Category: Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein combines elements from Gothic literature and romanticism. Using the elements of fear, horror and gloom, Shelley combined these elements with the ideas of nature, beauty and emotions. Authors of this time created symbols of terror that were used during this period which included the wanderer, the vampire, and the seeker in their novels. Mary Shelly being part of this movement created her story Frankenstein to showcase how Frankenstein’s monster is considered a wander. The characteristics of the wanderer can be seen as living a life of horror and gloom, seeking knowledge and the acceptance of the world around them, and engulfing everything around them.

From the beginning of Frankenstein, Mary Shelly describes Victor Frankenstein as the wander. He leaves his family behind and begins a quest to seek more knowledge. With his quest, he believes that he has discovered the secret to life. With taking the body parts of the deceased he creates the monster. But the true wanderer of this novel is the doctor’s monster. The doctor first speaks of his monster in a letter to Mrs. Saville, describing his conversation with a stranger he met on the boat about his memory of the monster, “Will you smile at the enthusiasm I express concerning this diving wanderer?” (Shelley 12).

In most cases the wanderer is seen as a melancholy character, viewed as an individual that is unforgivable, even by God. The life of this individual is determined to be a life of rejection and darkness. “All men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things” (Shelley 68). The monster discovers the journal entries of the doctor and finds that not only does society reject and fear him, but his own creator cannot look at him because he is disgusted by the creation that he made. “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?” (Shelly 92). The monster finds himself in isolation, which turns into misery, creating such hatred for the doctor that it turns into revenge.

In this novel, the monster of Frankenstein is seen more as the wanderer than the Frankenstein himself. He was created with no humane characteristics such as a social behaviors and emotions. The monster wants to adapt to a more human lifestyle, in which he tries to learn their behavior and their language. “My thoughts now became more active, and I longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures” (Shelley 80). As the monster does wander and search for this new life, he gathers as much new knowledge of the world around him so that they will not shun or be attacked by society for the way that he is. Unfortunately, the monster does not succeed, and his drive for this new knowledge fails, and he seeks revenge.

Throughout the novel, the creature fails to become part of society. Not only is it the lack of knowledge, but society treats him as an outcast because of aesthetic reasons as well. He wanted to change the idea of humanity’s natural aesthetic, with feelings of warmth and kindess, because that was all the beauty that he could offer to the world. By destroying the innocence of the monster., he goes down the path of destruction and revenge. “For the first time the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom, and I did not strive to control them” (Shelley 99).

Doctor Frankenstein, a wanderer that is seeking the knowledge above everyone else, creates a monster without considering the consequences of his actions. This new creation carries the same characteristics of the doctor. The monster is rational and relies on impulses which leads him to commit acts of violence and destruction to the world around him.

The monster of Frankenstein is characterized as a wanderer in Gothic literature. Created by Frankenstein to show that old and new science can be used to create life. The monster created by using the limbs of deceased people, is left to find place in society. On his journey to seek knowledge, this monster of darkness, surrounded by the actions of destruction and revenge, is cast out of society because he distorts the whole of nature.

The film Bladerunner by Ridley Scott and the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley address the concept of nature verse nurture and the impact these two elements have on the human identity, on free will and memories. Through both texts it is clear that humans are not created evil but rather a product of their environment (nature), molded and morphed by experiences and relationships (nurture). If humanity is abandoned or neglected, destruction follows. “Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! The tortures of hell are too mild of vengeance for thy crimes” (Shelley, p. 94)

Shelley’s novel Frankenstein centres around a misunderstood creature who is judged for his appearance which causes him to wreak havoc and seek revenge on his creator. Lost and alienated with no real sense of identity, he is verbally abused and tormented, as a monster who has morphed into evilness as a result of his environment. “I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew and could distinguish nothing; but feeling pain invaded me on all sides, I sat down and wept” (Shelley, p. 97). It was not the monster’s ugliness which determined his neglect from humanity, but rather the sad truth that he was never taught how to be human, was never nurtured.

Elements of abandonment and neglect portray how the ‘Wretch’ feels throughout the novel. “What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them but dared not.” This shows the audience the creature’s desire to prove his good intentions and innocence that existed within, again highlighting the point that no one is born evil. These feelings however are contrasted later in the novel. As his environment gradually harshens so too does his identity. After his encounter with the De Lacy family, he comes to the sad realization that he will always live as a recluse from society. This sudden awareness leads to his dramatic change in behavior, and the creature (along with the reader) is left to ponder what could have been- “I should have imbued with different sensations ” (Shelley, p.117) thus showing the audience that his environment ultimately determined his identity and dictated his free will and memories. The reader is involuntarily forced to feel sympathy towards the monster and reminded that it was not his decision to be created “am I to be the only criminal when all humankind has sinned against me?” (Shelley, p. )

This idea of neglect is also emulated in Blade Runner through Tyrell, the creator of replicants. His abuse of technology and unquestionable power have left him with no compassion or love, caring only about control, with no consideration for his creation. Although he gives the replicants childhood and family memories, it is not because of a nurturing streak but rather a way to gain more power and control of his ‘offspring’. It is these memories which shape the way the replicants act. It is exemplified when Rachel, one of the more advanced replicants, comes to the sudden realisation that the memories she is experiencing, are not actually hers but a recreation of the creator’s niece. “Those aren’t your memories. They are somebody else’s. They’re Tyrell’s niece’s” (Deckard). They were not created by the environment in which she lives nor the relationships that she formed. They were merely an implant of someone else’s human experience. The pain reflected in Rachel’s face as she cries, not only endorses a human quality and reaction, but shapes her actions from here on. The motif of ‘Eyes’ is symbolic in reflecting the memories and past experiences. They embody the notion that they not only see but reveal who we are, our identity. Human qualities are also reflected in Roy Batty, who like Frankenstein’s monster, struggles against an oppressive ruling authority who created him and who rejects his appeal for ‘more life’. Although a violent killer, he is a loving and kind person who forms deep relationships and fights to save those he cares for. The replicants are mere products of the Tyrell Corporation, a product of their environment. In society and highlighted in Scott’s film, we are accustomed to believing that the creator is the sole owner and therefore has the authority to use and discard of its creation any way it chooses. Kant, a German Philosopher in the Age of Enlightenment, suggests it is morally wrong to use ‘persons’ as mere means, as slaves but rather aspire to create humanity. Ir

“If our efforts in AI result in creatures that can be considered sentient, then they deserve their full freedom, including the freedom to harm humans should they choose to do so.”( )

This emphasises the neglect shown by Tyrell, which impacts on the behaviours of the replicants, mirroring that of Frankenstein’s creature. It once again shows that one’s environment, relationships and memories mould an individual, and that good intentions and innocence are lost if not nurtured. Ironically, the replicants’ motto ‘More Human than Human’ reminds the audience that although their makeup is artificial, they desire freedom and more life from their environment. A human response that is born from a relationship with nature and interaction with others.

