). Walking up and down a routine path is known as pacing, a common sign of anxiety. Victor’s fear of the monster’s presence causes him to inspect every aspect of the house instead of sticking by his lover’s side. The hyperbole of ‘checking every corner’ suggests that Victor wastes his time