Frankenstein, which was written by Mary Shelley, is a novel that encompasses the process of creation, evolution, ambition and judgment. Frankenstein’s monster makes an appearance in the novel when he attempts to seek revenge on Frankenstein for abandoning him. A large part of Frankenstein’s reasoning behind leaving his creation was due to the fear of not being accepted by society (Lundin, n. pag. ) Frankenstein is not looking for forgiveness and eventually becomes a murderer himself.
Frankenstein’s monster also demonstrates the concept of evolution; he changes as he progresses through the novel. Frankenstein’s monster evolves from an impressionable young man into a mindless but still emotional creature (Lundin, n. pag. ). His mind becomes like Frankenstein’s as Frankenstein starts to lose his mind as well (Lundin, n. pag. ). The theme of judgment is present in Frankenstein as well; Frankenstein judges all those around him and determines how they should be treated based on their appearance or social status.
Frankenstein himself was judged by others before actually meeting them which influenced the way they were treated afterward Frankenstein had already determined that they were reviled and Frankenstein treated them as such (Lundin, n. pag. ). This is a stark contrast to Frankenstein’s monster who was judged by Frankenstein’s family before Frankenstein had even met him. Frankenstein’s family members immediately started calling him “a daemon” and Frankenstein didn’t stop this from happening (Lundin, n. ag. ).
Because Frankenstein never gave his creation a chance he makes it difficult for his monster to get one later on when Frankenstein realizes that his monster has become a murderer. These are the conditions presented in the novel, Frankenstein , which apply to the idea of judgment in Frankenstein . A large part of judgement in Frankenstein is demonstrated through conditional relationships with other characters within the book.
The protagonist of Frankenstein is Victor Frankenstein himself, Frankenstein’s monster is the antagonist of Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s family members are seen as helpers or vice versa depending on how they interact with Frankenstein. Frankenstein himself was judged by his peers before ever meeting them based on his size and appearance (Lundin, n. pag. ). This causes Frankenstein to judge others first which creates a cycle where those who Frankenstein judges treat those around Frankenstein the same way that Frankenstein treated them (Lundin, n. pag. ).
As he meets more people Frankenstein begins to associate more negative attributes with other characters even if it wasn’t warranted such as when he saw a young girl drenched in water he thought ill of her parents for ignoring her instead of being grateful that she had been saved from drowning (Lundin, n. pag. ). Frankenstein judges his monster from the beginning when Frankenstein creates him Frankenstein doesn’t acknowledge Frankenstein’s relationship to Frankenstein’s monster which leads Frankenstein’s monster to seek revenge on Frankenstein for abandoning him (Lundin, n. ag. ).
There are a few actions that can be associated with judgement in Frankenstein . One of these is how Frankenstein treated his family members who were immediately judged because of their appearance. Frankenstein determines that they all look “revolting” and this is how he treats them as well as if their appearances fit the labels that Frankenstein gives them (Lundin, n. pag. ). Mary Shelley uses several techniques in Frankenstein to convey the theme of judgement throughout the novel.
Mary Shelley used symbolism through characters to show that judgement played a large role in Frankenstein . One way that Mary Shelley conveyed this was through death and resurrection is discussed by Lundin. This refers back to when Frankenstein judges others based on their appearance leading them to judge him just as harshly because they have not yet interacted with him directly (Lundin, n. pag. ).
Thanks to Frankenstein, Mary Shelley became one of the most well-known female writers in Great Britain and eventually around the world. Frankenstein is a novel which was first published in 1818 and has come to represent Frankenstein as a man: this is what people think when they hear Frankenstein’s name. However, Frankenstein isn’t just about Frankenstein himself, it also includes his family background and upbringing, including his parents and siblings. This brings us to judgment (or lack thereof).
Frankenstein is an intelligent man but lacks judgement; he often makes terrible decisions which end up doing more harm than good. This can be seen throughout the novel with many examples such as when Frankenstein creates the monster or when he tries to get revenge on those who wronged him. Frankenstein’s lack of judgement often gets Frankenstein into more trouble, and it also puts others in danger. Frankenstein himself constantly struggles with the issue of being able to judge people and situations correctly.
Frankenstein isn’t a completely bad person however, he has his good qualities that save him from being a complete villain. Frankenstein is constantly trying to get better at judging situations/people but even years after the novel ends he still makes questionable decisions from time to time.
Frankenstein will always have an issue with making correct judgments though because of his upbringing, this can be seen when Frankenstein argues with his beloved wife Elizabeth about whether or not people are inherently good or evil: I should rather suppose that man, like every other animal, was formed merely to pursue those impulses which were most agreeable to his internal nature” Frankenstein’s parents are both scientists who are very into the scientific method, which Frankenstein himself finds ridiculous. Frankenstein is embarrassed by his family because they care more about their scientific experiments than they do about him. Frankenstein finds it strange that his parents judge people on how useful or valuable of a person they would be to society rather than what kind of good qualities the person has.
Frankenstein finds this way of judging people awful and thinks it is an absurd way to live one’s life. Frankenstein didn’t follow in his family’s footsteps however, he went against everything he was taught as a child and created a monster instead of trying to help people as his father wanted him to do: Frankenstein tells us why he turned away from science and towards the dark arts in Frankenstein’s introduction.
Frankenstein wanted to help people but he couldn’t just do that, Frankenstein had to go out of his way to study science so that others didn’t judge him for being different, Frankenstein tells us this in Frankenstein’s introduction. Frankenstein was afraid of being judged by society because Frankenstein doesn’t have good judgement himself, which Frankenstein gets from his parents who are both terrible judges of people themselves. This lack of judgement is another reason why Frankenstein would be a terrible parent.
Frankenstein has no idea how to judge other people let alone what kind of judgmental traits he’ll pass down on to his children if he ever has any. If Frankenstein did have kids they’d end up becoming bad judges like him or even worse than Frankenstein himself. Frankenstein’s parents were bad judges who Frankenstein inherited their lack of judgement from; Frankenstein would pass this trait down to his own children if he ever had any.
Frankenstein couldn’t judge other people correctly because Frankenstein lacks the knowledge necessary to make correct judgments, Frankenstein tells us why in Frankenstein’s introduction. Frankenstein is a novel which was first published in 1818 and has come to represent Frankenstein as a man: this is what people think when they hear Frankenstein’s name however, Frankenstein isn’t just about Frankenstein himself, it also includes his family background and upbringing, including his parents and siblings. This brings us to judgment (or lack thereof).
