There is a fundamental ambition that all human beings possess inside of them. Certain levels of ambitions can give hope, which then provides the person with a more optimistic energy. However, once ambition begins to merge with greed, it may drive certain individuals to tragical extremes. This extreme situation describes the protagonists of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” who suffer through mental collapse and the death of their loved ones as a result of their unmanageable ambitions. The protagonist from “Macbeth”, from who the play was named after, and the monster from "Frankenstein" face emotional unrest because of their desires, which disrupts their conscience through instability of their thoughts as well
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With the hope of overpowering nature, Victor “…infuses a spark of being into the lifeless thing” (Shelley 105). As a side effect of achieving such an inhumane goal, he loses his most cherished friends and family members: his brother William; family friend Justine; his dearest friend Henry; his wife Elizabeth, and his father Alphonse. He feels as if he “… [has] lost everything and cannot begin life anew” (Shelley 78). He is in deep despair and is devastated because of all the people he has lost in his life. Also, the knowledge that he has played a key role in the death of his loved ones is also a misery that he must carry for the remainder of his life. In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth also encounters the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth. After hearing such disastrous news, he wishes that she could have died when he had more time to grieve; when “… there would have been a time for such a word” (5.5.16-17). While he focuses on gaining more power, his wife commits suicide. He feels guilty, and realizes that he has lost significant woman in his life. Lady Macbeth has always been a very consistent figure in his life, and the loss of his partner is what caused Macbeth to fully unleash himself into becoming a reckless and irrational person. Both Victor and Macbeth emotionally suffer because of the loss of their endearing friends and
With the hope of overpowering nature, Victor “…infuses a spark of being into the lifeless thing” (Shelley 105). As a side effect of achieving such an inhumane goal, he loses his most cherished friends and family members: his brother William; family friend Justine; his dearest friend Henry; his wife Elizabeth, and his father Alphonse. He feels as if he “… [has] lost everything and cannot begin life anew” (Shelley 78). He is in deep despair and is devastated because of all the people he has lost in his life. Also, the knowledge that he has played a key role in the death of his loved ones is also a misery that he must carry for the remainder of his life. In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth also encounters the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth. After hearing such disastrous news, he wishes that she could have died when he had more time to grieve; when “… there would have been a time for such a word” (5.5.16-17). While he focuses on gaining more power, his wife commits suicide. He feels guilty, and realizes that he has lost significant woman in his life. Lady Macbeth has always been a very consistent figure in his life, and the loss of his partner is what caused Macbeth to fully unleash himself into becoming a reckless and irrational person. Both Victor and Macbeth emotionally suffer because of the loss of their endearing friends and