Eady 1

Sean Moreland

ENG 3375 A

March 27th, 2023

ENG 3375 (A)

March second, 1945

I have been unlawfully created. My mind and body are not my own. My master Victor

Frankenstein fashioned me from the skin and brain of others. I have escaped his enclosure and

am currently in the wilderness where the stream splits into two. Upon leaving I grabbed a coat

which had contained the journal I am currently writing in. I’ve spent the greater part of the last

few days reading it, learning how and why I was created. With the reading and pondering I’ve

done I have taught myself the basic ways of writing and speaking. The brain that was given to

me must be helpful as I can use its memory to aid this process. I have been born into a grown

form, I have observed that most life begins as a child, and I am not a part of that natural

sequence. I wandered into the path of three individuals, all screaming and running in the opposite

direction, yelling monster. As I heard the motorcars from the road below the ridge, I began

pondering why they screamed. Am I a monster?

Upon leaving my creator's castle I managed to snag two texts which I have been reading

since the sun rose over the hill in the east today. The first text I grabbed was that of paradise lost

written by John Milton, and the second is Carl Popper's “Open Society and Its Enemies: Plato’s

Theories of Forms or ideas”. So far, I have read the first bit of Milton’s text and it has caused me

to think about how I was created and if it is morally correct. The passage which stood out to me

is as follows, “Mans disobedience, and the loss thereupon of Paradise wherein he

was plac't: Then touches the prime cause of his fall, the Serpent, or rather Satan in the Serpent”
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(Milton 1) Frankenstein was disobedient in creating me. The paradise which is the current world

has been disturbed by my existence. I did not ask to be created in that laboratory; I don’t even

ask to remain alive right now. Since I am, however, understanding the world and its rules is of

utmost importance so I know how to fit in. I relate to the serpent Milton speaks of throughout the

section I have read. I have the unclean and unholy in me. I have not been born to a mother and

father, making me a product of curiosity and too much freedom.

Am I the devilish serpent from Milton’s story? Or is my creator Frankenstein? It is hard

to comprehend what Milton means with his words. I have listened to Victor speak and it was

nothing like this labyrinth of words on the page in front of me. I have tried to comprehend his

text all morning and am still unsure who is Satan, me? Or my creator? As Milton says,

“From their creator, and transgress his will

For one restraint, lords of the world besides.

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?

The infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile,

Stirred up with envy and revenge” (Milton 30-35)

The serpent was so full of jealousy and anger he needed to do what was not allowed by the

decree of God. He upset God's balance as Frankenstein has done for me. I may look like a

devilish creature, but my creator is the serpent Milton speaks of. He is a slippery being who

upsets the very balance of the earth by putting me on it. There is one large difference between

how Milton describes the serpent and how I see Frankenstein. The serpent as I specified above

did not necessarily understand his impact on the world and God. Frankenstein, however,

understood the gravity of creating me. I am an alien, yet I was created on this very earth. It
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makes me enraged to think about this man's stupidity. Tonight, I will try to find food and stay out

of sight. I cannot risk another encounter I cannot take the screams of my apparent ugliness.

March Third, 1945

This morning I began the second text I had taken from the library of my creator. It is a

peculiar text as I believe I should have read Plato's text first. This individual Popper makes many

references to him, and I am quite upset I don’t have the precursor to this. From what I gather thus

far it is a direct reflection and dissection of Plato’s work. Unlike Paradise Lost, Popper makes

Frankensteins' actions seem more acceptable, this confuses me. The first part that contradicts

Milton’s work is when popper says, “man is the master of his own destiny and that, in

accordance with our aims, we can influence or change the history of man just as we have

changed the face of the earth” (Popper 21) This passage exclaims how man oversees their destiny

which technically makes my existence justifiable. This is poppers response to Plato’s theory of

social engineering which I am still trying to figure out. I am no man, does this mean I have no

power regarding my future? Is man the only being on Earth who oversees the future? I am a half

man, half beast who was not born of the flesh. I do not know what aspect of Popper's text applies

to me. Maybe Frankenstein was not totally in the wrong if we base his decision on the fact that

men are the master of destiny.

On page twenty-four Popper describes a child's relationship with his father and makes the

connection between that and forms or ideas. Is that how I'm supposed to view Frankenstein?

Like a God? Popper says that children often view their fathers as an omnipotent force who can

do no wrong, I was just “born” yet unlike these children all I see is a coward full of hatred. I find

myself in a whirlwind of confusion from Popper's text. I am not sure whether I am considered a
 Eady 4

man or a son. I feel as though I was a falsely created being who is not either yet am both. I have

a creator and the brain of a man. Popper says that Plato believes in the “receiving principle to a

mother, and the model to a father, and their product to a child.”. I am the product of neither my

father nor my mother, I have no principle or model. Neither one of these texts describe a child

without a father and mother created from the corpses of others and mad science.

