Frankenstein’s Monster Bibliotherapy
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, the education of Frankenstein’s Creature comes chiefly from the four books he read: Milton’s Paradise Lost, Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, and Volney’s The Ruins. Reading these books, though increasing the Creature’s knowledge base, has a negative impact on his personality, making him despise the vices of mankind. There are other works that may have changed the Creatures outlook on life. Paradise Lost is a work regarding the early days of Earth in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Milton goes into greater detail than the Bible, explaining how Satan planned to take over Earth and banish Adam and Eve from Paradise. The book is filled with the sins of Satan and his demons, no doubt leaving …show more content…
Goethe wrote in modern-day Germany in the eighteenth century, a literary period known as “Sturm und Drang” (literally “Storm and Stress”). Knowing only the name of the period, one can easily guess the tone of his works. This applies to The Sorrows perhaps more than any of his other works. The protagonist falls in love with an already engaged woman, realizes he can never have her, and decides to kill himself. It’s no wonder why Frankenstein’s Creature has such a negative worldview! He says himself that he learned “despondency and gloom” from reading Goethe’s work. An alternative to this might be Voltaire’s Candide; or, Optimism. Candide travels all over the world making friends and being persecuted for everything under the sun. Ultimately, he ends up on a small farm in the Ottoman Empire, working with the people he met in his adventures and living a fulfilled life. It is in this satire that The Creature may have learned to ignore others’ reactions to him, and live life full of hope and the belief that all will work out in the
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, the education of Frankenstein’s Creature comes chiefly from the four books he read: Milton’s Paradise Lost, Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, and Volney’s The Ruins. Reading these books, though increasing the Creature’s knowledge base, has a negative impact on his personality, making him despise the vices of mankind. There are other works that may have changed the Creatures outlook on life. Paradise Lost is a work regarding the early days of Earth in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Milton goes into greater detail than the Bible, explaining how Satan planned to take over Earth and banish Adam and Eve from Paradise. The book is filled with the sins of Satan and his demons, no doubt leaving …show more content…
Goethe wrote in modern-day Germany in the eighteenth century, a literary period known as “Sturm und Drang” (literally “Storm and Stress”). Knowing only the name of the period, one can easily guess the tone of his works. This applies to The Sorrows perhaps more than any of his other works. The protagonist falls in love with an already engaged woman, realizes he can never have her, and decides to kill himself. It’s no wonder why Frankenstein’s Creature has such a negative worldview! He says himself that he learned “despondency and gloom” from reading Goethe’s work. An alternative to this might be Voltaire’s Candide; or, Optimism. Candide travels all over the world making friends and being persecuted for everything under the sun. Ultimately, he ends up on a small farm in the Ottoman Empire, working with the people he met in his adventures and living a fulfilled life. It is in this satire that The Creature may have learned to ignore others’ reactions to him, and live life full of hope and the belief that all will work out in the