Otos 1

Lucas Otos

Ms. Winter

English 12 Per. 4

28 January 2022

Humanity shall never be God (4)

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, once said “How do we navigate and

process painful biases and conflicting emotions and press on to be sacrificial and suffer in the

struggle? And what do we do with images and depictions that, known or unknown to those

perpetuating them, may contribute to the impediment of human progress?”. In the novel written

by Mary Shelly, Frankenstein (1832), She depicts a prideful college student named Victor

Frankenstein who is interested in the darker areas of science. Natural Philosophy and Chemistry

became the main points of focus in this man’s life. Because of his pride and interests, he goes on

to try and complete a feat no human should; create life out of death. Through the telling of this

story, the reader gets to witness the dichotomy between the relationships of the creators and the

created within the novel. With the tighter, healthier relationship between Victor and his father

being the standard for what a relationship should look like. And the falling out between Victor

and the creature. It is seen how the lives of these characters are altered by the relationship they

share and the difference between being nurtured with care for Victor and the nurture that was

never given to the monster. Creators must take care of what they create. Artists don’t toss their

art out the window and parents don’t leave their children to the environment. There is an innate

working of this world that creators should always support their creations.

Upon the creation of the creature, Victor instantly feels abhorrent to the life he brings into

the world. He states how the feelings of “breathless horror and disgust” had taken over him at the
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sight of his creation. The presence of this creature was too much for Victor; he was “unable to

compose [his] mind to sleep” (shelly 43-44). Victor does not see his creation in a good light and

creates a feeling of disdain. With the monster only existing for a few moments, it needs a pillar

of support that could only be given by Victor. But Victor does not have what it takes to confront

and support the creature. Victor ends up actively avoiding the creature. This is important to the

relationship between creator and created because, without the guidance of one’s creator, the

created will not be able to learn in a safe environment and be faced with a harsh future. This

leads to the creation of Frankenstein to go through many hardships in its experience of the world.

This point is supported later in the book when the monster and Frankenstein are alone in the

mountains, discussing; “‘Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you

and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must

fall”(Shelly 87). With Victor saying this to the monster, the reader sees Victor’s feelings towards

his creation have increased to a degree of hostility. Instead of not wanting anything to do with the

creature, he wants to take it out of this world. But this feeling of hostility towards the creature

was brought to Victor by his own hands. Earlier in the story, Victor puts two and two together

when he thought the monster “could be the murderer of [his] brother…”. As soon as this thought

crosses his mind, he is “convinced of its truth…” (Shelly 63). Victor here figures out that the

monster has killed his younger brother. Since no one was there to help and regulate the creature’s

emotions, he popped off and ended up taking a life. Because the monster could not learn from

anyone, including Victor, he committed an act that could not be undone.

Victor’s father, Alphonse, always cared for Victor through thick and thin. He shows this

when he visits Victor in the jail cell in Ireland. Victor was overjoyed to see his father, thinking

“Nothing, at this moment, could have given [him] greater pleasure than the arrival of my
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father”(shelly 171). At this time, Victor was going through some very extreme emotions. Not

only was he framed for murder, but it was the murder of his beloved friend Henry Clerval. Since

the relationship between father and son is so strong, Victor can feel at ease and comfort when his

father comes to see him. Victor always feels this way about his father. He believes that no one

“Could pass a happier childhood than [him]self” and his parents were “possessed by the very

spirit of kindness and indulgence” (Shelly 23). This shows the reader that Victor always has

someone to turn to when he faces struggles in life. His father can lift him emotionally and be

there for him. Victor is never fully isolated from somebody, unlike the creature.

Some may claim the relationship between creator and created doesn’t matter because

society would have treated Victor’s creation poorly anyway. For instance, the creature tries to

interact with the De Laceys but they react with “horror and consternation on beholding [him]”

(Shelly 123). The De Laceys reject the creature without hesitation. This rejection shows the

creature that nobody in this world will care for him, so he starts to detest all of humanity.

However, the creature did not expect other humans to give him any attention. Even the creature

learns and feels that there is an expectation for the creator to care for its creation. The monster

exclaims to Victor “you, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your

fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing?” (Shelly 87). The creature understands there is an innate

instinct for creators to take care of their creations, and questions why Victor will not do his duty.

How is the creature supposed to feel validated by others if its creator won’t even give it a chance

to prove itself? The monster is not given a proper attempt at living a good life because its creator,

Victor, rejects him.

Within the world we live in, creators have the responsibility to take care of what they

create. When this one rule is not met, the demise of one’s creation is imminent as shown with
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Victor’s creation. But when creators do care for their creations, they can thrive as seen with

Victor and his father. Under all circumstances, one must care for what they create to give the

creation a chance in this world.

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Works Cited

Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein. Bantam Dell, 2003