Scott uses a dark dystopia in Blade runner to comment that there is nothing natural about its world, all nature has been so completely destroyed, life has moved to “off world colonies”. This is represented in the film by massive smokestacks emitting pollution, empty neon lights, gently falling acid rain, and masses of people suggesting a hell on Earth. This reference to the destruction of the environment is poignant as it supports the concept that we are products of our environment. If our environment is destroyed, it is because of man-made causes, which is a reflection of the humans neglect and abuse of their surroundings. A controversial debate that still lingers in 2020. Shelley also comments on her decaying society through the monster. The monster, although not considered human, is the one that connects with nature.

Both creations become the tragic hero at the end of the texts. In the moment of his termination, Batty recognizes the value of life in his final act of saving Deckard. In the same way, Frankenstein’s creature cleanses himself of wrongdoing in a sacrificial fire. Without his creator, he cannot go on. The hatred and revenge that once held the two together in a tangled connection is revealed to be an even deeper love, the created has for the Creator who abandoned and deserted him. This surprises the audience and reader as we are forced to reconcile that such a tormented environment and a lack of regard has resulted in the greatest display of affection, despite the hardships and isolation that has been endured by both the monster and the replicants. Shelley’s caution “Be more than men” and Scott’s “our motto is more human than human”, has rung true and is the closest the creations will come in possessing a human like soul.

Both Shelley’s Frankenstein and Scott’s film Bladerunner execute the concept of how our human identity is shaped by the environment and the relationships we encounter. Our surroundings influence the type of person we become, as evident in the creature and Roy Batty. Our memories are formed by the experiences we have and our free will can only be determined by the liberties given to us. If we abuse those liberties and authority, it will result in destruction of humanity and our environment. Both Frankenstein and Tyrell are evidence of such abuse of authority. Both texts challenge us, as a society, to reflect on what it means to be human and identify ways we can value and show regard for the environment in which we live (nature), and the relationships that we form (nurture). We are products of our environment and not valuing these gifts can only result in devastation.

“I have love in me the likes in which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe if I cannot satisfy one I will indulge the other.”

Abstract:

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: or Modern Prometheus has always been the focal point in dealing with the shifting paradigms of humanity and monstrosity. The critical question is there- Is the ‘creature’ really a monster or is he essentially human? It is most notable that throughout the novel the creature has been degraded by other people, mostly by his own creator Victor Frankenstein, as something which can never be a part of humanity. This sense of alienation has caused the monster to commit inhuman murders and, also, it has created, within him, an urge to sacrifice his own life after his so-called revenge or the death of his creator. The creature’s rejection of his own life can be seen as a failure of the society to accept anything as ‘human’ which is different. At the same time, Steve Niles in his ‘Frankenstein Alive, Alive’(2018) has attempted to continue the story which Mary Shelley left open-ended. In his attempt, the primary focus is on the creature’s acceptance of the value of his life and, eventually, his humanity.

This paper would attempt to analyze the role of the society to victimize the creature as a monster based on the tone of ‘ugliness’ and the gradual understanding of the monster of his own growing humanity through inner conflicts and self-scrutinizing.]

Mary Shelley gave her mad scientist the ultimate power to create life. And Victor Frankenstein wasted no time in creating the iconic monster figure, his ultimate experiment:

‘I began the creation of a human being.'(53)

‘Frankenstein: or Modern Prometheus’ is a novel that aimed to answer questions that were confusing for the contemporary readers of Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley herself was confused in some situations. Throughout the novel, she left no loose ends. But, the end of the novel represents something other than a symmetrically woven plot. We will discuss the topic later as it is the center point of the paper.

Frankenstein was published in 1818 and brought with it a thick smog of ideas telling the society to confront the unthinkable. Knowledge is power-it can be a godly bliss or a hellish curse. The story of the novel hangs between two spheres as there is no pure positivity and negativity in the novel. ‘Frankenstein’ is fuelled by the sense of alienation. From the beginning, the readers find that ‘knowledge’ is the poisonous wine for both Victor Frankenstein and his creation. We can say that they are the two sides of the same coin. They cannot live without each other, yet they have to live without each other.

In 1831, in her introduction to the novel, Mary explained that her intention was to, ‘Speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror.’ Frankenstein as a gothic novel plays with the concepts of fear, taboo, and doom. Dr. Frankenstein violated the law of nature by experimenting with death and life. Not only he played with the power of the Omnipotent, but also he created a creature with superhuman abilities. The atmosphere was full of thunder and storms which led to the tragic tone of the novel. But, Mary Shelley was a romantic like her husband, and we find the instances throughout the novel. The descriptions of Mother Nature at her fullest beauty give the novel a romantic flavor. We can argue that the novel is a hybrid of the concept of gothic and romanticism. A part of the novel is surrounded by human emotions and compassion which are the essence of romanticism. The themes of humanity and alienation are blended together to impregnate the story with a mythical context of the modern period. The monster itself is a product of romanticism as it represents social rejection and taboo.

Now, when we have discussed romanticism and its connectivity with the novel and the presentation of humanity, we will come to the center point of the paper: Is the monster or the creature human? To understand this we have to analyze the utter loneliness of the monster as well as his attempts to socialize himself. Victor Frankenstein created his monster out of death and nothingness:

‘It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.'(57)

The mad scientist said that he would create a human being. But at the same time, he was saying that he had used a ‘lifeless thing’. So, he used a ‘thing’ to create a human life. He was himself alienating his creation. His ‘human being’ is distinctly inhuman for him. The term ‘being’ has been used by Victor and it is an ‘abstract’ term. But it is not human in any way possible. From every description given by Victor it is clear that the monster is an object:

‘…by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open, it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.'(57)

The word ‘it’ has been used by Victor and ‘it’ possesses yellow dull eyes. The image creates an eerie feeling among the readers. The movements of the creature were not lifelike, they were mechanized to some extent. We don’t feel that it is a natural life. The readers, along with Victor, memorize the monster as an object:

‘How can I describe my emotions at the catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great god! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and straight black lips.'(57)

It can be sensed that before giving the creature life, the lifeless body was acceptable to Victor. It was ‘dead’, so it was okay. But when it gained life the same ‘body’ became the point of hatred and disgust for him. He became sick seeing his monstrous creation:

‘The different accidents of life are not as changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this, I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured; and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness.'(57)

So, to Victor, his creature is a failure. He attempted to create a human being. But, what he created was a ‘miserable wretch’. And Mary Shelley, from the beginning of the novel, tried to show her readers, or rather, misled her readers that the creature was ‘non-human’. But the whole concept has a double meaning. Through Victor, Mary was creating an ‘inhuman’ image for the creature, only to destroy it and restore the humanity in the monster.

