Frankenstein
Man’s natural state, according to the philosophical pioneer Rousseau, is inherently good. Unadulterated by corrupt influences, man’s innate response is to do all things right, including keeping one’s duties. Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” solidifies this theory of a native righteousness in humanity, and provides the character of Dr. Frankenstein as a soul soiled by society, specifically his family. Victor Frankenstein, born into a wealthy, loving family, appears to be nurtured within an ideal environment; Victor is given the illusion of the quintessential example for responsible parenting. Yet Victor’s obsession with bestowing life on a demonic form and his neglect of the final creation stems from his supposed encouraging childhood. …show more content…
Victor’s first and greatest sin in neglect is his flagrant ostracism of the monster. The night of Victor’s awful bestowing of life upon the “wretch”, Victor experiences “horror and disgust” and “rushes out” of his lab, leaving the newborn alone and terrified. Additionally, Victor spends that night as far away as he can get, “not daring to return to the apartment” (42-44). The most basic responsibility placed on man’s shoulders, to care for those he brings into the world as his own, is disregarded. His nature corrupted in his youth, Victor is able to supersede a natural urge of responsibility, and in selfishness and negligence, leave an infant with no protector. So immersed in his own interests rather than his duties, Victor repeatedly runs from all responsibility that causes irritation. First hoping for an ephemeral escape, Victor runs to the ever present scenes of nature, praying for them to “divert my mind from the thoughts over which it had brooded” (81). As responsibilities mount though, Victor must beg for a permanent escape, asking for a higher power to “crush sensation and memory” and “take me away from the joys of life” (83, 132). Not only does the civilized, educated character of Victor neglect his duties, but he does so shamefully. Shamed introspectively, Victor …show more content…
Frankenstein, as oblivious as he may be towards it, is surrounded by such masses. The most directly apparent form of such responsibility to him is within his friend Henry Clerval, as Henry takes it upon himself to care for Victor when he falls ill following the conception of the monster. Although Clerval only visits Frankenstein in his travels to education, he finds himself as “all that time my only nurse” (46). Additionally and more outstandingly, the monster displays such signs of nobility. Opposing Rousseau’s philosophical theory of a noble savage – that humanity is inherently good unless corrupted by society – John Locke proposed the theory of tabula rasa. Latin for “blank slate”, tabula rasa states that all man is born with no inherent tendencies or attractions, neither good nor evil, and that society instills its values upon him. Thus established, the monster Frankenstein creates is the ideal tabula rasa because, with no human ties, genetics, or interactions, its persona is impressed purely by observation of society. Consequently, how the monster acts in regards to showing responsibility or neglect provides the clearest image of how society, as a whole, acts. Although the wretch displays wickedness through the entire course of the novel in its diabolic pursuit of inflicting pain upon its creator, it in no way shows acts of neglect. In
Man’s natural state, according to the philosophical pioneer Rousseau, is inherently good. Unadulterated by corrupt influences, man’s innate response is to do all things right, including keeping one’s duties. Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” solidifies this theory of a native righteousness in humanity, and provides the character of Dr. Frankenstein as a soul soiled by society, specifically his family. Victor Frankenstein, born into a wealthy, loving family, appears to be nurtured within an ideal environment; Victor is given the illusion of the quintessential example for responsible parenting. Yet Victor’s obsession with bestowing life on a demonic form and his neglect of the final creation stems from his supposed encouraging childhood. …show more content…
Victor’s first and greatest sin in neglect is his flagrant ostracism of the monster. The night of Victor’s awful bestowing of life upon the “wretch”, Victor experiences “horror and disgust” and “rushes out” of his lab, leaving the newborn alone and terrified. Additionally, Victor spends that night as far away as he can get, “not daring to return to the apartment” (42-44). The most basic responsibility placed on man’s shoulders, to care for those he brings into the world as his own, is disregarded. His nature corrupted in his youth, Victor is able to supersede a natural urge of responsibility, and in selfishness and negligence, leave an infant with no protector. So immersed in his own interests rather than his duties, Victor repeatedly runs from all responsibility that causes irritation. First hoping for an ephemeral escape, Victor runs to the ever present scenes of nature, praying for them to “divert my mind from the thoughts over which it had brooded” (81). As responsibilities mount though, Victor must beg for a permanent escape, asking for a higher power to “crush sensation and memory” and “take me away from the joys of life” (83, 132). Not only does the civilized, educated character of Victor neglect his duties, but he does so shamefully. Shamed introspectively, Victor …show more content…
Frankenstein, as oblivious as he may be towards it, is surrounded by such masses. The most directly apparent form of such responsibility to him is within his friend Henry Clerval, as Henry takes it upon himself to care for Victor when he falls ill following the conception of the monster. Although Clerval only visits Frankenstein in his travels to education, he finds himself as “all that time my only nurse” (46). Additionally and more outstandingly, the monster displays such signs of nobility. Opposing Rousseau’s philosophical theory of a noble savage – that humanity is inherently good unless corrupted by society – John Locke proposed the theory of tabula rasa. Latin for “blank slate”, tabula rasa states that all man is born with no inherent tendencies or attractions, neither good nor evil, and that society instills its values upon him. Thus established, the monster Frankenstein creates is the ideal tabula rasa because, with no human ties, genetics, or interactions, its persona is impressed purely by observation of society. Consequently, how the monster acts in regards to showing responsibility or neglect provides the clearest image of how society, as a whole, acts. Although the wretch displays wickedness through the entire course of the novel in its diabolic pursuit of inflicting pain upon its creator, it in no way shows acts of neglect. In