Mary Shelleyâs Frankenstein, is a story of dual themes: Faustian behavior and nineteenth century parenting techniques, the theories of Rousseau, and other Romantics. However, this novel focuses on the outcome of one manâs, namely Victor Frankensteinâs Faustian motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of his offspring or creature. Unlike Fautsus, Victor was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor "parenting" of his progeny, that lead to his creationâs thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. His failure in the creation of his "child," is specifically the creatureâs monster-like persona and Victorâs own tragic life and end. His creature was not raised and nurtured by himself. The views of Rousseau, Locke, Montaigne and indeed Mary Shelleyâs personal child rearing experiences, concerning the practice of parenting, enrich the readerâs perception of the parent/child relationship between Frankenstein and his creature. As a "hero," Victor is a hero related to Prometheus Satan and Faustus; they were all heroic in their revolutions yet pathetic in their destinies. However, Frankenstein rebelled but failed in the full execution of that rebellion by failing to follow through, i.e. failing to parent his creation, the goal and direct result of such a rebellion; thus he created a "monster" through his absence of nurturing and love for his progeny.
In order to investigate Frankensteinâs thirst for
knowledge and motives for the creation of his child, we must turn to the
character of Faustus. They both search for the secrets of life. Indeed,
Fautsus searches for its very cause and the knowledge how to manipulate
it. The protagonist embarks on a classic Romantic Quest, the tenets of
which are expressed in the Faust legend, i.e., the consummate desire for
knowledge and the tragedies that can arise from desires. Frankenstein states:
The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest
research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture,
as they are unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensation I can remember
(Shelley, p. 22).
Frankenstein states that he is not satisfied with
previous knowledge. He looks to the past and builds upon it, with his own
research and experimentation. He is not interested in the usual subjects
of study, in accordance with the same dissatisfaction Faustus expressed
in the areas of theology, medicine, law, etc. Both characters look to magic
and activities which negate God, as Frankenstein states, "The raising of
ghosts or devils, . . . the fulfillment of which I most eagerly sought
(Shelley, p. 26)."
Other parallels between the protagonist and the Faust legend include their desire to embark upon a new science. They jointly desire real knowledge; as asserted by Frankenstein:
I at once gave up my former occupations, set down
natural history . . . as a deformed and abortive creation, and entertained
the greatest disdain for a would-be-science which could never step within
the threshold of real knowledge (Shelley, p. 27).
Their fates seem to be fixed from their initial decision
to launch into their quests; Shelley writes, "Destiny was too potent, and
her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction
(Shelley, p. 27)." They both embarked upon their journeys of discovery
with no regard for anyone or anything but themselves. Originally, Frankenstein
had planned to use the results of his investigations to help mankind; but
this focus soon transmuted into an all-encompassing obsession to perform
the impossible for its own sake. Therefore, Frankenstien did not take into
account that he would be responsible for the goal of his studies, namely
the rearing, protection and care of the creation. He certainly did not
adequately prepare himself for parenthood. One can infer from the above-mentioned
motives of discovery both of Faustus and Frankenstein, they were very self-serving
and selfish. They were only concerned with the means rather than the ends
of their ambitious adventures of knowledge and discovery.
The creature that Victor created resembles Adam in
that they were unique, alone and individual. Indeed, to expand and contrast
upon this biblical parallelism, the situation in which Victorâs creature
finds himself, is analogous to predicament of the Biblical character of
Adam, the first human being. However there are dissimilarities between
the creature and Adam: Adam was given a companion, he was created so there
would be an "Adam" and not merely as the fulfillment of an experiment,
he received nurtured care and had the presence of a father figure, namely
God. Adam was ejected from the garden of Eden, yet he was never deserted
by God and heard these words which Victor shouted at his creation: "abhorred
monster! Fiend that thou art." Adam is created with benevolent intentions,
and is not punished by God until he had violated a law. The creature is
not responsible for his abandonment; he is unloved and rejected from the
moment of his creation. In addition, Frankenstein never entertained pre-conception
loving feelings about his creation. Indeed, the creature never has a place
in his creatorâs heart. However, God took responsibility for his creation,
nurtured him and never fully abandoned him. Whether God is culpable for
Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge is not to be debated; the
point of this issue is that God parented his creations and did not wholly
desert them as Frankenstein had done with his creation. The creature is
created solely from self-serving motivations. According to the Judeo-Christian
tradition, Adam was created in the image of love or something greater than
selfishness. God wanted to make Adam and was prepared to act as a responsible
parent, namely to raise him. In contrast, Victor never even fathomed the
actual existence of the creature, much like resembling an unplanned pregnancy
that was never emotionally and rationally dealt with even after the actual
birth of the child. One example of this complete disregard, is demonstrated
by Victorâs absolute inattention to the creatureâs physical appearance.
