In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, perhaps the most notable of all the many themes of this supernatural tale is man acting like God. It is Victor's hubris that eventually destroys the lives of almost everyone he cares for and consequently leads to Victor's death.
Victor, like God, has created life where there was none. He brings into existence a creature of his making. In Chapter Four he warns Walton of repeating his own mistake:
Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.
He acknowledges that "nature" does not "allow" for the things he felt compelled to do, and this led to his downfall. It was the knowledge of the secret of life and death, which only God can command, that Victor discovered. And with this knowledge, he eventually created his creature.
Like God, Victor creates an "Adam"—the beginning of a race, the first of its kind. In Chapter Ten, the monster tells Victor:
Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam . . .
Victor's animation of flesh might be seen as a resurrection of sorts—bringing dead flesh back to life. Victor speaks of the "beauty and strength" of man, something God experienced upon looking at His creations, noting that they were "good" (Genesis 1:31). In Chapter Four Victor recalls:
Darkness had no effect upon my fancy, and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life . . . the seat of beauty and strength . . .
In Chapter Fifteen, the creature compares Victor to God in recognizing Victor's ability to create life. However, he also notes that God showed pity, an emotion the monster questions ever being present in Victor.
God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance.
For a short time, Victor does begin to feel pity for the thing he has brought to life, sorry that it must exist forever alone in the world. In Chapter Twenty, he even begins to commence the construction of a mate for the monster, but is so disgusted by what he is doing that he destroys his work, which enrages the creature.
Like God, Victor assumes the guise of judge. He decides the monster must be destroyed because of the evil it has visited upon mankind. In Chapter Ten, the creature speaks of this to Victor in the cave:
The guilty are allowed, by human laws . . . to speak in their own defence before they are condemned. Listen to me, Frankenstein. You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man! . . . listen to me, and then, if you can, and if you will, destroy the work of your hands.
Victor, like God, has created life. However, he does not have the wisdom, compassion, and love of God. One might argue that if he had indeed been more God-like, he would have known not to assume the responsibility of the Creator. However, after doing so, having God's compassion and love, he would never have rejected the creature, which caused so much destruction and loss of life. Although Victor began with intentions of serving humankind, he was not the Almighty and so suffered the consequences of attempting to be like God.
No comments:
Post a Comment