Dangers Of Science In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Improved Essays
Mary Shelley once wrote in her book Frankenstein, “Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful”. Today, we know Frankenstein as one of the first science fiction novels and an occult classic. Shelley wrote this novel when she was 18 while in Switzerland with her husband, sister, and their friend Lord Byron in the year 1816. She came up with the idea for Frankenstein during a scary story contest with her peers. This novel has many complex and interesting themes that not only link to the time in which it was written but also the topic being covered in our class. Frankenstein is relevant to today, was relevant to political and social concerns of the time, and my own life and goals. To put it simply, though Frankenstein was written hundreds …show more content…
The themes of romanticism included emotions/ irrationality, the dangers of science, and the exotic, occult, and the macabre. You can see these themes present at all points throughout the novel. The big one that is stressed throughout the entire novel is the dangers of science. Opposite to the enlightenment, people in the Romantic Era saw scientific and logical thought as bad or evil. Shelley represents this in Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the monster and the initial fear the monster inspires. Victor himself realizes the dangers of science after he makes the monster, when he is almost forced to make another, and when the monster kills everyone he loves. Which brings us to the next themes, emotions and irrationality. The novel is practically oozing with these two themes at all times. Irrationality when Victor is deliriously building his monster, emotions when his brother dies. The monster shows quite a bit of these two themes during his journey in the novel. Emotions are what guide him, desperation for someone to love him, disappointment that Victor doesn’t care for him, and anger for the injustice he believes Victor has committed against him are just a few. Irrationality is what comes from these emotions. This is seen in his framing of Justine, his killing of William, and then his killing of the two people who mean the most to Victor, Henry and Elizabeth. Finally, the monster was the living embodiment of the last themes; the exotic, the occult, and the macabre. Its scientifically impossible to reanimate dead tissue and so the occult is brought into the novel considering that Victor was able to do exactly that. Also, the constant connections of the monster’s appearance in conjunction with the moon ties into these themes. Frankenstein perfectly reflects the Romantic

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Victor and the monster he created both have a thirst for knowledge, isolation from society, a deep connection with nature, and vengeful tendencies seen throughout the novel. Victor from a young age was very ambitious and yearned for knowledge. This lead him to the study of biology at the university in Ingolstadt. He learns all he can from his professors and then further pushes the boundaries by learning the “secret to life”, thus creating the monster.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Some may consider Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein”, to be a horror, romance, or even science fiction. Although she has written other novels, “Frankenstein” is the most remembered (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Biography). This British science fiction novel has been adapted into several films and TV shows. The novel is told in the form of letters, but the perspectives are from Walton, Victor, and the Creature. The novel is about a skilled scientist, who in his search for greatness creates an abomination to nature and God.…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When Victor creates the monster, he abuses it, ultimately turning the monster against him and leads him to his death. That would translate very well into the real world. If something that was unknown was created and had potential to take many lives, it would do so; not knowing what advancements may do to the human population is extremely dangerous and must be under great care. Victor did not care for his monster, he did not stop his monster, and his creation was able to change the courses of many lives. Common sense is how people comprehend the world around them.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Scientific Mishap It’s 2015, right after the Deflatriots won the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning is in science lab/football arena in Antarctica. He has been practicing non stop. He has been throwing great passes.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vampires. Myth. Symbolism. These devices and ideas discussed in Thomas C. Foster’s, How to Read Literature Like A Professor, infiltrate literature of all forms back from the eighteenth century until modern day, by adding layers and layers of depth and density to a novel, consequently creating a long lasting resonance in our ever changing society. All readers have to do is simply look, ponder, and analyze.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Romantic era was a time period where many people valued imagination, intuition, and emotion, but they went against logic, reason and science. Romanticism was a social movement that was widely expressed in art and literature. I believe the novel, Frankenstein, was influenced by the Romantic movement, because throughout the novel and the film, “The Bride of Frankenstein”, Frankenstein’s monster is represented as a creature with feelings, consciousness and awareness. Many times in the film, Frankenstein’s monster is shown widely affected by the rejection he receives by everyone around…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Did you know that the novel Frankenstein efficiently combines many themes into one story? One of the themes portrayed in the exciting story of Frankenstein and his monster is that of nature. Nature is a hugely influential force that impacts her characters mood and view of life. Mary Shelley effectively shows the power of Nature by using the characters reaction to it by showing how Nature affects characters moods, and by describing the character’s moods from encountering Nature. One way Mary Shelley shows the power of Nature is by describing the characters reactions to it.