Short Essay on Mary Shelley

Victor Frankenstein, a complex character to begin with, becomes evermore-complicated thanks to the style of narration that Mary Shelley uses in the novel. Whether Frankenstein’s intentions while creating the monster were noble or selfish, as a reader it is difficult to separate the emotions used by Frankenstein when narrating to William, the captain of the ship. Shelley uses the character’s dictation to her advantage in showing how confused Victor is about his own original intentions. He begins with a justification for his work, as he wishes to “pour a torrent of light into our dark world” (Shelley 33). This noble face quickly dissolves into a thirst for glory and recognition; Victor wishes to be not only exulted by his own species, but also by the new species that he intends to make. His pride shows most vigorously in the paternal sense, knowing that “no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve their’s” (Shelley 33). The abundance of evidence stating reasons similar to these in Shelly’s first paragraph clearly shows that no matter how Frankenstein tried to spin his story, pride and arrogance in according to his station as a natural scientist won out in his muddled and volatile heart.

            Shelley uses the second paragraph to demonstrate Victor’s almost apologetic tone in describing the physical limits that he pushed himself to. He almost beseeches both the ship captain and the reader to understand the hardships he went through in order to make this monster, only to have it emerge hideous and ugly. Victor describes himself as going through the most extreme ardor, having his physical body shrivel and shrink away while his task essentially consumes his spiritual peace. Frankenstein’s plea to the reader for mercy is Shelley’s way of proving that, while Victor might seem noble and altruistic on the surface, beneath this layer of integrity is a desperate self-interested man begging forgiveness before he dies.