Victor Frankenstein, born into a wealthy Swiss family enjoyed an idyllic and indulged childhood. His parents were devoted to promoting his happiness: “I was their plaything and their idol. ” From what is revealed about his parents, it becomes clear that they took the responsibility of their parenting role very seriously. They viewed “their child…whose future lot it was their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me. ” An orphan named Elizabeth, who is a similar age to Victor, is adopted into the family and becomes a loved companion.
She is lovingly described by Victor as a “cherub,” who “shed radiance from her looks. ” Victor then describes his early curiosity and passion for natural philosophy. At the University of Ingolstadt, Victor gets caught up in an obsessive desire for the pursuit of knowledge, which becomes a substitute for the life he formerly knew. He describes this as “Chance or rather the evil influence, the Angel of Destruction…asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment I turned my reluctant steps from my father’s door.
” Victor’s aim was to “pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. ” This fateful decision “decided my future destiny. ” Philosophy and chemistry become his main focus areas and he spends most of his time in the laboratory, consumed by learning as much as he can about the “principle of life. ” He cuts himself off from family and spends two years totally absorbed with his work on human anatomy. From this we see the dehumanizing and degrading effect of isolation.
The Term Paper on Children Parents and Family needs
E1 Explain the needs of families which may require professional support. Families may have a variety of needs, in which they need professional support. Families with a large number of children may not have the required amount of living space, this could mean that children are sharing beds, or parents are not sleeping in a room. Children will lack of sleep are proven to concentrate less and develop ...
We can also see that death becomes a main feature of his work: “To examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death. ” Victor describes how death resulted in the “fine form of man” becoming “degraded and wasted” by the “corruption of death. ” Up to this part of the novel, we can see that Victor is a loving but self-centered person. He is aware of others but more focused on his own ambitions. After assembling the body parts taken from the dead, the monster is finally brought to life on a November night.
Instead of happiness and joy, Victor shows horror and disgust towards the monster that he just created: “I beheld the wretch-the miserable monster whom I had created” He flees the lab in terror, even though the monster has shown no sign of violence. Through the central chapters of the novel, we see how the monster is forced to flee and become an outcast. When the monster and Victor finally meet we discover that the monster is not actually evil. His actions were due to his suffering and how he was so heartlessly abandoned.
It is this rejection and loneliness that has made him so resentful. Victor’s language in speaking to the monster he created reveals a lack of restraint and discipline: “Devil…vile insect… abhorred monster…fiend. ” This reflects the lack of compassion and inhumanity we see when he isolated himself to create the monster. In contrast, the monster talks in a logical, calm and eloquent manner. The monster talks about his education and life, which arouses our sympathies.
