In the words of Mitch Albom, “All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers.” Parenting, much like cruelty, leaves an irrevocable mark. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Shelley uses cruelty to expose the contrast between the perpetrator and victim- proving that cruelty causes the victims to become abusers in their own right.
To analyze and understand the depth of Shelley’s usage of cruelty, some preliminary measures must be taken- namely, the definition of cruelty and its application in the novel. Cruelty, by nature, is either indifference to pain and suffering, or an action that causes it- both are present in the novel, and both subsets of cruelty work to aid …show more content…
As Victor states on page 40, “I need not describe the feelings of those whose dearest ties are rent by that most irreparable evil, the void that presents itself to the soul, and the despair that is exhibited on the countenance.” Victor’s focus after the event is on the rending of his dearest ties- the upset of his life and the lack of ability to change it. After this traumatic event, Victor falls down a path of emotional detachment and despair- and thus the cruelties of life in turn inspire him to perform his own acts of cruelty. Another act of cruelty that influenced Victor’s ideas and actions was during his studies at the University. This is most concisely expressed by this quote by Mr. Krempe on page 43, “ ‘Every minute,’ continued M. Krempe with warmth, ‘every instant that you have wasted on those books is utterly and entirely lost. You have burdened your memory with exploded systems and useless names. Good God… my dear sir, you must begin your studies entirely anew.’ “ In his time …show more content…
By the halfway point of the novel, Victor has become the antagonist and the monster the victim- which then, reverses. As Victor makes the monster, he abandons it- calling it on page 59, “the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.” Victor’s abandonment of the creature reflects his mother’s death early in his childhood, and the cruelty displayed by life there reflects in his own actions of abandonment- his shift from victim to perpetrator complete. After the abandonment of the creature, Victor shows other cruelties to him as well, such as refusing to reason with him, or make him a mate of any sort. By his cruel actions, Victor pushes the creature to commit his own atrocities, such as the murder of WIlliam, which the creature describes as, “... I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet. I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph.. ” The creature becomes a perpetrator of cruelty, and through his intentional actions causes harm to the Frankenstein family- cruelty in turn inspiring
To analyze and understand the depth of Shelley’s usage of cruelty, some preliminary measures must be taken- namely, the definition of cruelty and its application in the novel. Cruelty, by nature, is either indifference to pain and suffering, or an action that causes it- both are present in the novel, and both subsets of cruelty work to aid …show more content…
As Victor states on page 40, “I need not describe the feelings of those whose dearest ties are rent by that most irreparable evil, the void that presents itself to the soul, and the despair that is exhibited on the countenance.” Victor’s focus after the event is on the rending of his dearest ties- the upset of his life and the lack of ability to change it. After this traumatic event, Victor falls down a path of emotional detachment and despair- and thus the cruelties of life in turn inspire him to perform his own acts of cruelty. Another act of cruelty that influenced Victor’s ideas and actions was during his studies at the University. This is most concisely expressed by this quote by Mr. Krempe on page 43, “ ‘Every minute,’ continued M. Krempe with warmth, ‘every instant that you have wasted on those books is utterly and entirely lost. You have burdened your memory with exploded systems and useless names. Good God… my dear sir, you must begin your studies entirely anew.’ “ In his time …show more content…
By the halfway point of the novel, Victor has become the antagonist and the monster the victim- which then, reverses. As Victor makes the monster, he abandons it- calling it on page 59, “the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.” Victor’s abandonment of the creature reflects his mother’s death early in his childhood, and the cruelty displayed by life there reflects in his own actions of abandonment- his shift from victim to perpetrator complete. After the abandonment of the creature, Victor shows other cruelties to him as well, such as refusing to reason with him, or make him a mate of any sort. By his cruel actions, Victor pushes the creature to commit his own atrocities, such as the murder of WIlliam, which the creature describes as, “... I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet. I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph.. ” The creature becomes a perpetrator of cruelty, and through his intentional actions causes harm to the Frankenstein family- cruelty in turn inspiring