The Role Of Parental Abandonment In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The concept of parental abandonment in Frankenstein exemplifies the absence of maternal intimacy in Shelley 's life. The premature death of Shelley 's mother parallels the figurative death of Victor in the life of his creation. This denotes that Frankenstein is a personal commentary of the perilous scar one is left with upon the loss of parentage. Like Shelley, the motherless daughters of Frankenstein are subjected to a society of unbridled contempt, rejection and injustice. Furthermore, they are abandoned by a paternal figure. For example, upon the death of Elizabeth 's mother, her father concludes that he does not want her. After she is adopted by Victor 's family, she infects her adopted mother with scarlet fever. Mary Shelley 's father, William Godwin, valued her adolescent existence. However, when she autonomously chose to marry Percy Shelley, he deserted her. Similarly, Victor renounces his creation when he recognizes that it is not an object incapable of independent thought. Essentially, Victor 's creation is a representation of Mary Shelley. He is expelled from society, rejected by a paternal figure and bestialized by the patriarchy he was born out of. However, Shelley also illustrates the establishment of individual identity through the loss of the romanticized …show more content…
He is not content with a conventional scientific career. Rather, he seeks to answer the lingering questions of humanity and revolutionize the concept of empiricism. In his journey toward scientific idealism, he creates a monster which must be oppressed by the institutions of humanity. While the institutions of humanity are rooted in rationalism, they are also imperfect. This reveals Shelley 's belief that neither rational nor romantic experimentation will result in perfection. Rather, imperfect humanity will always conceive imperfect institutions and inventions of scientific