Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein” Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Childhood is characterized by learning and the need to be guided on society’s rights and wrongs. Many times, children’s upbringings are affected by the happenings around them. For example, Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein depicts some childhood behaviors through Victor. These behaviors include understanding love and care, the role of parents, and fears of sharing affection.

Children like to feel the love and care their parents give to them. Frankenstein describes Victor’s life as blessed and delightful since he had his parent’s love and care. He felt fortunate when they mingled with other families, and he felt gratitude for filial love (Shelley 23). However, the experience was short-lived when his mother died when he was 17. He describes his childhood afterward as unpleasant. Therefore, this statement asserts the importance of parents’ existence to a child.

Children reflect what their parents most of the time. Victor believes that he should reflect his parents’ love for him to the creature. He feels unloved for not even laying his eyes on the creature (Shelley 45). Further, Laura Claridge explains that the creature experienced an unloving environment during his childhood. According to her, Victor felt out of place and dissatisfied with the way he did not reciprocate the love he got (8). Hence, children always learn from their parents and reflect on their behaviors.

Fears of sharing affection in a child are seen when another person enters the picture. Victor feels excluded and given less appreciation when a little sister is adopted. He started being a participant rather than an object of his parent’s love. Victor feels like he should be his parent’s plaything and their idol (Shelley 33). Elizabeth’s addition to the family felt like a competition for affection. However, Marshall Brown disagrees as he feels it affected nothing but complete joy since there is no mention of sibling friction (16). He describes Victor and Elizabeth as strangers to any species of disunion.

In conclusion, Shelley uses Victor’s childhood to describe some behaviors. These behaviors include parents’ roles in a child, affection sharing, and love and care. Additionally, Elizabeth plays a role in amplifying these behaviors through her adoption. Therefore, one needs to understand children’s behaviors and characters in their childhood and later adult lives.

Works Cited

Brown, Marshall. “Frankenstein”: A Child’s Tale.” Novel: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 36, no. 2, 2003.

Claridge, Laura P. “Parent-Child Tensions in Frankenstein: The Search for Communion.” Studies in the Novel, vol. 17, no. 1, 1985, pp. 14-26.

Shelley, Mary. “Frankenstein [1818].” Oxford, 2001.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2023, March 18). Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nature-of-child-in-shelleys-frankenstein/

Work Cited

"Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein”." IvyPanda, 18 Mar. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/nature-of-child-in-shelleys-frankenstein/.

References

IvyPanda. (2023) 'Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein”'. 18 March.

References

IvyPanda. 2023. "Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein”." March 18, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nature-of-child-in-shelleys-frankenstein/.

1. IvyPanda. "Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein”." March 18, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nature-of-child-in-shelleys-frankenstein/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Nature of Child in Shelley’s “Frankenstein”." March 18, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nature-of-child-in-shelleys-frankenstein/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1