At first, the consciousness of the monster was like a blank slate-‘tabula rasa’. He didn’t know about his own identity. After he fled from the house of Victor Frankenstein, his experience started. He found the laws of nature intriguing and refreshing. Now, at this point, we start to see the contrast between the earlier portrayal and the current portrayal of the monster. Now, he is not evil to us anymore. So, it is a continuous process of realization. Gradually the inner layers are getting revealed. The monster was deeply moved by the natural scenes he was experiencing for the first time:

‘How miraculous did this appear!the huts, the neater cottages, and stately houses engaged my admiration by turns.'(106)

The mood of the monster was gay and joyous like a little child. But he was aware that the people were behaving awkwardly seeing him. They were afraid. But he didn’t know why. Like Victor, the people were seeing him as a monster only. They were, totally, neglecting his ‘little and developing humanity’. But, it was not the fault of the creature, but the fault was in the part of Victor Frankenstein and the other people.

At first, the monster was not aware of the situation. But his encounter with the ‘cottagers’ gradually opened his eyes. He was different from the rest of humanity. It awoke within him the questions about self-identity:

‘My person was hideous, and my stature gigantic: What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was destination?'(128)

Frankenstein’s monster was himself, questioning his humanity. We understand that he is as human as the rest of humanity. Now, the only way to prove his humanity to the ‘cottagers’ or to other people, for the monster, was to learn the mode of communication. Throughout history, mankind has developed the processes of communication to express themselves more clearly. Through his experiences with the cottagers, the monster had found out that only by learning how to communicate he could express his emotions and intentions to the cottagers:

‘…for I easily perceived that, although I eagerly longed to discover myself to the cottagers, I ought not to make the attempt until I had first become master of their language; which knowledge might enable me to make them overlook the deformity of my figure.'(113)

Education or knowledge can be a way of making the monster more humanized. Maureen McLane, in her essay ‘Literate Species: Populations, ‘Humanities’, and Frankenstein’, explores the dimensions:

‘Shelley’s corporeally indeterminate but decidedly literate monster asks us to consider whether literature- taken in all its bearings- was or is indeed a useful ‘line of demarcation between’ human and animal. The fate of the monster suggests that proficiency in ‘the art of language’, as he calls it, may not ensure one’s position as a member of the ‘human kingdom’. Shelley shows us how a literary education…presupposes not merely an educable subject but a human being.’

So, the monster’s failure at showing, to the cottagers, his humanity is directly related to the issue. Though Shelley was trying to express that the knowledge and language could connect the monster with the rest of humanity, she also showed that the monster was unable to cross the boundary line between monstrosity and humanity. It was not the fault of the monster, but the prejudice of humanity itself.

To the monster, the concept of family and love was being cleared up gradually. He longed for kindness and love of the cottagers. Though he was in hiding, still he became a part of the lives of his fellow beings in the cottage, of their sadness and happiness:

‘I had been accustomed during the night, to steal a part of their store for my own consumption; but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained, and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots, which I gathered from a neighbouring wood.'(111)

This ‘humanity’ of the monster was attacked by the cottagers when Felix used the stick to beat him mercilessly. The creature’s hopes were shattered. Not only the cottagers but also his creator had rejected his humanity. The monster’s rage and anger were not the outburst of his devilish nature. He had murdered William, Henry, and Elizabeth. Those murders were a crime indeed. But they, necessarily, did not condemn him as an ‘evil being’. Revenge and crime is a part of the human psyche. The monster took revenge on his creator for his miserable condition. He was also aware of the fact that he was committing crimes, yet he continued to torment Victor Frankenstein (because of his emotional outburst). But in the midst of this, we also see the act of kindness done by the monster:

‘I was scarcely hid, when a young girl came running towards the spot where I was concealed, laughing, as if she ran from some one in sport. She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly her foot slipt, and she fell into the rapid stream. I rush from my hiding-place; and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore.'(140)

The creature was being rejected by ‘the humanity’ continuously. Yet, he was being more human only to be attacked again:

‘On seeing me, he darted towards me, and tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood. I followed speedily, I hardly knew why; but when the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired.'(141)

And yet again the monster’s humanity faced the hateful rejection of mankind. All the crimes the monster had committed can be seen as his crusade against his creator or so-called mankind. But that doesn’t make him less human. We can say that the monster fought back. And he was aware of the consequences. With the death of Victor Frankenstein, he aimed to erase his hateful existence. The monster knew that with the death of his creator the vicious circle was nearly complete. He only needed to die to make the circle whole:

‘I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly, and exult in the agony of the torturing flames.'(223)

According to Chris Baldick, the creature ‘has no mechanical characteristics, and is fully a human creature;..not as a machine, a robot, a helot, or any other labour saving convenience, but as the Adam of a new race which will love and venerate its creator.’ The monster was not inherently evil. His evil deeds were born out of misery and despair. He was human, fully capable of emotional interaction. With the death of Victor, the monster chose self-annihilation. But, was it the end?

There are several digressions about what happened after the original story. The novel by Mary Shelley is open-ended and has led to many parallel alternate storylines. One of the most notable among them is ‘Frankenstein Alive, Alive’ by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson. It is a graphic novel published in 2018. But why is it important and from what perspective? There are many critical theories and essays regarding the ending of the novel. This graphic novel can play a crucial role, among them, because it has a direct connection with the ending of the original story. It starts with the monster being a part of a circus where he had learned to accept the harsh truth that he was a monster:

‘I am never what they expect…So I have also learned it is always best to give them what they expect.’

The story revolves around the monster’s inability to die and his inner turmoil as he was being haunted by his creator’s ghost who was continually reminding him of his crimes and wretchedness:

“Frankenstein! You’ve come back from Hell to devil me in my final hour!’

It is not actually Victor Frankenstein’s ghost, but the monster’s own consciousness that was tormenting him and telling him to repent for his murderous acts by self-sacrifice:

‘But I did not let the spectre alter my course. Death, or any semblance of it, was my destiny.’

Being unable to die after attempting several tries, the monster became doomed to walk on the surface of the earth with all his guilt. But we can easily understand that this sense of guilt was the example of his ‘humanity’. He continually struggled because of it. It was the moral battle between him and his past crimes which makes him more human. When the monster came into contact with Dr. Simon Ingles, his first thought was that he had found a person who could overlook his deformity and look into his inner humanity. But he was shocked when he found out about Dr. Ingles’ terrifying experiment to create a life by sacrificing a just born child. He was pulled towards a vicious struggle of emotions. He became more concerned about his humanity:

‘I thought of the volumes I read, so many tales of human torment and death, but also of selflessness and bravery. Was this riot in my mind a reflection of the monster I was, or of the human I was becoming? And that thought terrified me more than any other…was I becoming one of them and less the monster Victor had made?’

His humanity prevailed against the continuous onslaught of the society who condemned him as the monster. And it was that humanity which had led the monster to rescue the pregnant lady from Dr. Ingles’ prison. And when the baby was born, his viewpoint had totally changed:

‘I had for so long been surrounded by death and now, in the swirl of a winter storm, held life in my hands.’

