Frankenstein’s Theme: Fate vs. Free-will
Mary Shelley discusses many important themes in her famous novel Frankenstein. She presents these themes through the characters and their actions, and many of them represent occurrences from her own life. Many of the themes present debatable issues and her thoughts on them. There are more than five significant themes appear in the writing such as creation, danger of sciences, and alienation. Yet, the most important theme that I have found in the novel is fate vs. free will. People believe that things happen the way it is because of their fate, so they do things as they wish. Then destiny is just something people use to blame for when they do things wrong.Shelley discussed in the novel about fate and free will through the main character, Victor Frankenstein. In the writing, Victor is the one who succeeds in creating a “human” life form. Since the beginning Victor is very interested in science, and none of his family members say anything about his attraction. Due to his curiosity over the sciences, he has stated that the fate is already set him to find out about the myth. Therefore, it isn’t the choice that he has picked to do so. “…Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destructi . . .
in a transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick” (Shelley, 131. The author discusses how Victor has used his laboratory or “workshop of filthy creation” (Shelley, 53) as a kind of “womb” as he has worked on his creation. The creature has perceived himself to be a public enemy, and isolation became his nature. “…my attention was the structure of the human frame, and indeed, and animal endured with life…did the principle of life proceed?” (Shelley, 50) According to his curiosity about life and human body, it caused him want to create a new life in order to satisfied his inquiring mind; however, he has set his creature to be more supernatural: very muscular, strong and brilliant. Once the monster knows about Victor’s refusal, he retaliates by killing Elizabeth, who is Victor's female companion, in an eye-for-an-eye kind of way. ” This scene presents that he just followed his free will, but when it comes to obligation he blames on fate. “Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Shelley’s main criticism is the lack of responsibility that Victor has for his “child. After the creature has experienced all of those things, the monster yearns for love and compassion more than ever. Beautiful!…his shriveled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley, 56) The sufferings of the creature in the novel are the result of fate that has set for the monster and free will for Victor to create and leave it. on” (Shelley, 41) After he did find himself an excuse, he continued to find the solution about human body, life and death. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs” (Shelley, 52-53) At this point, it seems he wants to create a being, which would be his child, and as a child that would love its parents unconditionally. ) The third instance is after he has saved a drowning child. Therefore, he decided to treat people the same way they treated him, and this is his free will to do so.
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