Power Of Fear In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The Power of Fear Mary Shelley's Frankenstein relates one of the most chilling, thought-provoking novels narratives of all time. Two centuries of enamored readers have pored over her deliciously-twisted story. Shelley's novel highlights a myriad of themes exploring ambition, revenge, moral obligation, and familial bonds. We, as readers, are introduced to Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist who unearths the secret to innervating dead matter. He assembles a massive creature from human and animal remains and brings it to life. But his once tireless quest for artificial life turns into the terrifying realization of what he has done, and he flees in terror. The rest of the book examines the tragic behavior of both Frankenstein and his creature. Initially, this may appear only a scary monster story written to thrill and excite, but it is so much more. Frankenstein and his creature …show more content…
Poovey describes the work of Frankenstein as “a troubled, veiled exploration of the price… such egotistical self-assertion might exact.” (Poovey, 345). Frankenstein emerged out of Shelley’s fear of overconfidence and its consequences. Additionally, it directly points back to Shelley’s own mother, and her search for maternal love. So many themes and struggles can be clearly seen throughout this work. Poovey goes on to state that Shelley’s main goal was “to express and efface herself at the same time and thus, at least partially, to satisfy her conflicting desires for self-assertion and social acceptance.” (Poovey, 355). Frankenstein chose denial and his unacknowledged pain manifested itself as a terrifying creature. The creature chose isolation and was eventually consumed by the fire of rage. But Shelley chose to express herself in the form of Frankenstein, her creature, and in so doing she gained power over