The monster became aware of his existence for the first time. And this awareness ultimately led to his desire to live. We can see this as the triumph of his humanity. The meaning of humanity is to understand and sustain life. With this understanding, the monster not only had preserved his humanity but also achieved a higher position than the rest of humanity:

“But even if not a man, I am still alive…and any creature of this world, whether born by science or sorcery, deserves to live.’

Why was the monster rejected by humanity? The reason was simple because he was ugly. But the term ‘ugly’ is not as simple as it seems. Denise Gigante, in her ‘Facing the Ugly: The Case of ‘Frankenstein’ ‘, writes, ‘In fact, in Frankenstein, the term ‘ugly’ emerges at the precise point when the speaking subject is about to be consumed by such incoherence.’ She roots out the cause of the monster’s monstrosity when she says, “Thus while it is couched in admittedly boyish terms, William Frankenstein’s fatal encounter with the Creature- ‘monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me, and tear me to pieces’ (F, 169) -contains a fundamental insight into the nature of ugliness itself: the ugly is that which threatens to consume and disorder the subject.’ So, all the people including Victor feared the monster because he was different. He was tall, he was strong and he was ugly. To Victor and to other people he was just a plague ready to destroy the natural flow of life. it was not necessary for them to see past the monster’s outer appearance. The monster tried, again and again, to prove that he had all the good qualities of mankind to get their approval. He begged. But the only thing he was able to get was the feeling of otherness. When the monster murdered Victor’s family, Victor condemned him as evil. But in reality, the monster’s thirst for revenge is also a part of human nature. But his murderous intensions were the by-products of his failure to acquire love. The monster knew that love was the source of all happiness. That is why he asked Victor to create a female monster for him as he knew only another creature like him might accept him:

‘My vices are the children of a forced solitude that I abhor;and my virtues will necessarily arise when I live in communion with an equal. I shall feel the affections of a sensitive being, and become linked to the chain of existence and events, from which I am now excluded.’

Jeanne M. Britton, in her essay, ‘Novelistic Sympathy in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ has summarized that the monster only wanted a ‘sympathetic companionship’, but he was unable to find it and it can be seen as the outcome of ‘the failure of social sympathy’.

A significant theme within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the effects of appearances as a result of societal expectations. Our current society does not differ from the environment depicted within Frankenstein as individuals form certain prejudices of one another exclusively based on appearances. Social partiality is regularly established on looks: skin color, expressed gender preference, style of clothes or even particular mannerisms. People make momentary decisions dependent on these social constructs of what normal is, and as a result, this superficial perception guides the initial reactions demonstrated in every new interaction. Our society draws parallels with that of Frankenstein’s in that it values appearances, and such prejudices produce a silently unwelcoming world to those who may not fill the cookie-cutter mold of “normal”. Victor Frankenstein’s creature’s humanity and lack thereof brings the discussion of appearance and acceptance to light, thus provoking the question of our blind-reliance on the deceiving nature of “good” looks.

Individuals all need to be acknowledged in the public eye for their scholarly and physical capacities. Allowed a few people aren’t perceived for their capacities yet acknowledgment is fundamental. On the off chance that an individual isn’t acknowledged by society, the person turns into an untouchable like the creature in Frankenstein. The creature looks for acceptance and comfort after getting his new life, yet, Victor Frankenstein was ‘unable to endure the aspect of the being he had created, he rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing his bedroom chamber, unable to compose his mind to sleep.’ The creature’s very own maker won’t give him a chance because his appearance is so repulsive. The creature was outcast by his own “parent”, whereas newborn children are welcomed into their loving families. When the creature watches the people in the cabin, he is motivated to learn the language just to be acknowledged, only to be dismissed again, harsher each time. Then the creature threatens Frankenstein to make a female partner, giving him someone to be within this desolate, brutal world.

The greatest similarity between Frankenstein’s and our society is the momentary judgment dependent on appearance. The maker of the beast, Victor Frankenstein, additionally passes his view dependent on appearance. This ghastly animal was thought by numerous individuals to be a shrewd, unintelligent being established upon looks. ‘I observed the lowlife the hopeless beast whom I made.’ This statement expressed by Frankenstein, remarking alone creation, accepting that this animal was immaterial. Additionally, the creature’s appearance persuades that its conduct is unethical and merciless. One of the most significant responses is from the old man in the cabin,’… perceiving me [the monster] shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly seemed capable.’ This judgment was out of dread of his life, right around a reflex to spare his life. The beast’s loathsome appearance resulted in the same response from all the individuals around him. For instance, locals were tossing rocks and pushing the creature away. Initial impressions are a large part of society but they’re greatly influenced by superficial and most often, inaccurate biases. There are countless instances of racial profiling whether it is associating African-Americans with danger or Muslims with terrorism. It’s all apart of the toxic yet prevalent stereotypes instilled within society from the media representation or lack of, of these minority groups.

Having read the novel Frankenstein, I feel that religion and science are counterpoints to each other throughout the novel. There is a constant flow between science and religion that can be found in the characters at once in opposition and at other times in harmony.

At first, we find Walton the one who brings Frankenstein’s story to us, is himself an explorer, a scientist of sorts on a quest for knowledge but wanting friendship and love. He, through his telling of Victor’s story, is sharing the tales of creation, tragedy, jealousy, consequences, and death as we see in the stories of the Bible. It is interesting that Walton begins his journey in a place called Archangel. A hint to the foreshadowing of the story that is about to be told. He also rescues Frankenstein from death “benevolence restored me to life”. (Letter 4). Is this a suggestion to Jesus’ miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life? (John 11:1–44)

Victor’s early intense interest in Cornelius Agrippa and his fellow philosophers/scientists is where we are introduced to the first spark of desire for scientific knowledge and his acceptance of the supernatural of possibilities. (Frankenstein, Ch.2). His interest in these theories is shunned by both his father who he loves and respects and Professor Kremp at Ingersol. Wanting to prove himself to them and make a name for himself, he pursues discovering what is possible and leaves everything else behind, including people he cared for such as, Elizabeth. His love for science becomes an obsession.

Victor creates a human, not in his own image, but appreciably bigger and perhaps better. What is more God-like than the act of creation? Victor is motivated by the fact that he was chasing the impossible of bringing the dead back to life. (Frankenstein Ch.4). Victor’s ego and the certainty of his greatness are very apparent. The creature somewhat resembles Victor based on the fact that Victor’s ego is big and ugly just as the creature turns out to be both physically and mentally. We begin to see some of the seven deadly sins play out in both their personalities, with envy and pride.

As the creator, Victor should have acted as the father and the mother of the creature, but he utterly fails in both roles, causing the creature to feel like he has nobody to go to. (A Child’s Mind, Ch. 5). Victor as a scientist is almost anti-love and feeling as scientists are very orderly and precise. The act of creation and perfection was what Victor was striving for not emotional connection in the sense of love. The act of creation is a means to an end in science but is the genesis and the emotional ties in most religions.