He gives the creature an enormous frame and grotesque appearance. He never
considered how such a creature would be able to coexist with human beings
or live normally.
The creature does not receive love. Despite these
unfortunate beginnings, the creature asserts that he was good, despite
the absence of parenting and guidance until he encountered society. Rousseau
would agree with the creatureâs reasoning and add that moral failings are
also due to the lack of a parentâs love. Shelley alludes to this theory
of Rousseauâs concept of the natural man as a noble savage, born free but
in chains created by society which will eventually corrupt. The creature
represents Rousseauâs natural man. He responds to natural needs like any
other animal. When he encounters the De Laceys or society, he develops
the faculty of rational thought, a consciousness and realizes that he is
an outcast. Shelley refers to Lockeâs theories for the creatureâs education.
Locke argued that man is neither innately good or evil, but rather a blank
slate upon which sensations create impressions which create conscious experience.
This "tabula rasa" idea was certainly a commonly accepted Romantic concept
of infancy and childhood. The creature first encounters physical sensations
such as hot, cold, dark, hunger, etc. I assert that this period is the
creatureâs infancy state. He later learns through experience to distinguish,
understand and manipulate these physical sensations. His sensative experiences
enable him to learn to care and sustain his being.
The creature learns how to speak and the tenets of
morality and virtue through observation of the De Lacey family. This acquisition
of language enlarges his intellectual capacities. He also reads their library
which includes both classical and modern works. However, this education
only brings woe to the creature as he states, ". . . sorrow only increased
with knowledge. Oh, that I had forever remained in my native wood (Shelley,
p. 105)." To return to Rousseauâs theory of the corrupting influence of
society, the creature did receive an excellent education which only served
to alienate him from his state as a "natural man." His other theory concerning
the negative impact from the absence of motherly love is demonstrated through
the creatureâs eventual destructive and resentful mentality. Montaigne,
like Rousseau, advocates a nurturing upbringing. Montaigne, however, investigates
specifically a fatherâs duty to his child. He writes, " A true and regular
affection should spring up and increase with our growing knowledge of them
(Montaigne, Book II, Ch. 8., Essay On the affection of fathers for their
children, p.139)." In fact, one could presume that Shelley is commenting
upon parenting, as I feel that she makes numerous references to the pressures
and realities of being a parent. It is ironic to note that it took Victor
nine months to create his monster. To return to a biblical reference, Frankenstein
resembles Eve through the creation of the monster. Discovering knowledge,
as Eve does by eating the apple or Frankensteinâs pursuing "nature to her
hiding places," they both enter into their enterprises
without prior knowledge of what their actions may entail, Victor knows
not "eating death."
This theme of parenting and motherly love emulates
Shelleyâs own tragedies, fears and joys with birthing children and their
subsequent upbringing. Frankenstein is a tale with Faustian characteristics
but it is also a tale of man trying to create a child without a woman.
Throughout the novel, in the development and education of Frankensteinâs
creation, she discusses the parallel development and education an abandoned
or neglected child experiences, in closely following the nurturing theories
of Montaigne. Shelley certainly asserts that the role of parenting is extremely
important for the healthy and happy growth and subsequent maturation of
a child. Mary Shelleyâs young adult life was besieged by pregnancies, childbirth,
miscarriages and death. She bore four children of which only one child
survived to adulthood. She additionally experienced a miscarriage which
almost killed her. Thus at the time she conceived the novelâs storyline,
at the tender age of nineteen, her first child Claire, had died and her
second child, William, was only 6 months old. (Shelley, p. viii). There
is no doubt that Mary expected to have more children. Therefore, the issues
of pregnancy and child development were the pivotal issues in her own,
solitary life (Percy was not very supportive). Thus in Frankenstein, Shelley
examines her own trepidation and philosophy about childbirth and child
maturation.
The topics of parenting and childbirth had been previously
avoided by male authors, as it was
regarded as a taboo subject. Maryâs explores parentâs questions through
Victor. His actions and
consequently his creationâs actions answer the parental queries: What
if I do not love my child? What if my child is deformed? Could I wish my
own child to die? They surface from her and any parentâs natural fears,
concerning possible physical handicaps, a bad tempered child, etc. These
questions and fears that Mary felt, are expressed through Victorâs complete
failure as a parent and namely, as a mother.
