Introduction
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley explores the consequences of man’s attempts to play God. The atrocities the Monster commits should be attributed to Victor Frankenstein and society. Frankenstein terrorizes the world in his effort to achieve knowledge and glory. His creation is horrifying in appearance, vast in size, and surprisingly clever. After leaving the Monster, Dr. Frankenstein withdraws from society.
Throughout the narrative, the Monster is morally accountable for its actions, yet there are complications. Numerous elements shape the Monster’s motivations throughout the book, making it into the person it is. He can be held accountable for his behavior in a variety of ways. Society is also to blame for the problems of the Creature because people reject him, and he has no reason to be kind to anyone. It is clear from a thorough reading of the novel that the Monster’s actions are only partially to blame for the outcomes.
Moral Accountability
The Monster is only partially ethically responsible for its activities, as it kills three separate people and indirectly kills two more through no fault of its own. The Being constantly demands recognition of his intelligence and personality, but civilization always rejects him because of his appearance. The Thing kills everyone close to its Creator to get revenge on Dr. Frankenstein by making him as miserable as he is. The Creature is not responsible for its crimes, even if it commits them in retaliation. The actions of the Monster are entirely to blame for Victor Frankenstein and society, as well as his prejudices.
In the book, Victor Frankenstein is so fascinated by life that he tries to make it himself and creates a terrifying creature. Victor’s family members are killed by the Creature, including his brother William, his wife Elizabeth, and his best friend Henry Clerval. Additionally, he indirectly contributes to Victor’s father’s passing since the loss of his family members causes him to lose control and pass away. As the story progresses, Dr. Frankenstein transforms from a scientifically interested and aspirational young man to a disillusioned, regretful man plagued by his failed experiment.
Frankenstein acts like a monster, although Victor Frankenstein deems his creation a monster and finds it revolting and nasty. He asserts that he built the Monster with the noble goal of defeating death in mind. His statement, “I was surprised that among so many men of genius who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret,” makes it plain that his work is primarily motivated by self-interest (Shelley 53). Dr. Frankenstein constructs a living being to play God without considering the potential repercussions.
The only thing the Frankenstein monster wants is for people to accept him for who he is. A buddy or companion is what the Monster wants. He even requests a friend from his Creator when he says, “I am lonely and alone, yet even someone as horrifying and twisted as I am would not refuse to be around me. My partner must be a member of my species and share my flaws. You must construct this ” (Shelley 146). The Monster is driven to seek vengeance since humanity and his Creator rejected him.
The Monster is forced to murder due to the conditions that Frankenstein places him in. He declares when he learns that no one would embrace him: “There were not any of the countless men who existed who would feel sorry for me or help me; should I show friendliness to my foes? No ” (Shelley 138). All men, the Monster says, have rejected him and have no reason to be good to anyone.
Frankenstein is ethically wrong to ignore the Creature because he is the Operation’s Creator and Designer. He ought to have known that the Creature required him to perform parent-like duties. Regardless of whether it is a glorious accomplishment, he must embrace his responsibilities as a creator if he wishes to give someone the breath of life on purpose.
Victor may be responsible for the killings if he conceals the truth that he created his Monster. Even though Victor can see the effects of his creation getting out of hand, he still will not confess to anybody the truth about what he has done. Frankenstein never accepts responsibility for his acts or confesses to what he has done to his friends and family. It seems like he murdered his closest friend, wife, and brother. “My first thought was to discover what I knew of the murderer and cause instant pursuit to be made,” Mary Shelley wrote, “However, I hesitated when I thought about the tale I needed to tell.” (Shelley 78). It demonstrates Victor’s realization that he is to blame for William’s demise.
Justine, a little child the Frankensteins adopted, accepts responsibility for William’s murder and sacrifices her life to protect the family’s secrecy. Victor decides against making another monster, and Elizabeth perishes as a result. The Monster only wanted acceptance, not necessarily another friend who shared his monstrous characteristics.
Victor may have acknowledged making the Monster, but he refuted the claim that he inspired the Monster to kill. He had to accept that he had killed William, not just for himself but for his family. By withholding this information, he permits the Creature to kill his buddy and wife. Frankenstein’s obsession with keeping his identity a secret ultimately leads to his demise. Victor is accountable for all his deeds and those of the Monster.
The Creature should not be held accountable for the opposition’s misdeeds or blamed. Victor drives the Monster to murder by rejecting him and making him feel alone. He creates the Monster but offers him no instruction or assistance, and he abandons the Creature entirely. Everyone flees or attempts to murder the Monster when he tries to make friends. Someone fires at him after he saves a little girl from drowning. Nobody provides the Creature with any options.
Regarding these instances, the Creature’s look, a physical attribute he cannot change, makes him unpopular and unlucky, not his behavior. The Creature’s unfortunate trait is that he is disgusting and nasty. He is not physically disfigured by choice; it results from Frankenstein’s creation. Victor is, therefore, ultimately to blame for the Being’s disapproval. “I, the sad and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be rejected at, kicked, and stomped on,” the Monster says at the novel’s conclusion as he talks over Victor’s dead body (Shelley 224).
The Monster conveys his idea that he is an undesired being forsaken by his Creator by referring to abortion. He murders because Victor mistreats him; Victor is to blame for the fatalities in the book. Since Dr. Frankenstein created a monster out of a conceited desire for renown, he must ultimately be held accountable for the deaths the Creature commits. As soon as the Creature is created, the Doctor dismisses it, never giving it a chance. Before it is too late, Frankenstein never tries to halt the Creature or accept responsibility.
Victor Frankenstein attempts to achieve something no man has ever done: using his knowledge and scientific skills to create life. By developing his living form, he manages to play the role of God in a way. Nevertheless, his egotistical scientific objectives kill him and those he cares about. Victor battles a war he starts thanks to his decisions throughout the book. This tale illustrates how callous and immoral comparing a human to the Creator is.
Conclusion
Several unfounded assertions are made that the Monster is the only one responsible for the atrocities in the book. The Monster feels abandoned and alone because Victor rejects him, which makes him feel like an outcast. Without guidance or assistance, he develops the Monster and finally departs from Victor. Society tries to kill or run away from the Thing despite its attempts to find sympathy with it.
After the Monster saves a little girl from drowning, someone shoots him. Nobody offers the Being alternative; therefore, the newly manifested person is changed. The story examines the Creator’s obligation to their creation and the vicious cycle of human nature. This holds for civilization as a whole, which is hideous in its brutality and denial of the Creature. The Doctor and everyone around it deformed and destroyed the infant’s personality, finally sparking new outrage, violence, and mayhem.
Work Cited
Shelley, Mary, and Kizzi Nkwocha. Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus. Independently published, 2021.