frankenstein motif essay

Frankenstein Themes

‘ Theme ’ is a central idea present in a literary piece. It serves as an essential ingredient that makes a story appealing and persuasive. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has various themes woven together to complete a narrative which teaches value, warns of possible consequences of abusing science or intelligence, highlights a futuristic outlook. Some of the overarching themes of the novel are given below.

Themes in Frankenstein

The theme of creation is at the center of the novel, Frankenstein. The story shows how Victor creates a monster and instills life in it after gaining scientific knowledge of life at Ingolstadt. Victor plays God or pretends to become one to create life. His ambition of creating life and emulating his own creation fails. The creature, he has created, forces him to create a companion. When Victor denies he turns into a real monster. In other words, Victor’s secret toil, as Mary Shelley had stated, was an unnatural and irreligious act which costs him dearly. The theme also signifies that interrupting natural order may cost lives and sanity and it is important to stay within boundaries.

Although depicted at the secondary level, the novel also explores the theme of alienation. It might be possible that Victor creates the monster to end his isolation. However, in the process of doing an unnatural thing, he creates a creature, who is also his enemy. The creature, who is innocent feels alienated. Hence, he asks for a companion. When humans hate him for the way he looks, he begins to kill to persuade his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Another alienation is of Robert Walton who seeks his sister’s love and writes her letters. Victor, too, seeks Elizabeth’s and his family members’ love as he alienates from them and immerses in the world of science.

Although several characters are trying to align themselves with one another. For instance, Robert Walton with his sister through letters and Victor Frankenstein with his family, they feel quite isolated from the world. Victor is engaged in his experiments, and Robert Walton goes on expeditions, where he meets Victor. In the same way, the creature, Frankenstein’s Monster tries to seek the companionship of the poor family to end its isolation.

Crossing Boundaries

Mary Shelley has very beautifully woven the idea of the crossing limits in this novel. Through Victor Frankenstein, she explains that humans have certain limits despite grand ambitions. When these limits are crossed, the natural order is destroyed. This interruption rebounds when the limits are crossed. Victor’s attention to Waldman’s lectures and his obsession with the idea of creating a new life is equated to the crossing of boundaries set by nature. Victor eventually pays the price as he loses his family members and friends until he dies while chasing the Creature.

Under the overarching theme of creation, the theme of ambition also runs parallel in the novel. Although since the ancient period, ambition is associated with negative passion, here Victor’s ambition leads him to create a human deemed as a monster physically. It proves that ambition is not good when it comes to unnatural directions. The creation of a new life defying the natural order of life and death is clearly an incorrect ambition. Later, it proves to be fatal when the Creature begins to kill Victor’s closest family and friends.

Another secondary theme in Frankenstein is an injustice. Mary Shelley has demonstrated this theme in two ways. The first is Justine’s trial in the court on the accusations of murdering William. The court awards her death sentence even though Victor has clear hints of the creature having killed William and Justine was framed for the murder. The second example of injustice is when the Creature request for a companion Victor denies. The Creature was helpless and innocent turns into a killer.

Responsibility

The novel, Frankenstein, highlights the theme of individual responsibility as well as social responsibility. Victor’s ambitious project of the creation of a new life reflects the lack of realization of the individual responsibility and the lack of government control. Victor does not show any fear in creating a new life and playing with the laws of nature until it takes the lives of several of his family members. Justine’s death signifies that entire the judicial process lacks responsibility when they punish an innocent. In other words, individuals and society often fail to respond to their duties and responsibilities toward the family and community .

Natural Laws

Although this is not an explicit theme, the theme of natural laws is implicitly put into the mouth of characters and the narrator in Frankenstein. Natural laws keep the balance of life on this earth. ‘Life and death’ cycle is a natural law. However, when Victor Frankenstein uses science to create life using dead human organs and chemicals, he violates the natural law of life and death. The result is the birth of innocent yet monstrous creature who turns violent when his needs aren’t met.

