Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a fictional novel, which explores human pursuit of knowledge and their fascination with the creation of life. Shelley’s novel is written in an epistolary format, in which she executes her story through a chain of letters that are shared between Robert Walton and his sister discussing Walton’s expedition in the North Pole and his encounter with Victor Frankenstein. As the story unfolds, the readers understand the reasoning behind Frankenstein’s presence in the North Pole as he is on the search to find a “monster” he created himself, by playing the role of God while failing to uphold to its responsibilities along with misusing his knowledge of sciences. Shelley incorporates various biblical allusions in her novel
…show more content…
The author intentionally opts for words which hold significant meaning when seen through a religious/biblical aspect to further expand on her point, which at first may appear to be to portray Frankenstein as God after he creates a “monster” using, or perhaps misusing his knowledge, however, Shelley proposes another outlook which is to portray Frankenstein as Satan or a disbeliever. The author states, “I little expected in this enlightened and scientific age to find a disciple of Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus”. Although, the aforementioned quote seems conventional, Shelley’s usage of the word disciple as opposed to a student or follower is intentional as it taps into the religious references she makes throughout her novel. The word disciple is derived from Late Latin and comes from the word discipulus. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, Discipulus is explained as a “follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime”. In that aspect, a disciple can be defined as one of the twelve apostles who followed Jesus Christ. However, as a reader, one must question and refute the obvious claim that Shelley seems to be making of Frankenstein as God. Is Frankenstein God or rather a non-believer who tried to play God? If he was a real follower of Jesus Christ or had any faith of religion, he would comprehend the idea that the creation of life is the work of God and by choosing to not accept that and going ahead to replicate it, he is a
The author intentionally opts for words which hold significant meaning when seen through a religious/biblical aspect to further expand on her point, which at first may appear to be to portray Frankenstein as God after he creates a “monster” using, or perhaps misusing his knowledge, however, Shelley proposes another outlook which is to portray Frankenstein as Satan or a disbeliever. The author states, “I little expected in this enlightened and scientific age to find a disciple of Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus”. Although, the aforementioned quote seems conventional, Shelley’s usage of the word disciple as opposed to a student or follower is intentional as it taps into the religious references she makes throughout her novel. The word disciple is derived from Late Latin and comes from the word discipulus. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, Discipulus is explained as a “follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime”. In that aspect, a disciple can be defined as one of the twelve apostles who followed Jesus Christ. However, as a reader, one must question and refute the obvious claim that Shelley seems to be making of Frankenstein as God. Is Frankenstein God or rather a non-believer who tried to play God? If he was a real follower of Jesus Christ or had any faith of religion, he would comprehend the idea that the creation of life is the work of God and by choosing to not accept that and going ahead to replicate it, he is a