When comparing the first edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which showed her desire to accommodate the novel more to the liking of her husband Percy, to the later revised Frankenstein, Shelley’s “adolescence” and “initial ambivalence” is clear.
First time critics were quick to call out the “anonymous” writer’s novel as unorthodox in that it had no “conduct, manners, and morality.” Yet, if one were to compare Frankenstein to contemporary Promethean Imaginative works, it actually happens to be more conservative.
To the “young scholar,” it is pretty easy to miss Victor’s egotism and ambition, which can come off as being “curious.” EX: Victor’s desire to create a being with life can seem “selfless,” but his true wishes are clear when he states that he “deserves greater gratitude from his creation than a son gives his father.”
Other examples of his ambition are his habits he undertakes in creating the monster. He seems like a mad-scientist locked away from society, putting all his energy in creating this being. His “self-obsession” is clear when even he states that he wishes that his cares and affections towards his family were to completely subside until his creation is complete.
No comments:
Post a Comment