Frankenstein is a gothic science-fiction novel written by an English author Mary Shelley in 1818. The story follows a young scientist Victor Frankenstein obsessed with discovering the secret of life. Ultimately producing a sapient creature, the scientist was horrified by the result and resented his creation. The novel’s main conflict revolves around negligence of responsibility in the name of ambition and the consequences of such actions.
The main plot starts as a story Victor tells a captain who happened to save his life. Victor strived for knowledge and studied hard in university, ignoring his family and friends. He manages to uncover the secret of creating life by utilizing his skills in chemistry. There, he combines old body parts, creating an organism that terrifies Victor as soon as it comes to life (Shelley 86). Refusing to take responsibility for producing a monster, the scientist loses his loved ones at the hands of his creation. However, he was almost convinced by the monster’s saddening speech about loneliness to repeat his success and produce a companion (Shelley 129). Victor then realizes how dangerous the prospect of two demons can be and discards his work. In revenge, his creation murders the scientist’s friend and fiancée.
After losing his father to grief, Victor begins the quest of stopping the monster. Here, the narrative switches to present events, yet he is unable to recover from the sickness that forced him to rely on the ship’s captain. The captain sees the weeping monster in the room with Victor’s cold body, full of suffering and hatred (Shelley 240). Despite that, the creature is convinced that he can now meet his end just like his creator, departing to the never-ending ice.
Work Cited
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. United States, Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.