How has the author of ONE substantive text you have studied

created a character in conflict with his or her society?

By examining this conflict, what understandings can you come to
about the author's cultural and historical contet and ideas and
values?

Frankenstein, sometimes called The Modern Prometheus, a novel written by

Mary Shelley, is a story that was both ahead of its time and firmly stuck
within it. Published in 1818 and widely considered the first science fiction
novel, it tells a tale that, even two centuries after its publication, still has so
much to be discussed.
Victor Frankenstein, the core character of the plot and a man who's
perspective makes up a large portion of the novel is, first and foremost, an
unreliable narrator. This is one of the cons of the first person point of view
that Frankenstein is told from - since the thoughts and events we read of are
told from Frankenstein's opinion and understanding of them to Walton, his
personal beliefs colour them. Within the first few chapters in which
Frankenstein describes his childhood with his family, it seems, for the most
part, a happy one, but then hints of a darkness come through in some places,
which contradict his earlier words. A large part of Victor Frankensteins
character is the fact that he seeks perfection - even in his memories.
The second, or sub, title of the novel, 'The Modern Prometheus,' refers to the
Titan Prometheus from Greek mythology, who brought down fire from
Olympus to give to man. As punishment, Zeus had him chained to a rock,
where an eagle would peck out his innards, repeating this daily as they
regenerated. Many characters throughout the course of the novel have facets
of their character mirrored or opposed by Frankenstein's own, and though
Prometheus never appears in within the pages of the novel, his character, or
myth, was what I based my first comparison to Victor Frankenstein on.
Prometheus was more than just the one that brought fire to man - his myth
states that he was the one that created man, showing a parallel between him
and Frankenstein. Also, much like Frankenstein, Prometheus came to regret
his transgression.
After reading through Walton's series of letters to his sister and hearing
Frankenstein's retelling of his childhood, we meet Henry Clerval - a man who
is both a mirror and an opposite of Frankenstein himself. Victor Frankenstein
is a genius, and places great importance on both physical beauty and
intellectual prowess. Henry offers both of these, though not on the level of
Victor Frankenstein himself, and also does not come from such a well to do
family. Henry's ambition in life is to become a "gallant and adventurous

benefactor of our species,*" in comparison to Frankenstein's desire to create

a whole new race with him at the top of the hierachy. However, for all these
qualities, Henry's character can come off even more two dimensional then
Elizabeth's, and I believe that it is because, for all his importance to the plot
and potential, he is little more than a foil to Victor Frankenstein, for us, as the
readers, to contrast and compare and to give insight into just how truly
ambitious - or even delusional - Victor Frankenstein becomes.
The biggest point of comparison for any character in regards to Frankenstein
is, I believe, the likenesses and differences between Frankenstein and his
'monster.' Victor Frankenstein, who sought for beauty in all that he saw and
did, was horrified when he first saw that all his hard work had created a
creature whose
"Yellow skin scarcely covered the works of muscles and arteries
beneath; his hair was of a lutstrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly
whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his
watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white
sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black
lips." - pg. 59, Penguin Classics
His first instinct is to flee, and even though he feels guilt for what he has
done, for a good while at the beginning of the novel, it seemed almost as if
he denied any responsibilty or culpability for his creation or the events that
followed his subsequent abandonment of it. His desire to, at first, ignore the
fact that the creature existed, could be seen as him desperately trying to
ease himself back into normality, if not society, after his ambitions all went
horribly wrong.
Though it is never explicitly stated, one of Frankenstein's main and most
obvious character traits, his appreciation of the physical beauty of the body,
has long been debated on whether or not it shows signs that Victor
Frankenstein was homosexual or bisexual. His descriptions of Henry's beauty
do indeed lean towards what most would consider feminine, and his
admiration of the physical aspects of other male character sometimes came
across as almost worshipful. This isn't to say Frankenstein does not
appreciate female beauty - as he does, never more evident then when he is
describing 'his' Elizabeth. His possible sexual orientation would have
definitely been something that would have further removed him from his
society, as while the year is is never defined in Frankenstein, to my memory Walton addresses his letters to his sister with the year missing whilst the rest
of the date (month and day) remains - suggesting that the book is set in an
alternate universe or continuity of Mary Shelley's own, the world Victor
Frankenstein does live in echoes the culture and society of Mary Shelley's
own nineteenth century world. Following this logic, homosexuality or
bisexuality would fall under the same taboo in Frankenstein's universe that it

did in this universes nineteenth century.

Mary Shelley seemingly drew a lot from her own experiences to build up the
novel Frankenstein - from her mother's death to her own parents beliefs,
which were radical for the time. Some believe that one of the messages
Frankenstein has to tell is a feminist one - when you take a woman from the
equation of birth and the creation of life, dire consequences may happen,
confirming the importance of women. Another theory along this vein relates
to the fact that Victor Frankenstein quite frequently refers to nature as 'her,'
and given that he wishes to overcome 'her' and it fails miserably with dire
consequences, to Victor Frankenstein and all that he loves.
Essentially, I believe that Victor Frankenstein is a character in conflict with the
society he lives in in several ways, but he does not care about his seclusion
as much as others in his place would, as he feels content with what he does
have (his family and Henry) and when his ambition grows and he seeks to
claim more than he already does have, his society and culture do not even
seem to enter into the equation - he sets his sights far higher, in an attempt
to overcome the laws of nature themselves. And it is the fall from this great
climb that inevitably leads to his demise.

(*paraphrased from memory, couldn't find the exact passage it came from)