Frankenstein Essay - 1176 Words

Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time (Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography.). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. Frankenstein: The Historical Context.). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place†¦show more content†¦In a fit of passion he destroyed the unfinished female creature, so that it could not kill him. This is the manifestation of Shelley’s repressed desire to never give birth to another child. The first creature, i n anger at the loss of a future mate, took revenge on Victor. The creature led his creator across the globe and through terrain in which Victor could not survive. This chase lasted several months, ending in the Arctic Circle, and caused the death of his creator. Another recurring theme is that of the child abandoned by the parents. Elizabeth, before being adopted into Victor’s family, was abandoned by her birth parents- her mother had died, and her father was in jail. Victor’s closest friend, Henry Clerval, was mainly neglected by his father. Henry’s father was â€Å"a narrow-minded trader and saw idleness and ruin in the aspirations and ambition of his son† (54). He denied Henry an education, though Henry wished more than anything to accompany Victor at the university. Lastly, Victor left his creature shortly after giving him life. The creature can be said to be a representation of Shelley’s id, a manifestation of all her suppressed feelings (Hicks, Elizabeth. Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.). He is utterly alone in the world, having been left by his creator- the one person who should care for him and be responsible for him. He is as miserable as Shelley must have felt at beingShow More RelatedFrankenstein And Frankenstein Essay1474 Words   |  6 Pagesfictional characters, most famously in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in 1667, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, in 1818. The complexity of the characters in these texts creates the theme of nature versus nurture before they diverge and arrive at differing conclusions. Many critics arose over the years to contest the main character of Milton’s epic. Shelley, arguably Milton’s greatest critic, wrote Frankenstein to contrast her views on the conflict between creator and creation. 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