When Victor rejects the creature and abandons him the creature turns into a revengeful killer motivated by his abandonment and loneliness. Like Lucifer who was banished from heaven by God and cast away, the creature was rejected and forced to fend for himself. (Isaiah 14:12).

After killing William and additionally the consequence of being responsible for the execution of Justine, she is the most religious character in the novel, the creature wants absolution from Victor, his Creator. Victor in turn feels responsible for these deaths. He wants to eradicate that which he created. This is the ultimate desire for eye revenge.

We see that the creature is a scientist looking for knowledge so that he can survive and ultimately belong. His studies cover a vast number of subjects. As he learns he seems to grow and evolve emotionally, more than Victor ever does. I felt sympathy for the creature because he understood better and knowing what was good, he wanted people to treat him as a person not as a monster. You see this when he spends his time watching the cottagers and helping them when he could, He learns what love looks like when he is near them. In the end, however, he burns down their home and ruins the land once he is rejected. (A Child’s Mind, Ch.4). Fire is what Prometheus stole and gave to humankind and he was punished for it. Here the monster destroys what he had created in his mind as his ideal home.

Before the death of Elizabeth, Frankenstein still has some sympathy for the creature. He begins to create a companion for him. Again, thinking like a scientist he realizes that the future could not be controlled and therefore he could not duplicate another creature that would kill like the monster he had already created. Frankenstein had too much pride to have this as his legacy,

Mary Shelley used a lot of biblical words such as “apocalyptic” or “mortal speed” expressed in Ch. 23 “the creature had more than mortal speed” She suggests that as Victor ran in pursuit of the creature, he felt that the spirits were helping him. She even has Victor and his father enter the port of Holyhead.

This story also creates images of a David and Goliath battle and certainly, the theme of good and evil runs through the novel. Victor suffers and loses a lot, just like Job. Unlike Job, he does not stay loyal to his belief in God or humanity but rather wants to destroy what destroyed his life. (The Book of Job).

Science and religion are not outwardly spoken of as in conflict in this novel. The characters however possess characteristics that cause the conflict of these two themes. Victor represents science, he rarely talks of love, takes advantage of his friendships, wants to be known for great achievements, and lets his ego rule his emotions. He justifies his failings through science. Science is a very singular pursuit that tends to develop a man with a large ego.

The creature on the other hand wants knowledge so that he can relate to and help others. He wants to share his life and talk of love and beauty and family. The creature wants to be seen as a man, not a monster. He points out to Walton that Satan had friends, while he could not have any because of how he was created. (The Book of Job). Called Satan at times by his creator, the monster is an archangel. Although he killed, he is a sympathetic character who knows best and has a sense of love. He tells Walton that when he dies no one will remember he existed.

Just as we struggle today in relating religion to scientific principles, Shelley seemed to try to tell a story that balanced these themes. As the monster drifts off on the raft at the end of the novel he says, “I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds.” (Frankenstein, pg.277). Is this the ultimate “ashes to ashes and dust to dust” reference?

The gothic novel ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley and Robert Frosts poetry, each examine the theme of nature. Both these texts do so in order to explore and convey the feeling of the reader and main character as well as portraying the effects of neglecting nature. Frankenstein relates human connection with nature with his idealistic representation of nature in contrast to the disgrace that is The Monster. Shelley displays her characters in specific natural settings to show the contrast between nature and manmade. However, Robert Frost uses rustic settings to replicate experiences and decisions people create throughout their lives, shown through his poetry ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ and ‘The Road Not Taken’. Though both Mary Shelley and Robert Frost have different writing styles, they both use imagery through nature to express how an individuals role in nature can depend on how they view their surroundings.

Robert Frost was one amongst the few leading poets of the 20th-century and won the Pulitzer Prize four times. Frost was a writer from a geographically rural area, however poetry can be associated anywhere around the world. In the poem “The Road Not Taken” nature comes into play when Robert Frost introduces the reader to a traveler that comes to a stop at the site of a crossroad in yellow woods (Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both). The traveller of the poem is left to the decision of which path to take. (And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth). This indicated that the woods are thick and the road disappears into the undergrowth in the distance. The undergrowth is a representation that the travellers future is unclear by which road he takes. In this poem there is a contradiction that one path is less travelled than the other. As a final result to the decision of which path to take, the traveller comes to the solution the the final destination is based upon chance and choice.

Robert Frost’s poetry shows the uncertainty to gaining a different result if another road was taken. The title suggests a feeling of doubt, where the road not taken is mentioned in higher regard than the actual course taken. The traveller misses the chance to “Travel both, And be one traveller” , One path functions as the chosen way and the other the other way, both paths have no indication of which is better to travel. So, “with a sigh”, the traveller says that he took advantage of the opportunities that were given to him. Taking the chosen path has “made all the difference”. The decision that decided the traveler’s overall course to the result that the other road could’ve pointed the speaker to go in the complete opposite direction.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is a much stronger poem than it may appear when first read. From the first few lines we knew this poem is being recited from the speakers point of view. (“Whose woods these are I think I know”). Robert Frost’s love of nature is expressed through out the poem through setting. His description of the snowy woods brings a clear image into the readers minds. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep”, the way that Robert Frost describes the woods makes it seem as if the reader were actually there. The feel of Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is set up by “the only other sound’s the sweep, Of easy wind and downy flake” which is the first line in the poem that talks about the actually woods. The traveller sees something in the woods that attracts him making the woods a special place, we don’t know what this is though, it may be the tranquility or the unknown. The traveller knows that he is not able to stay though ,(“But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep”), The traveller doesn’t want to leave the woods, but he made other promises that he needs to keep. Robert Frost repeats the last two lines on the poem (“and miles to go before I sleep”), This could be to put emphasis on the significance of the promise that was made, and make the traveller convince himself to leave the woods.

In these two poems, Robert Frost’s main focus is on nature, and his perception of the beauty on it. Frost uses nature to communicate his views and to give his poetry more depth. His poems make it easy to image the setting in your mind because of the detail it gives.

In Frankenstein, Victor visualizes science as a mystery to be an inquest, includes the secrets discovered. His entire deliberation with creating like is concealed in secrecy, and his obsession to destroy the creature is a secret until Walton hears his story. But Victor continues his secrecy in guilt. The creature is forced into desolation because of its different appearance. Whereas Walton serves as a final confessor for both, their mysterious relation became immortal in letters of Walton. It shows idealized romantic depictions of the natural world. Victor escapes the sultry secret that ruined his life and the creature took advantage of Walton’s presence to prove the human connection and he was hoping that at least now someone can understand his tragic existence.