Upon the "birth" of his creation, Frankenstein does not rejoice or
reach out to his "child," but instead rushes out of the room incredibly
repulsed by the disgusting and abnormal physical appearance of his creation.
The birth itself is unlovingly described, " I saw the dull yellow eye of
the creature open: it breathed hard and a convulsive motion agitated its
limbs (Shelley, p. 42)." When the creature attempts to follow him, Victor
continues his escape thus abandoning his child, his newborn. The amount
of Frankensteinâs lack of attention to his creatureâs outward appearance
is disturbing. He knew of the creatureâs gigantic proportions. He never
considered what would be the results of his actions, i.e, how could the
creation coexist with other beings.
Frankenstein admits that the creation of his "child"
was an accident or mistake (Shelley, p. 42).
Unlike a parent who would care equally for a deformed child, Frankstein
abandons his "child" and all of his parental responsibility. Victor commits
the ultimate act of hatred towards his creation, by his outright disavowal
and renunciation of all parental ties. Victor is an abuser, who mistreats
the abused, namely the monster, who becomes an abuser himself. Indeed,
many parents follow this same pattern of neglect and abuse, sadly as Victor
does. Here, we can assume as the reader that Mary is commenting upon appropriate
parenting techniques and their subsequent importance. Ironically, the creatureâs
first murder victim is a small girl which he wishes to adopt. Indeed, Victor
wishes that his creation die: "I gnashed my teeth, my eyes became inflamed,
and I ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had so thoughtlessly
bestowed (Shelley, p.76). Towards the end of the novel, the creature has
feelings of vengeance and resentment towards his "father," because of Frankensteinâs
lack of parental care. Ironically and interestingly enough, Montaigne states,
"If we wish to be beloved by our children, if we wish to take from them
all reason to desire our death - let us supply their lives with everything
in our power (Montaigne, Ibid, p.142)." Here, one can observe that Shelley
explores the plight of the abandoned child, the direct result of faulty
parenting.
The creature is fully aware of the absence of a parental
figure in his life. His encounter with the De Laceys, displaces him from
his "natural state," displays to him the family unit, exposes him to
education, and to the laws and customs of society. The creature understands
his alienation from
society. This embitters him and causes his subsequent vindictiveness
towards society and Victor. The creature, himself, eloquently describes
his plight:
. . . I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was,
besides, endowed with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome. . . .I
cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon
me; (Shelley, p. 105)
The absence of love and understanding in the creatureâs
life, implies that he would have profited from the additional absence of
his formed consciousness. Frankensteinâs son would have benefited by remaining
in an animal-like state in the wilderness. Certainly, Rousseau would be
in concord with this statement. The creatureâs greatest and most painful
rite of passage was his realization that he was all alone, again referring
back to the Adam motif. His father, Frankstein, mimics the behavior of
a typical abuser by his total blindness realizing what he has done to his
child. My supposition is that if Victor had felt remorse for the trespasses
he has committed against his son and loved him, the creature would not
have
become a killer. The creature would have been able to overcome his other
shortcomings if he had someone to love and nurture him.
Faustus and Frankenstein both never contemplated
the results of their probing actions into the deep crevices of the secrets
of nature. They could only see the excitement and challenge to their ultimate
goals. Frankenstein should have paid more attention to his decisions. However,
one could assert that Frankenstein, himself, was trying to create a substitute
for his own deceased mother. Indeed, Victor was deeply adversely affected
by the premature and untimely death of his vivacious and nurturing mother.
Perhaps Victor was not in an emotionally healthy state when he made the
decision to create his child. Here, Shelley is discussing the pros and
cons of contemplation before conceiving a child. It is interesting to think
that Shelley, herself, probably never had the luxury of the choice, whether
it was due to the lack of family planning technology or her own emotional
obstacles.
The journey from Frankensteinâs Faustian beginnings
to his role as a neglectful parent, is a deeply interconnected and richly
developed expedition within the novel. My assertion is that the greater
part of this work is an articulation of one womanâs fears or to expand
to a greater spectrum, the fears of most parents. Mary Shelley, as a parent,
asks the question which all of society and psychology poses: Can an "un-mothered"
child who experiences more pain than pleasure, ever be able to develop
into a moral, considerate and functional member of society?"
"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did;
and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a
serpent to sting you, as mine has been"
-Victor Frankenstein
© Copyright 1998-1999 Jessica M. Natale
na609@aol.com
Last Modified: July 9, 1998
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