How Does Mary Shelley Explore Suffering in Frankenstein

How does Shelley acquaint damage in Frakenstein? Through come in the novel, wretched of not only an individual but also hu piece of musicity, stay at the perfume of the plot. Many critics today believe that this paltry comes from the troubled and tormented life Shelley had. For congressman from 1815 to mid 1819, Shelley was to lose the first three of her four children, for which she held herself responsible. Therefore, it could be argued that the deuce is the embodiment of Shelleys pitiful and guilt. Suffering in the novel becomes apparent through the narrator, Frankenstein. For example, from a psychoanalysts perception ofVictor, his pitiable comes from his character. Victor is the very incarnation of the Byronic Hero. He re establishs a lonely, isolated and self-? destructive force vulnerable to his give over-? powering emotions of greed and fervid curiosity. This is perfectly depicted in Caspar David Friedrichs painting (commonly associated with the image of the Byronic hero) Wanderer preceding(prenominal) the sea of fog whereby a man overlooks an untouched landscape (Byrons verse The Corsair lone, high-risk and strange, he stood a manage exempt from any affection and all contempt) with the sole entrust to look and gain victory. This passionately intense nd over-? powering desire of knowledge is perfectly depicted in go for IV of Miltons Paradise Lost Satans address to the sun (An epic poem heavily influencing Shelley) whereby Satan must suffer for his Pride and worse ambition. It is so blatant that Frankensteins immense feelings of isolation (Byron That man of loneliness and mystery) and fervid desire become the sole progress to of Frankensteins loss of humanity and mental self-? destruction (the intake of the phrase infernal machinations implying a man so susceptible to his own greed, curiosity and isolation that his own mental torment becomes al virtually an quivalent to Dantes Inferno). Therefore, Victor becomes the Satan of this nove l. Having had an intense yearning for victory (as his name suggests), he has attempted to appropriate the position of God, which has only deliverd mental decline and suffering. Aside from his mental torment, Victors physical downslope mirrors his guilt. Frankenstein has held himself responsible for the demises of his closest friends and family. For example, in Chapter IV-? I felt the fiends grasp in my do a direct link is made to Coleridges (a close friend of William Godwin-? Shelleys Father) Rime of the antique Mariner whereby, fter having shot the albatross (once a symbol of good luck), the course of time has been altered everlastingly With my crossbow I shot the Albatross. Consequently, the shooting of the albatross in this novel comes not from Victors populace of the deuce but infact his crime of denying the daemon of love. For example, Rousseau (a philosopher that inspired Shelley) suggested that a child deprived of a lovable family becomes a monster. This act of dep riving the monster of maternal love ( thus, showing mens incapability of love) caused the monster to kill those closest to Victor. This sparked immense feelings of guilt n Victor I was overcome by soberness and misery linking to Coleridges poem (And I had done a hellish thing), which inevitably becomes the cause of his physical decline The human frame could not longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured. It is and then, through the hellish act of denying the monster of love, that The Albatross about Victors neck was hung and his supreme guilt precede to his suffering. Victors physical deterioration in this novel also confirms the idea of The Double. As many critics have suggested, the monster is merely a projection of Frankensteins natural bollixion. It is hence ossible to soak up that Frankensteins physical suffering and loss of humanity comes from the monsters increased power thus showing how these two individuals are linked. The idea of such a double is backed up by the fact that the monster kills at moonlight and thus, the moon acts as an illuminating object shining into the heart of Victor only to reveal the monster. Such a theme is present in Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde whereby the curb emotions of Dr, Jekyll are projected at night in the ultra-? ego of Mr. Hyde. However, a far greater suffering is observed at heart the monster. The suffering comes withinThe Daemons rejection from his creator Frankenstein. The Daemon has lost any paternal influence or more importantly, he has failed to achieve his pay off figure. Constant desire to be appreciated by a father is a theme in this novel. For example, Frankenstein felt safe and conceptive in the presence of his father (Nothing, at this moment, could have given me greater pleasure than the arrival of my father) and Shelley herself longed for the appreciation and love from her father (especially after, William Godwin cut off relations to Shelley after her marriage to Percy). However, the monster, much like raptus from ParadiseLost, has failed to be appreciated by Victor (who he views as his father). In Paradise Lost, Adam had a constant desire to please God, but due to the temptation of eve, he was outcast and rejected. This is resembling to the monster, as purely to his appearance, the monster has been