It revolves around Victor’s inability to understand that his actions have replications. He looks like focuses on his own goals but fails to see how his experiments affect other individuals and denied taking responsibility of his actions affecting nature. There are different phases in the novel which depict this firstly when Victor engaged himself in studies at the University of Ingolstadt by going against his family and ignoring the decision of his fiancée. And another phase was when Victor hung up on his decision to make a monster and wanted success in discovering the creature. He never stopped thinking of his creation about the different experiences he was going to have after making the monster. His passion was not considering anything else. The incrementing action of his project to make a creature is running from the room. This shows that Victor didn’t care about moral values and responsibilities because he was responsible for creating creature and giving him a life, but he was not satisfied with his creation and he simply rejects it without any thinking of humankind or his passion to create a monster.

After all the incidents the conflict increases when Victor puts a false prediction on Justine for murdering his brother which shows that Victor was not a responsible person. He knows about the creature but as always failed to take responsibility. When Victor ends up meeting to creature and creature tells him the story about his sufferings and loneliness. This is another incident of Victor’s life where he showed that he is irresponsible and selfish. However, Victor is too repulsed to destroy another creation before creating it. On the other hand, the creature wants the attention of his creator because he becomes so alone but Victor was behaving so selfish and his attitude is not normal towards the creature but to gain the attention of the creator (Victor) creature started killing his loved ones to make his life hell. After these incidents, Victor wants to destroy the creature and now the creature has the full attention of his maker.

When Victor started looking for creatures around the world, he meets Walton and then narrates the whole story to him, and after telling and listening the story to Walton Victor dies in ship due to exhaustion. But Victor never thinks that because of his creation several innocent people died. At the end creature kills himself explaining his alone life, he spends learning new and different things by living alone in forests. Victor creates the creature and he dies trying to destroy the creature it shows that his goal is to achieve greatness by creating something new different from everyone but it gets him into conflict with his life. On the other side creature made a connection with humans and tried to make relations with other humans, and he realizes that he never had a friend or companion then he thinks of taking revenge on his creator which results in killing everyone.

After meeting each other all the characters have changed their way of thinking due to circumstances and they are learning from the experiences of each other life happenings and learning lessons from the mistakes. Walton played the role of mediator in the life of Victor and Creature. Walton wrote a letter to his sister and said, “My life might have been passed in ease and luxury; but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path” which describes his motivation for his journey of exploring and becoming successful in his life. These lines show the similar experience of ambition of Victor’s experienced in his life. He decided to hard work in order to his passion for discovering so that he can receive benefits for himself not for someone else. While Victor’s obsession with his goal shows a lack of self awareness and moral responsibility and more of selfishness. He depicts ambition by comparing it to the river sweeping away in its path in a quote “from when I would account……… has swept away all my joys”.

As Victor’s life is going near to end, he is showing all his mistakes and regrets and tries to offer help to Walton not to repeat similar mistakes in his life. He was trying to encourage Walton towards his ambition without making the hard or wrong decisions about life. Because Victor was deeply loved by his parents because they understands their responsibility to care him but Victor’s behavior after thinking of making the creature shows that he failed so Victor was trying to tell Walton to complete his dreams but by making some good priorities in life. Which shows that lack of self-interest is harmful.

At the end we can say that this novel is mixture of compassion and curiosity. It suggests lack of companionship and sympathy can even turn a human into a creature.

References:

1. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Patrick Nobes. Frankenstein. Oxford University Press, 2008.
2. Pak, Chris. “Science Fiction: New Death.”Science Fiction Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, 2014, p. 469., doi:10.5621/sciefictstud.41.2.0469.
3. Raw, Laurence. “The Gothic Imagination in American Sound Recordings of Frankenstein.” Adapting
4. Frankenstein, 2018, doi:10.7765/9781526108920.00010. Spark books-FRANKENSTEIN ‘Mary Shelley’
5. Griffin, Michael, and Nicole Lobdell. “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at 200.” Science Fiction Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, 2018, p. 225., doi:10.5621/sciefictstud.45.2.0225.

Victor Frankenstein was a man who revealed knowledge, however, because of their eagerness to seek knowledge and want to create life, had as a consequence sacrificing the most important thing for him, his family. He had to accept living the rest of his life in solitude, looking for just one thing, revenge and kill his creation. Victor for the rest of his life always feels sad and responsible for the death of his whole family because he created the Creature that killed his loved ones.

Victor since he created the Creature, his life began to be miserable, he never measured the consequences and responsibilities in creating life, he was a completely immature and irresponsible person by not accepting responsibility, and he let the innocent Creature wander through the forest and did not know about life and had to discover how cruel the world was on its own. For Victor’s irresponsibility, the Creature wanted revenge for his own loneliness.

If we analyze Victor’s life was not always sad, in the beginning, he was very happy since he has goods memories in chapter 1, page 12 expresses the love he had towards his family “My father and mother loved each other very much. But there was enough love for me, their only son.” which means that Victor suffered a lot losing his whole family.

Especially when he loses his Heart, and his Soul that is Henry and Elizabeth, those two deaths were the saddest for Victor, because Henry was his only and best friend, and was killed by the Creature near a lake. And the death of his beloved wife Elizabeth, Victor had a great connection with Elizabeth because she was his adopted sister but then they got married very much in love, however, on her wedding night, Elizabeth is killed by the Creature, which caused Victor great pain because he could not do anything to save her “I felt a sadness I had never known before. I had never felt so lonely.” and that moment he feels more hatred and wants to kill the Creature.

In chapter 6 Victor meets the Creature and expresses hatred towards him saying “Come a little closer and I will kill you! I will crush you. You are a monster! If killing you would bring back the people you killed, I would kill you a thousand times!’

At the beginning of the story, we can see the suffering and the ordeal that Victor has lived in the rest of his life, in the letter 4 pages 7 “He was as thin as a rail. He looked as if he had been through a lot of trouble and pain. I had never seen a man in such bad shape.”

The Novel shows the deep sadness of Victor when the Captain says about the little importance he gives to life ‘What is the life of a few men, when so much can be gained by science?’ at that moment Victor remembers his past and remembers how little he valued the life of his family said ‘Do you share the same madness I have? Are you so far gone that you don’t care about human life anymore? If you knew my story, you’d never feel the same way again.’

The Creature was amused by the suffering of Victor and the Creature because he wanted Victor to live unhappy because of his loneliness ‘You will be unhappy for the rest of your life. You will be alone-just as I am.’

Conclusion

In conclusion, the story of Victor Frankenstein makes us reflect on the importance of the family and we should always value it. It is also important to measure the consequences of our actions, by our ambition. Sometimes our actions can cause irreversible damage. The life of Victor is an example of human ambition but has brought pollution and climate change as a consequence, and some humans and even animals are suffering this consequence.