Parental Responsibility

The parental responsibility is another theme apparent in the upbringing of Victor Frankenstein. His father, Alphonse Frankenstein, has done his best to educate him in the top university Ingolstadt to study science. Victor whole-heartedly completes his education which shows his good upbringing. However, when Victor creates the Creature, he forgets to give this monster the moral and social education about how to live and behave in a society. In other words, he forgets his parental responsibility towards his creation.

One of the secondary themes that stay in the background is the theme of revenge. Victor Frankenstein creates the monster but stops short of creating its companion which leads the Creature to take revenge on him. The Creature kills his family members to make him realize the pain of loneliness. In the same way, Victor runs after the monster to exact revenge of his family members but dies during the chase.

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• Mary Shelley

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Romantic Motifs and Symbols in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This essay about the Romantic motifs and symbols in Mary Shelley’s *Frankenstein* examines how these elements enhance the novel’s narrative and thematic complexity. It highlights nature’s role as a powerful force reflecting the characters’ emotional states and the overarching theme of isolation. Light and darkness are explored as dual symbols, representing enlightenment and the peril of overreaching ambition respectively. Additionally, the motifs of fire and ice illustrate the destructive consequences of obsession, encapsulating the novel’s cautionary stance on the misuse of knowledge. The creature is analyzed as a symbol of the Romantic hero, embodying innocence corrupted by societal rejection. Through these Romantic elements, the essay argues that Shelley not only critiques the moral boundaries of scientific pursuit but also delves into the loneliness that accompanies the quest for greatness, situating *Frankenstein* within both the gothic and Romantic literary traditions.

How it works

Mary Shelley’s *Frankenstein* is often hailed as one of the seminal works of gothic literature, yet its intertwining of Romantic motifs and symbols lends a complex layer to the narrative, enriching its exploration of themes such as the sublime in nature, the dangers of forbidden knowledge, and the depths of human solitude. Shelley, writing in the midst of the Romantic period, imbues her text with a profound sense of these elements, which not only drive the plot forward but also deepen the philosophical inquiries at the heart of the novel.

At its core, the Romantic movement was marked by a deep fascination with nature, not merely as a backdrop for human activity but as a potent force with intrinsic value and power. In *Frankenstein*, nature is omnipresent and dynamic, serving as a refuge from societal constraints and a mirror to the characters’ inner worlds. The sublime landscapes that Victor encounters on his journeys—from the imposing peaks of the Alps to the desolate stretches of the Arctic—reflect his tumultuous inner state and underscore the novel’s recurring theme of isolation. These settings are not just passive environments; they are active participants in the narrative. The overwhelming power of nature serves as a humbling backdrop against which the human drama unfolds, reminding characters and readers alike of the smallness of human endeavors in the grandeur of the natural world.

Furthermore, light and darkness play symbolic roles throughout *Frankenstein*, embodying knowledge, discovery, and the dual nature of scientific pursuit. Light is traditionally associated with enlightenment and visibility, but in Shelley’s narrative, it also signifies danger and overreaching ambition. The moments when Victor is most consumed with his work are often illuminated by flashes of light, such as the lightning that inspires his scientific ambitions or the lanterns that light his macabre work in the laboratory. These instances of light contrast with the darkness that follows, symbolizing the consequences of venturing into unknown territories of science and ethics.

The motif of fire and ice throughout the novel also serves to illustrate the destructive power of obsession. Fire represents knowledge, life, and the spark of creation, while ice represents the cold, desolate outcome of misused knowledge and the isolation that envelops Victor and his creature. The duality of these elements reflects the Romantic fascination with passionate, often destructive pursuits and the stark realities that such passions can yield.

Lastly, the creature himself is a complex symbol of Romantic ideals gone awry. He embodies the Romantic hero—solitary, misunderstood, and tragic. His initial innocence and longing for companionship are met with fear and rejection, driving him towards vengeance. His development is a poignant critique of the Romantic idealization of the noble savage and the belief in the innate goodness of humanity. Through the creature, Shelley explores the corrupting influence of society and the inherent conflict between nature and civilization.

