The Monstrosity Of Frankenstein And Obsessio Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Frankenstein

Frankenstein was a man obsessed. By the age of thirteen, his fascination with finding the key to immortality had already overtaken his thoughts. In this pursuit, he viewed himself as one of the greatest scientists, equal to Isaac Newton and his successors. He believed he could not fail: any inadequacy would be attributed to his lack of experience. He ultimately isolated himself to work solely on his experiments, as “[his] mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose,” (49) claiming he would achieve more than any of his predecessors. This obsession and pride led to Frankenstein creating his monstrous creature. In his pride, he believed he would overcome the power of death; a new species would worship him as their creator. Once the creature was alive, he abandoned it, filled with disgust and horror. The creature would come to blame Frankenstein for all his pains, and become obsessed with terrorizing Frankenstein. The monstrosity of Frankenstein and his creature stem from their …show more content…
One of his best known quotes states that, “Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains” (The Social Contract). In his Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, Rousseau answers the question “Has the restoration of the sciences and the arts contributed to the purification of mores or to their corruption?” (Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts). He goes on to argue that the pursuit of science desensitized people to their natural, good state, and instead caused them to become slaves to meaningless burdens. Rousseau believed man was born inherently good, but by being introduced into society and the sciences, people become greedy and prideful. This idea is exemplified in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both Frankenstein and his creature were arguably good and free at one time. Through being introduced into society they developed pride, and knowledge led to obsessions, both of which turned them