Shelly's View of her Frankenstein

In the early stages of the creation of the monster, Shelly shows two different attitudes through her main character, Frankenstein. First she reveals a sort of delight through Frankenstein at the fact that he now possesses godlike powers, as he has figured out how to animate inanimate objects. From here, Frankenstein starts to recognize himself as a creator. He feels as though he is above other scientists of his time and strives for even more power. He does so by searching for a way to revive the dead; although he soon found this task to be impossible, it still shows his desire to be a godlike figure. This fantasy is also visible in the passage when he mentions the great joy it would bring him to be worshiped by his creations. In Ancient Greece, Frankenstein would have been described as a man with hubris.

            Shelly’s second stance is shown in the last paragraph of the passage where Frankenstein begins to realize how disgusting his endeavor actually is. It is as though he realizes how wrong everything he is doing is, but at the same time he cannot stop. He has an insatiable craving to see the results of his labor. Because of his craving, digging through graves and torturing animals to obtain pieces of his project did not seem to faze him. He was obsessed and therefore blinded by his wish for a perfect result. Frankenstein’s obsession causes him to make impulsive decisions; he does not take the time to consider all of the possible outcomes of his work. He only thinks about how things would turn out if they were to go his way. He did not even contemplate what his actual reaction to the beast would be. This passage is very important to the book overall because it demonstrates the extent of Frankenstein’s preoccupation. It gives the readers something to base the progression of his character on.