Traditionally Gothic writing deals with supernatural issues set in isolated regions. However, imbalanced human emotion is at the central cusp of horrific and terrifying events. The key focus in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of The Ancient Mariner is that both critically explore moral and social issues within humanity. These authors implement conventions beyond being solely about science and fantasy worlds. This is to convey a deeper message impacting the reader’s views on their own society’s injustices. In this essay I will be discussing three main concepts. Firstly, the exploration of the human psyche using nature as an antidote. For example, Victor Frankenstein’s ego thrusting him to steal the secrets from nature to animate dead beings. This resulting in his deadly comfort in nature which ultimately kills him mentally and physically. Whereas Coleridge’s Mariner in- animated a creature and became plagued by guilt. Secondly, in the latter part of this essay I will be arguing science and Gothicism are mere distractions from the immoral prejudice issues at hand. For example, both texts explore the master and slave relationships when the Mariner kills the submissive bird he is in power however he becomes the slave to God. Thirdly, the use of cautionary tales in both texts warns the readers about science vs religion within society. Though the gothic genre began to lose its popularity due to scientific advancements and the abolishment movement. Shelley and Coleridge were certainly influenced by the supernatural to orchestrate the hidden message about the hierarchy of power and usurping one’s role to dominate the inferior races. Furthermore, both author’s use their protagonists to illustrate the dangers of tampering with the natural orders of life and death and the consequences it has on one’s mental state.

Victor Frankenstein penetrates the ‘citadel of nature’ (Shelley Ch 2 Pp32)1to find the key to creating an unnatural being. Shelley portrayed nature as the utmost sublime force in the universe to show the flawlessness of mother nature. Contrastingly, Victor defines humans as ‘half made up.’ (Shelley, Letter IV Pp 24) The suggestion here is that human beings are imbalanced. Therefore, the reader cannot place humans on the spectrum of sanity. Victor interferes with the natural order of life and uses taboo methods to mimic God and create life artificially through forced mechanisms. Furthermore, the main human flaw is hubris through this Shelley conveys the lengths an egotist will go to discover the ‘mysteries of creation’ (Shelley Ch3 Pp 38)1 But Victor eventually is aborted by natures sublime depths the further he consoles in its landscapes and he further prevails in isolation and falls into the contraption of a forced suicide by nature. The ‘abrupt sides of vast mountains’ (Shelley Ch10 Pp74)1tower around him like death and the ‘icy wall of the glacier overhung’ him. The mountains entrap Victor and he subconsciously uses nature as his therapy by avoiding humanity and seeking natures depths for restoration. However, the further he ‘feels pleasure in dwelling’ (Shelley Ch 2 Pp 31)1 in nature he becomes more secluded and remotely trapped in his crime of usurping a role incapable for the mind of a man with a ‘child’s blindness’ (Shelley Ch 2 Pp 32)1 He constitutes a fantasy world where he is a deity only to be worshiped by his ‘species’ and the earth around him. In 1816 also known as the ‘Year without a summer’ Shelley wrote Frankenstein in isolation and she was cut off from society. She was highly affected with weather depression as there was mourning and suffocation shrouding her in Geneva. To a similar extent, the initial collapse in Victor’s prowess is when he erodes into the ‘vast mountains’ and becomes lost in the abyss. Victor envisages pouring a ‘Torrent of light into our dark world’ (Shelley Ch 4 Pp 43)1 Here, Shelley proposes the Gothic genre criticises her own society instead of purely being for the readers pleasure. Hence, her titling the tale ‘The Modern Prometheus’ she gives birth to an avant-garde doctor who steals resources from God and attempts to breed a new set of species through science and colonization. Furthermore, Victor resides in the landscapes of phantasms he begins to recollect his ‘childhood before misfortune … tainted (his) my mind’ (Shelley Ch 2 Pp 31)1 Shelley chooses to entwine nature and human emotion by using metaphors of the natural landscapes to relate to Victors feelings through pathetic fallacy. She takes the ‘romantic’ approach with her poetic imagery of his emotions. The use of macabre landscapes and Frankenstein’s ‘solitary chamber, or rather a cell…separated from all other apartments’ (Shelley Ch4 Pp 43)1 makes Victor’s workplace sound segregated and confined and he becomes the fallen angel in his ‘hellish’ dwelling as he is locked in a ‘cell.’ This is the beginning of Victors punishment and he falls into isolation and begins to neglect his family as he finds sustenance from nature. Ironically, it is nature that ultimately murders Victor. Moreover, Victor is intoxicated by his belief of gaining ‘additional strength from salubrious air’ (Shelley Ch6 Pp55)1 to keep him company instead of friends. The notions of nature as a form of therapy was not new to Shelley, she took inspiration from her friend Samuel Coleridge. In the poem the Rime of the Ancient Mariner the protagonist destroys the life of a pure being. However, the Mariner is different from Victor as he repents his sins and lives on to tell the tale that he ‘had done a hellish thing’ (Coleridge, Part II.9) . In fact, the Mariner is plagued by the guilt of his actions and ‘instead of the cross, the albatross /About my neck was hung’ (Coleridge, II.34)2 He is affected by loneliness and is divorced from the idyllic world and begins to worship the bird as his shrine and it becomes his saviour returning him subconsciously to normality. The Mariner see’s the ‘beauty’’ (Coleridge, IV. 59 )2 in the hideous sea monsters. Coleridge proposes he uses natural hunter-like attributes ‘for a mere display of skill’3. Contrastingly, Victor’s heart is filled with ‘breathless horror’ (Shelley Ch 5 Pp 45)1 as he scorns his Creature. Despite their doppelganger relationship. Victor is the real creature with a man’s bodily exterior and the interior of a devil falsely impersonating God. Shelley, reinvents Coleridge’s ideas and turns Frankenstein into a modern cautionary tale for forthcoming readers warning them about the dangers of transgression and excessive knowledge leading humans to the edge of their own consciousness. The critic William Guthrie agrees and claims the Mariner’s ‘half-conscious impulse’3 led him to kill the albatross. This is pivoting back to the idea of humans being ‘half made up’1 and unaware of the nature around them. The lack of communication between the Mariner and the crew was evidently influenced by the weather as ‘the sails dropped down’ which metaphorically meant they were destined to drown in the personified water as well as in their misery. Ultimately, both Victor and the Mariner are entrapped in the ‘silence of the sea’ as they bathe and drown their lives away in the unchaste waters of their sins.