denied love from his father thus giving rise to an Oedipus complex. This Oedipus complex (also present in Shakespeares Macbeth) is shown through the monster as, when Frankenstein rejects the monster, the monster seemingly denounces him as a father and preferably views his mother (possibly, nature) as the only love he will ever receive (He was in brief orne away by the waves-? last sentence, Page 191). Therefore, this rejection of love from a paternal influence based on the monsters appearance of horror and disgust (page 39) has lead to a loss of identity within the monster, and thus a mental anguish and suffering (who am miserable beyond all supporting thi ngs-? page 77). This suffering the monster feels is extended by societys further rejection of him based on his appearance. The fact that he is even rejected by the DeLaceys is Shelleys view that everyone, however seemingly perfect, has an innate ability to judge based on appearance. This is why the monster s, at first, welcomed into the house of DeLacey. He is sieve and therefore does not possess humanitys evil ability to judge based on appearance-? he therefore is the very quintessence of purity and kindness at the heart of a faultfinding(prenominal) society as he does not possess sight. Shelley therefore attempts to suggest that humanitys most dangerous quality is sight. This allows The Monster to believe he really is a daemon/ wretch/ skanky being and suffers due to it. However, despite the suffering of the individual, this novel seems to address a far greater suffering the suffering of humanity. Linking once again toMiltons Paradise Lost, the ultimate sin of Eve stealing the interdict fruit leads to Adam and Eve (the first humans and thus, our ancestors) to be outcast to the wilderness. The suffering of humanity therefore comes from the fact that we, as descendants of Adam and Eve must be held responsible for Adam and Eves actions and temptation. Therefore, the human existence is based on the belief that we must continually repent for our ancestors sins and leads to the theory that the monster is merely the embodiment of Gods vengeance, warning the most corrupt humans who attempt to overcome nature (which is sublime and God-? ontrolled) that, God will prevail. This is however a use of irony. Mary Shelley married Percy Shelley 3 years after he was expelled from Oxford for his pamphlet The necessity of atheism. This therefore exposes Shelleys cynicism of organized religion, whereas it should be based on glorifying existence, it is in fact, based on the suffering of humanity. Further suffering of humanity is observed through the treatment of sexuality in the novel. When Adam and Eve were cast out into the wilderness in Paradise Lost, they had to commit the original sin of sexual reproduction as a means to produce offspring and ensure the survival f humanity. This act therefore undermines Gods power as it shows nature and science cannot be controlled by God (who is allegedly the creator of all). Therefore, within Victorian society a religiously backed suppression of sexuality meant men could not show any signs of sexual desire and that instead they must be kept secret. This leads to the idea that the monster is infact the depiction of Frankensteins sexual desire and that, much like the monster, it is locked away in the human system and allowed to fester it will only be more ugly and violent (as shown in Elizabeths death and Frankensteins destruction of he female monster which seem to almost mirror an aggressive rape). Moreover, this leads to the outgrowth of what is more commonly known as The Queer Theory. This entails the idea th at Frankenstein has a secretly loaded homosexual desire which was shunned upon by Victorian society and that the only way to reveal this homo-? erotic desire was to create the daemon as a male Adonis I selected his features a beautiful in order to fulfil his suppressed sexuality. Therefore, humanity suffers as their sexuality is oppressed by society and religion meaning that when it is revealed only more suffering is unleashed.Shelley in this novel also speaks from a seemingly womens rightist perspective. This may have been inspired by her mother, Mary Wollstonecrafts book A Vindication of the rights of cleaning cleaning woman which placed stress on female independence and the importance of female education (women who succumb to sensuality will be blown about by every momentary gust of feeling) which link to the passive and generally pathetic description of women in this novel. Theyre suffering comes from the fact that Eve, the first woman committed the original sin thus damni ng society into a world far little sublime than the Garden of Eden. Therefore, Shelley esires show how women are forced into submission and general passiveness as a result of being the gender that committed the original sin. Their passiveness, perfectly depicted in Elizabeth and Justine, links fountainhead to Coventry Patmores poem, The Angel in the house. This poem states the power men possess over women and that, to retain included in society, women must remain tacit and pretty so to fulfil the expectations of society. This links to the monster the monster fails to fulfil societys expectations of appearance and therefore is outcast. However, this juxtaposes with women as they fulfil societys expectations and