In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s *Frankenstein* masterfully integrates Romantic motifs and symbols to enrich its narrative and thematic depth. The novel’s use of nature, light and darkness, and the elements of fire and ice not only accentuates its Gothic roots but also firmly plants it within the Romantic tradition. Through these symbols, Shelley not only questions the moral implications of human overreach but also reflects on the profound loneliness that can accompany the quest for greatness. The Romantic elements thus serve to deepen the novel’s exploration of ambition, ethics, and human frailty, making it a timeless reflection on the human condition.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Frankenstein — Theme of Isolation in Frankenstein

Theme of Isolation in Frankenstein

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Frankenstein: The Theme of Birth Essay

Introduction.

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, various themes begin to develop, and they show the experiences in her life. She wrote the book while she was on a summer holiday in Switzerland with her lover Percy Bysshe Shelley whose wife was expecting a child. Later on, Percy’s wife committed suicide, and the two got married. Despite this, her life gets marred by deaths and tragedies, and that may have inspired her to write. The book reflects her thoughts and ideas about birth, biology, and gender equality.

Birth & Creation in Shelley’s Novel

The theme of birth and creation is one of the main issues in Mary Shelley’s novel. Its portrayal is through Victor Frankenstein, who is the main character in the book. He pursues knowledge that is even beyond the human limit, and in so doing, he ends up hurting even the people that he cares a lot about.

Victor Frankenstein grew up in Geneva, and during his youth, he widely read books about alchemy. As he grew older, his interest shifts to modern science, a subject that later became the epitome of his obsession. When Victor joins Ingolstadt University, he quickly masters all that the professors teach him. While in this university, he discovers the secrets of life, and he embarks on a journey to create a human being.

Frankenstein is a ruthless man who can stop at nothing in his pursuit of knowledge, and when he discovered the secrets of life, he uses it to create a monster. He devotes all his time to creating the human being. He finally manages to bring forth life, but when he sees what he has created, he gets horrified. The monster is eight feet tall and very strong. However, his mind is like that of a newborn baby. After creating the monster, he damps it and leaves it lonely and alone. He does not take responsibility for what he has created. Instead, he develops a hatred for it and runs away to escape the monster.

Mary Shelley describes the way Victor manages to bring forth life as that of a woman giving birth and compares it to when a child is being born. She describes the place where he undertakes his research as a “workshop of filthy creation” is seen as the womb of a woman. Frankenstein has spent a lot of time creating his monster, and his body becomes weak and emaciated as a result, just like a woman who has undergone labor. The writer describes as a woman experiencing labor pains, and Victor Frankenstein’s long hour of creation is like a woman who is in labor.

His greed for knowledge leads to him deteriorating physically. His cheeks have grown pale, with study, and he has become thin and emaciated because he does not even have time to eat. His obsession and wish to succeed in creating his monster does not allow him to care for his own self. His body has begun to decay like that of a dead person. Shockingly, a person can focus on something so much that he forgets himself just like a pregnant woman who, after nine months of pregnancy, becomes exhausted.

In society, only God and women’s ability is to bring forth life, and anything else becomes unnatural. Therefore, the fact that Victor Frankenstein failed in his quest to create a child is because it is he goes against nature since he is a man. Biologically, only women can give birth, and those that try to ‘play god’ with nature fails.

This theme is further developed when we learn that Frankenstein spent winter, spring, and summer seasons while creating his monster. This directly represents the nine months that takes place before a baby is born, as the three seasons added together totals nine months. He works and toils for several months without eating or sleeping, and his body succumbs to this. Even as the monster begins to come alive, Frankenstein’s own body has begun to decay, and he nearly dies.

Frankenstein’s primary motivation was to create something which would make him happy and which he would bring up like a child. However, when his creation is complete, he gets horrified by it, and he runs away, leaving the monster alone. He realizes that he has created a very ugly monster, and, as a result, he flees away from it. The monster is devoid of any beauty that Frankenstein had conceived in his mind. Instead, it possesses terrible ugliness that leads to people running away from it. This theme, therefore, seems to directly ridicule parents who bring forth life but are not able to care for it and to give it love.