Frankenstein is at the heart of colonial literature. Science is seen as ‘robbing us of wonder.’ Shelley and Coleridge are spellbound by the unknown’s link to the real world. These unknown discoveries lead to exploitation of the inferior race. In fact, readers and scholars of Frankenstein have observed that this tale reflects the twin dangers of science and imperialism. In Paul Cantor’s essay ‘The Scientist and the Poet’6 he reflects on the war between science and art. However, Shelley synthesizes imagination and imperialism as her key focus and uses science implicitly as a distraction from the underlying issues of colonization and prejudices. Cantor argues that ‘Science can tell us how to do something, but it cannot tell us whether we should do it’ The people who birth contemporary monsters ‘tend to be marginalized themselves: women, people of colour’ Shelley lived in a time where debates were being made about slavery. Therefore, Shelley includes discussions regarding ‘scientific man’s mastery of nature with the imperialist thrust to maintain subject races’ 7 Earlier on in the novel, Victor states he will be a colonial master and create ‘ A new species’( Shelley Ch 4 Pp 43)1 who will bless him as ‘its creator and source’ (Shelley, Ch 4 Pp43)1 Here, the scientist usurps nature as a distraction for his true plan of being a colonist. However, it is unsuccessful as his creation rebels against him and he is murdered by natures orders. Shelley alters the spectrum of slave and owner relationships by making the creature resist domination because his father and society fail to see his humanity. Although, it is rare to find sources on Shelley’s opinions on slavery, John Clement argues ‘She would certainly have been aware of the issue …/ through Shelley’s personal relations to Coleridge … who probably had the greatest influence on Mary as a child’ . Furthermore, the creature is without a name and he is questioning his existence asking, ‘What was I?’ (Shelley, Ch 15 Pp.99)1 his lack of identity coincides with Shelley, an intelligent educated woman subjected because of her sex and appearance. This resembles Mary Wollstonecraft’s argument that women’s miseducation can turn them into foolish vain creatures. Hence, with the creature’s intelligence his ‘sorrow only increased with knowledge’ (Shelley, Ch13 Pp 93)1 Similarly, African Slaves felt shun from society in the 19th century, without real names and discriminated because of their appearances. Clement critiques Frankenstein being written at a time engulfed with ‘European expansion and rule over ‘darker’ places and races’8. Appearance contributed to prejudices both in the novel and during the slave trade. The Creature’s ‘yellow skin scarcely covered’ (Shelley, Ch 5 Pp45)1in veins and his ‘dull yellow eye’1 open. Here the reader gets a Gothicised image of the outsider who is made from pieces of ‘bodies deprived of life’ (Shelley Ch 4 Pp 41) 1 Shelley births a creature who represents every man. He is stitched together metaphorically and personified as humanity itself. Shelley may have been influenced by the Yellow fever of West Indies, which was a plague during the reign of British colonies. The fever caused the patients ‘eyes (to) turn …yellow. / the skin turned… yellow’8 this triggered madness and delirium. The Creature and the slaves were forced into living a certain way. Therefore, causing them to be secluded and plagued with pain and illness from the vile treatment from society.

Coleridge actively worked on the abolitionist movement in 1795 while writing The Ancient Mariner. The poem is an ‘indictment of British Maritime expansion’ , where the killing of the albatross, allegorically represents the crux of colonial expansion. The reader may be bewildered at the thought of slavery in relation to a tale about redemption and guilt. However, Coleridge and Shelley broadened their ideas out of the typical conventions and to look at slavery through a contemporary lens. Additionally, Coleridge’s Mariner, transgresses borders and like a foreigner he also becomes an outsider in the land of wonder. The reader is never given a real name for the Mariner or his crew he is coinciding with the creature’s status as a nobody. Coleridge’s notion of ‘losing self in another’10 is prevalent when discussing the Mariner because similarly to the slaves he also is under the dictatorship of God. Additionally, Shelley acknowledged the dangers posed in the poem as she heard Coleridge recite it in 1806 Hence why Robert Walton warns the reader he ‘shall kill no albatross’ (Shelley, Letter II. Pp18)1 This apt tribute to Coleridge addresses that future voyagers should not travel the unknown. The Mariner and Victor create dual characters as the Mariner ‘kills the slave-like Albatross’ 10 and Victor aborts his creature and enslaves him in torment. Contrastingly, the Mariner becomes the colonizer and the colonized and he develops into an ‘unwilling victim of the slave trade’ 10 and passive without ‘no voice… the silence sank’ (Coleridge, VI .111) 2 and he remains in solitude.

The threat he strongly felt with such writers of the time as Mary Shelley for domestic order and affection made him create the dual-character Mariner who kills the slave-like Albatross “that bring the fog and mist” (l. 102) to save the crew. What is noteworthy is the Mariner’s exposure to the colonial world The threat he strongly felt with such writers of the time as Mary Shelley for domestic order and affection made him create the dual-character Mariner who kills the slave-like Albatross “that bring the fog and mist” (l. 102) to save the crew. What is noteworthy is the Mariner’s exposure to the colonial world.

In conclusion, to some extent, both texts are Gothic, but they weren’t intended to be gothic fantasy’s. Gothic conventions remain a distraction from the deep-rooted message in both texts. Finally, both western authors use the cautionary tale structure to warn the readers of the consequences of exploitation and tampering with the unknown and the effects posed on the human psyche. Both authors relied heavily on romantic imagery through the weather conditions and animate the setting by personifying the desolate landscapes as the characters emotions. Accordingly, Victor and the Mariner use nature as their escape and cures to their miseries. The reader can see both characters are led on by their imbalanced subconscious minds under subjugation to nature. Eventually leading Victor to be murdered by his child and nature. Shelley and Coleridge took inspiration from current affairs around them and subliminally hid the constraints of colonialism within their cautionary tales to warn the future reader about crossing unknown boundaries and stepping in foreign lands of ‘mist and snow’1 because ultimately God will seize the trespassers right to continue living. Therefore, the scientific elements were used to confuse the reader from the allegorical and social significance of the ‘slave-like’ 10 victims in both tales.

It’s true for any writer that there will be influence occurring from the world around them in their work. This is especially true for Mary Shelley when she wrote her novel, Frankenstien. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner can easily be paralleled to much of the work of Shelley’s novel. This parallel could possibly be attributed to Mary Shelley’s love for the works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge during her time.

One of these mentioned parallels is man’s constant fight with nature. In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the old sailor relays the story of himself shooting, and killing, an Albatross and being doomed for all of eternity as punishment. The same sort of internal struggle is present in Frankenstien when Robert Walton finds Victor Frankenstien on the ice trying to chase down his creation, one that he regrets bringing to life for all the trouble that has ensued because to it.

Another similarity, much like the first, is that in both cases the dead were purposely reanimated. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner shows this in the fifth part of the epic, the ship’s crew was brought back to life in order to help the remaining mariner return to shore. As well as in Frankenstien, many parts of dead people were taken and put together in order to bring life back into these parts and form a new creation. In both of these cases, the reanimation was performed inorder to escape some kind of death, in the former to stop the ancient mariners death on the sea, and in the latter for all of humanity to save people from an inevitable death.

And the third similarity between the two are the structure of the stories. Both Shelley and Coleridge use frame devices to recount to the reader the main plot line of their respective stories. The beginning starts with a man in “present day” running into someone who turns the tide of the story, where the second plot line begins to be told.

When analyzing stories, it is important to understand the mindset of the author as it relates to the text that has been written. In doing this, connections and parallels will be found to help the reader in comprehending all aspects of the story. In this case especially, Mary Shelley is attributed with the creation of the sci-fi genre. In having no other author’s to get inspiration from, she had to look to what she did know and that was Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Due to this, the story Frankenstien was created.