The story of a creation cast down to a (both literal and metaphorical) hell is the basis of both John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is of no coincidence that the novel Victor’s monster comes upon and reads is Paradise Lost - from it the monster is able to find some kinship in a fictional tortured soul much like him who lost the safety of their creator’s realm and was thus left to essentially rot alone. The monster’s story echoes in many ways the story of Adam and the story Satan and his quest for revenge against God; together the two help demonstrate the futility of revenge and the terror and destruction that can come from the rage generated when one attempts to seek it.
The original sin mentioned in Paradise Lost …show more content…
In many ways, the monster sees Victor represented in Paradise Lost’s God, a ruler who “sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven” (Paradise Lost), represented to the monster as a place where love, acceptance,and companionship would be readily available. He, cast down from heaven much like Satan, concocts a plan for revenge in an attempt to defeat his maker and win a place back in heaven. However, it is the difference in motives between both Satan and the monster that help somewhat justify to the reader the monster’s actions. Satan’s reason for revenge against his creator was a desire for power, however, the monster’s was purely based on desire to be accepted and loved by his creator. Satan’s rejection was a source of inspiration to the monster; for instance, in the course of reading Paradise Lost and observing the family living in the cottage “Many times I [the monster] considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (Frankenstein). Being denied the ‘bliss’ that those he observed had, the monster took a metaphorical note from Satan and decided upon revenge as his only
The original sin mentioned in Paradise Lost …show more content…
In many ways, the monster sees Victor represented in Paradise Lost’s God, a ruler who “sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven” (Paradise Lost), represented to the monster as a place where love, acceptance,and companionship would be readily available. He, cast down from heaven much like Satan, concocts a plan for revenge in an attempt to defeat his maker and win a place back in heaven. However, it is the difference in motives between both Satan and the monster that help somewhat justify to the reader the monster’s actions. Satan’s reason for revenge against his creator was a desire for power, however, the monster’s was purely based on desire to be accepted and loved by his creator. Satan’s rejection was a source of inspiration to the monster; for instance, in the course of reading Paradise Lost and observing the family living in the cottage “Many times I [the monster] considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (Frankenstein). Being denied the ‘bliss’ that those he observed had, the monster took a metaphorical note from Satan and decided upon revenge as his only