March Fourth, 1945

A new day has begun. I became too overwhelmed with the aspects of Popper's texts

yesterday, so I had to take a break. Finding food is much more difficult than I imagined, I have

sustained myself on rodents, moss, and the water which fills the nearby stream. I made a

revelation when I walked over to the stream this morning. I saw a beast looking back at me, I

then realized what I look like. Compared to other men I am hideously made up of all different

parts, no wonder people are frightened. This life is progressively getting worse, I wish to speak

to my creator and bring up all that I have learned over the past few days. How would I even find

Frankenstein or find it in me to go back to my ‘birthplace’? I cannot think of that right now I

need breakfast.

I came to wonder whose text was right or more prevalent in my situation. The

comparison between Popper and Milton in terms of where I fit into the world and society is very

interesting. On one hand, there is no such being who has not been conceived of mother and

father. The creation of such a monster is directly deceiving God. On the other hand, Popper says

a man can do what they wish with little to no repercussions.

 Eady 5

I think I have concluded, however, that man should not have the power to play God.

Milton says,

“That with reiterated crimes he might

Heap on himself damnation, while he sought

Evil to others, and enrag’d might see” (Milton 212-214)

I can only hope Frankenstein is damned for his crimes. It pains me I exist, he had no right to

pretend to have Godly abilities. He, like the serpent, found evil and was therefore punished by it.

Man may change the face of the Earth as Popper says but he cannot change the evolution and

Godly processes. He will be damned as humanity was from the first day the rule was broken in

the garden of Eden.

I can imagine Frankenstein believing in the words of Popper as he justifies his actions. I

can see he does not believe in God or the paradise that was lost, Frankenstein believes only in the

power of men. I saw a young man who looked like Victor’s friend Henry just down by the

stream. I will try and speak to him to understand why the race of men is so quick to play God. I

hope he has a helpful insight which will help me understand my existence. I am feeling an odd

sensation thinking of Victor and his friend however, I feel rage.

 Eady 6

Monsters Journal: Man’s disobedience and damnation

Frankenstein’s monster writes in this journal over the course of a few days to better

understand who he is and why he has come to be. Carl Popper’s beliefs of autonomy and

enlightenment show how he would agree with Frankenstein. This includes Frankenstein’s beliefs

about playing God and being able to do what an individual wants when they want to do it. This

view, however, is not one the monster would relate to. Instead, Milton's use of biblical references

and sin better describes how the monster would feel in its creation situation.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley includes many references to Paradise Lost throughout the

novel. In the journal the monster views Victor as Satan which he relates to the snake from

Milton’s novel. In the lecture “Frankenstein’s Romantic Context” by Sean Moreland, he brings

up that “The epigraph on the title page of the 1818 edition of Frankenstein is from Paradise Lost:

‘Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me man?’” (Moreland). This beginning

section covers the way the monster feels. It is a precursor to the novel, yet it explains its most

important aspects of it. The Monster is a moulded piece of clay created from the pieces of others,

it never requested this creation, however, Frankenstein never cared about its potential feelings.

Mary Shelley felt the need to add Milton's thoughts on creation. She wanted the audience to

empathize with the monster and understand who the real villain was.

Both Frankenstein and Paradise Lost relate to biblical stories, specifically the creation

story. In Paradise Lost, the reader follows how the pureness of men fail as they were tempted by

the devil. In David. S Hogsette’s article "Metaphysical Intersections in Frankenstein: Mary

Shelley’s Theistic Investigation of Scientific Materialism and Transgressive Autonomy." He

determines how the two stories are similar and what it means. Hogsette says, “Victor is not a
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humble inventor who shows respect for himself, his invention, or the Creator; rather, he is a

presumptuous man who attempts to transcend invention and to create life as if he were God”

(Hogsette 534) he craved the power of God as Eve did in the Garden of Eden after Satan tempted

them. After the monster reads Paradise Lost it comes to understand why Frankenstein created

him and why he is selfish.

In its journal entry, the monster shows a relationship with John Milton’s text. This

describes his creation and gets the reader to be empathetic and understanding. Karl Popper's

assessment of Plato's work outlines man’s free will and therefore agrees with Frankenstein’s'

actions. Although the monster found these opposing ideas confusing John Milton's Paradise Lost

shows historically and philosophically the morality of creation and sin. The concentration on this

article throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein proves how important it is to get a better

understanding of the monster's thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

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Works Cited

Hogsette, David S. "Metaphysical Intersections in Frankenstein: Mary Shelley’s Theistic

Investigation of Scientific Materialism and Transgressive Autonomy." Christianity &

Literature, vol. 60, no. 4, 2011, pp. 531-559. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-

journals/metaphysical-intersections-i-frankenstein-mary/docview/2447103996/se-2.

LICHTMAN, RICHARD. “KARL POPPER’S DEFENSE OF THE AUTONOMY OF

SOCIOLOGY.” Social Research, vol. 32, no. 1, 1965, pp. 1–25. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40969765. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Milton, John. “Paradise Lost: Book 1.” The John Milton Reading Room,

https://milton.host.dartmouth.edu/reading_room/pl/book_1/text.shtml.

Moreland, Shawn. Frankenstein’s Romantic Context. Week Five. ENG 3375 A. UofO. February

6th, 2023.

Popper, Karl. “The Open Society and Its Enemies: The Spell of Plato, Vol. 1, 1st Ed.”

Antilogicalism, https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/open-society-1.pdf.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein. 3rd ed., Broadview Press, 2012.