The theme of birth is essential as it is the most precious thing that brings forth life. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, saw it as a crucial thing. This attributes to the fact that she tragically suffered a miscarriage, but luckily, she later gave birth to a son and a daughter. That is why she attached a lot of importance to the time when Frankenstein creates his creature. For her, the act of giving birth is noble.

Creation is also an essential theme for Shelley and is like a woman going through labor. Frankenstein recalls that as he created his creature, the moon watched. The moon signifies the cyclic and recurring female biology, and in Greek, the moon goddess Artemis was the patroness of childbirth. Frankenstein’s failure reinforces itself throughout the novel by Shelley, and in a way, she is criticizing Frankenstein for trying to “play God” with nature.

Shelley also attached a lot of importance on parenting. Through the theme of birth and creation, she manages to express her thoughts about it. In the real world and even the world of fiction, a child does not ask the time being born. As a result, it is entirely unfair if the child gets rejected and abused by the parents, yet, they were not forced into having the child. In fact, some people like Victor wish for the child.

Still, when the child is born and does not portray the qualities that the parents intended them to have, it faces rejection. Or even worse, it is abandoned by its own parents. Through the theme of birth and creation; therefore, Shelley criticizes people like Victor not only for creating the new being but also for leaving after it comes to life. Victor wishes to create a being that will make him happy as he will be its creator and source.

He desires to create a being that would be his child. This idea excites him so much that Frankenstein devotes his entire time in creating it, but when he realizes how ugly the being is, he recoils with horror and escapes away from the creature. He says that after he had finished creating the monster, the beauty that he had dreamt about disappeared, and instead, Victor became very disappointed and disgusted.

The monster, according to the creation by Frankenstein, is as innocent as a new-born child. He did not ask for Frankenstein to create him, and it is very unfair when he rejects him. Frankenstein’s rejection leads to the monster becoming wild, and he embarks on a revenge mission to kill those who are close to him.

The monster haunts him and is again deprived of rest as he hides from the creature. Even when he tries to go to sleep, the image of the monster still torments him, and he dreams of decaying bodies, and hence he suffers from a psychological breakdown.

Frankenstein’s rejection of the monster becomes seriously treated by Shelley. She seems to advocate for the monster to get fair treatment. For her, the philosophical argument that people are not born evil is true. Instead, it is the caring of these people that determines their behavior. Frankenstein denies compassion to the monster, and, as a result, the monster runs amok, killing people in revenge. When he tries to ask victor to end his suffering by creating a female companion for him, he fails to do so by destroying the female halfway to completion, and, as a result, the monster wages a revenge war on him.

He is so agitated that he almost becomes mad, and Clerval can’t help noticing that something is seriously wrong. His actions are that of a person who has gone insane as he jumps from one chair to another.

In conclusion, the theme of birth and creation is important in the book and were majorly influenced by the experiences that she went through. When she was just ten days old, her mother died, and from there, her life marks many deaths and tragedies. This leads her to attach a lot of importance on life in general, and, therefore, conception and birth came to mean a lot to her.

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Bibliography

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Frankenstein

Mary shelley, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The monster begins its life with a warm, open heart. But after it is abandoned and mistreated first by Victor and then by the De Lacey family, the monster turns to revenge. The monster's actions are understandable: it has been hurt by the unfair rejection of a humanity that cannot see past its own prejudices, and in turn wants to hurt those who hurt it. As the monster says when Felix attacks it and flees with the rest of the De Lacey family, "...feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom...[and] I bent my mind towards injury and death." But in taking revenge, two things happen to the monster. First, it ensures that it will never be accepted in human society. Second, because by taking revenge the monster eliminates any hope of ever joining human society, which is what it really wants, revenge becomes the only thing it has. As the monster puts it, revenge became "dearer than light or food."

Revenge does not just consume the monster, however. It also consumes Victor, the victim of the monster's revenge. After the monster murders Victor's relatives, Victor vows a "great and signal revenge on [the monster's] cursed head." In a sense then, the very human desire for revenge transforms both Victor and the monster into true monsters that have no feelings or desires beyond destroying their foe.

Revenge ThemeTracker

Revenge Quotes in Frankenstein