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On the surface, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a novel about science going too far. Diving deeper, there were recurring themes about religion and mythology as Frankenstein tried to take on the role of God. Victor wanted to learn the secrets of immortality by creating life but did not think of the consequences, leading to his tragic downfall. He believed that knowledge was the greatest power to obtain, however, his pursuit of it, Victor disrupted the balance between nature and science, making him the author of all or the tragedies in his life. Despite Victor’s other sins, Shelley showed that trying to play God was his greatest crime.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The theme that’s portrayed in Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, is the lack of humanity that the monster portrays, which is still a problem that is present in today’s society. The society we live in has brought many tragic events in the life we live. Many lives of innocent individuals have been lost due to recent incidents, such as terrorism attacks. As in our society, the novel Frankenstein has a connection of how many lives have been lost due to inhumane choices. In relation to today’s society and in the novel are examples of how humanity has been lost to one another.…

    • 1820 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Is Scientific Advancement really beneficial? In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the plot conveys that a an extremely heightened passion for the sciences has very detrimental effects, as the tone in the early part of Victor’s narrative suggests. As a result, in a sequence of events, scientific advancement can unintentionally lead one to turn into a monster. As a result of numerous scientific advancements, many people are harmed. Therefore, while part of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein illustrates the benefits of scientific advancement, the bulk of the plot mostly conveys the potential detriment and destructiveness that comes with progress.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a gothic science fiction novel written in the 19th century about Victor Frankenstein’s creation of a grotesque and unnatural being and the misery that results for both Frankenstein and his monster. Victor, a bright and intelligent young man studying at university, becomes enamored by the quest to create life. After discovering the secret, he raids graveyards and morgues for materials to create a new life. Victor succeeds, but is disgusted and horrified by his creation upon its awakening and abandons it. As a result, the monster must learn about life and the world by himself.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While in the same breath confessing that it was through his scientific pursuits that had led him to such a tragic fate. Science and logic is bad while god and beauty is good. Two other elements of Romanticism consistent within the novel are: male friendship and the sense of the sublime. Both of which contribute greatly to the psyche of the main character, Victor Frankenstein. Perceived as the greatest of loves, the friendship between two men was exalted by Romantics for its purity of spirit and trustworthiness.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first murder of Victor’s brother William catches his attention and starts to become more aware of the conflict he has created. The monster brings physical pain to others by strangling them to death and Victor lives with the guilt. They are very similar which is why they share hatred for each other. Two beings with the same hatred yet different motives couldn't possibly get along. All Victor wants to do is forget the past and the monster’s existence prevents him from doing so.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Frankenstein’s main focus is from past to future. But the success is rewarded as a horrible situation. It is basically the Mary’s question to the thoughtless development of modern science. Frankenstein is a novel that is a work of fiction which explicitly deals with the effects of science on humanity. “Frankenstein” is horrific, it is not all about horror : most of “Frankenstein” deals with the amount of control that should exercised and the extent to which social boundaries should be pushed by scientists.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his narrative, and even in the following encounters Victor and Walton have with him, he is shown as a complex being with great capacities, such as intellect, eloquence, and sensitivity. He is prone to great love, empathy and compassion (as shown with towards the cottagers), as well as fear, rage and violence towards those who have wronged him (like Victor), displaying a humanity like any other person. Therefore, what drives the Creature towards his malevolent intentions and awful acts he commits is the experience of neglect, the knowledge of Victor’s hatred from the letters and encounters, and society’s dejection of his capabilities and humanity. By failing to care for, empathize with, and regard the Creature as a human being rather than a science experiment gone wrong, Victor generates tragedies for which he blames the existence of the being (because of him), instead of his disregard for its well-being in the very beginning of its life. Psychologically, the neglect of a parent towards their child early on results in problematic behavior later in life.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics