"Frankenstein"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein". According to the paper, Victor Frankenstein is well-respected citizen of Geneva, Switzerland and is admired for his honesty and assisting those in need. But this paper shows how, as a scientist, he is obsessed with the acquisition of knowledge, the truth behind the laws of nature, and making eternal life possible he spends two years creating a creature in the likeness of a man by reanimating dead flesh.

From the Paper:

"Shelley reveals that Victor Frankenstein is completely fascinated with the natural world when she describes him: "It was the secrets of heaven and earth that he desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied him, still his inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in it highest sense, the physical secrets of the world" (Shelley 37). Theories of human life, in particular, obsessed him to the point at which he aspires to the god-like ability to bring life to an inanimate object (52). This passion drives him to turn his back on the emotionally human parts of existence, as he leaves his family and home in order to dedicate years to his goal. He spent all his time studying trying hard to understand the theory of life and tried to formulate how to recreate man after his death. He was deeply sorrowed when he sees a person dying that is why he devoted much of his time to study. At first, his main reason for trying to re-create a man was to help humanity but then as he was learning and craving more, his overwhelming desire to create something out of the knowledge he has gained gradually turns to egotism and the pursuit of personal glory. I believe myself destined for some great enterprise, he says, my feelings are profound, but I possess a coolness of judgment that fitted me for illustrious achievements (200). Soon enough, Shelley provides a hint that even his motives for defeating death are not to help humanity but to elevate himself over humanity: I was surprised that among so many men of genius who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret (51)."

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