Frankenstein Self Centered Quotes

“A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own.” -Percy Shelley This quote by Percy Shelley speaks about the importance of a person’s intentions and about the necessity of coming from a place of care and understanding of others. Mary Shelley incorporates this ideology in her novel, Frankenstein, through the character of Victor Frankenstein, a strong contrast to the man Percy Shelley describes a good man to be. She forges a character who distances himself from “the pains and pleasures of his species” and eventually is unable to connect with other humans. Constructing a self-centered character who is …show more content…
As Victor becomes consumed with his studies, he grows more distant with his family, “[he] paid no visit to Geneva”(pg.36), considering “the pursuit of discoveries which [he] hoped to make”(pg.37) more important. This distance distorts his view of himself, and he loses his ability to connect with people. Infatuated with the idea of being a creator, he inflated his own value, believing he was superior to others and detaching himself from the world, by locking himself “in a solitary chamber, or rather a cell at the top of the house”(pg.40),looking for the secret of life. Through these actions, Victor’s health deteriorated and led to his downfall, “[his] checks had grown pale with study, and [his] person had become emaciated with confinement”(pg.40). His declining health represented his self-made isolation from society as well. In addition, Victor abandoned his studies, continually obsessing over a way to cheat death. He continued to engage more deeply in the search for an elixir of life and began to consider himself as noteworthy, that he was able to find a way to bestow life, that “[he] alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a …show more content…
After Victor created the creature “unable to endure the aspect of being [he] had created, [he] rushed out of the room”(pg.43) focusing only on its outward appearance and going into a catatonic state of sickness. He completely disregards the fact that his creation has emotions, ignoring his responsibility to care for it and abandoning any future impact upon the world. Victor’s narcism radiates in this moment, exemplifying his downward spiral which leads to his undoing. This is once again demonstrated when the monster vows to “be with him on[his] wedding night’(pg.179) and seek revenge. Focused on his own well being, Victor disregards the true meaning behind the creature’s threat. Preparing to kill the creature he arms himself while neglecting Elizabeth, which ultimately leads to her death. Even after the creature destroys his family,Victor is consumed with a desire for revenge. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, retaining his narcissistic attitude to the bitter end. He continued to have an erotic self-interest in his intentions and a grandiose view of his talents. Still he showed no remorse at the end of his life asking Walton to “undertake [his] unfitted work”(pg.207), of killing the creature. Because of this unbalanced view, Victor ultimately faces his annihilation in