Frankenstein’s Good And Evil Sides
The dual representation of the human psyche is, perhaps, the most frequently occurring theme in Mary Shelley’s novels and Frankenstein in particular. The novel discloses a keen interest in exploring the secret rooms of the human soul and mind. Applying various psychological techniques, Mary Shelley depicts society as a balance of good and evil, demonstrating how each of its members has his/her “monsters”, which are encaged within the unconscious mind. The relationships between Victor and the Creature constitute the main contradiction of the novel. Hence, the creature is a concealed antagonistic representation of Victor’s inner world and societal problems; it is also both a denial and recognition of Victor’s desires. As a whole, this duality is disclosed as the good and the evil potential in each persona in the form of denial and acceptance.
On the one hand, Victor’s desire to create the creature is narrowed to his search for an alter ego, a human that would satisfy all of his social and communication needs: “I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me; whose eyes could reply to mine” (Shelley 19). On the other hand, Victor also intends to find a way to repair the faults he has committed in his life. The result of emotional instability uncovers his real psychological problems. His creation, which is initially meant to be a good and sympathizing being, was literary converted into a monster as the result of Victor’s rejection. The rest of the novel refers to a nameless creature who is simply addressed as “the monster” [O1] and the one, who is created by Victor.
In the original text, Victor often calls his creation “the monster” that is interwoven with the word “child”, “Creature”; hence those names reveal Victor’s psychological nature In this way, it is not a far stretch to consider the creature both as Victor’s alter ego and as a cover for his inner thoughts. Therefore, we often personify this monster – that kills Victor’s wife, nephew, and friends and, who indirectly kills Victor himself – with its creator (Burley and Harris 128). Hence, the Creature is the reverse side of Frankenstein’s personality; at the same time, both protagonists compose the polar elements that shape a mental entity. This literary duality is revealed through the law of unity and struggle of opposites where the creator embodies Victor’s pure madness and freedom, which are out of control, as he always neglected moral principles and rules. Victor, who is restricted to social prejudices, uses the monster for compensating for his desire to be a full-fledged member of society. [O2]
The novel reveals, hence, how one creates an alter ego for him/herself to set free his/her released passions. Therefore, Frankenstein is also presented as the antagonist of good society by manifesting and personifying the worst character traits of each human[O3]. We despise the worst traits of our character and by this, we are also subjected to absurd prejudices of society[O4]. The problem lies in the fact that there is a slight distinction between veritable vices and the ones created by rejection. Hence, Victor hates his Creature but for another reason. “[He] declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against [the monster] who formed [him] and sent [him] forth to this insupportable misery” (Shelley 95). By comparing and rejecting at the same time, the Creature also symbolizes repressed desires in a constantly changing society. In the novel, the monster serves as an object for social attacks. The paradox consists in the fact that one does not dare to blame Dr. Frankenstein for creating someone impossible to control but to blame the creature itself. In this regard, it can be considered as the victim of society as well.
The deliberation on the psychological problems rendered in the novel is also interpreted through the relations of Frankenstein and the monster in terms of insider and outsider. This opposition continues to explore the issue of dual personalities where both parts of the entity are closely interconnected. In that regard, Shelley’s novel presents Frankenstein as “a protagonist, cast out from a domestic Eden, attempts to destroy it – and ends up vanquishing himself, at least temporarily” (Henwood et al. 76). Those insider-outsider perspectives, which are often referred as to Gothic relations, display the only possibility to uncover the unconscious mind through the creation of outsiders. Hence, Shelley depicts Victor as the insider or the one who is accepted by society and the Creature as the outsider, or the one that is rejected by it. These two characters form polarity where each one is influenced by different factors. The established opposites also show the impossibility of society to control outside emotional outbursts. In other words, the monster who is perceived as an outsider did not create itself; in fact, it is the victim of Frankenstein’s transgression and of society’s inability to accept the creature’s right to equal social existence.
The antagonism of the novel is also disclosed through the depiction of parent-child relations, which arise from the double ego relations. In that regard, Victor is the father and the Creature is his child; [O5] at this point, Frankenstein is in the need of looking after someone, especially after his father’s death. The fraternaldestruction [O6] blesses Frankenstein for unnaturally creating a new species: “No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs” (Shelley 43). Of course, Victor can be viewed as the father of the creature. He tries to protect his child from external enemies and social condemnation. This happens at first; when Frankenstein strives for support and respect, as he feels lonely among other members of society. However, a further realization that his child is rejected by social stereotypes and norms makes Victor think that his child is the embodiment of his hidden vices. The child, therefore, displays his adult horror: “monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me, and tear me to pieces. You are on the ogre. Let me go, or I will tell my papa” (Shelley 99).
On the other hand, Victor can be displayed as a child that needs someone to rely on. Being deprived of normal family relations, he is eager to recreate his own family where the fraternal functions are taken by the creature. Hence, “the Monster becomes father to the man and relentlessly imposes on its creator the same conditions of dependency and insecurity that it was made to suffer” (Levin and Knoepflmacher 103). This is why the co-called father-child relations cannot be narrowed to a birthright given by Victor, which can be considered as the relations between God and the creature.
It should be stressed that the creator and creation encompass the platform of a continuous struggle between affection and hatred; “their hug is an expression of a desire to separate from each other and at the same time to help each other stand erect” (Shelley et al 422). Arising from it, Frankenstein distorts the conventional vision of human evolution. It is worth saying [O7] that the roles of the creator and creation switch roles, which also proves [O8] the law of entity and struggle of the opposites. At this point, Victor turns into a ‘monster’ because as soon as he realizes that he created the “evil”, he becomes the creator of the evil. Therefore, Frankenstein also becomes the monster. The same happens with the creature that can be considered as the creator of the vices of society.
The relations between the creator and creation can be also compared with the relations of Satan and Adam, where Adam was tempted to sin and Satan triggered him to overcome divine laws[O9]. The monster can be equated to the fallen Angel since he envied those humans. In his turn, Victor also rebels against God’s creation to protest the natural laws; by those deeds, Victors choose the dark side, like his Creature.
Conclusion
Concluding, it is necessary to mention that Shelley’s Frankenstein is a multidimensional representation of the human psyche where the author reveals all the vices created by the social unconscious mind. Therefore, the relations between Victor and the Creature are closely associated with the relations between society and its hidden fears and desires. The novel also shows how people generate vices through the rejection of defects – whether internal or external, in themselves or others; therefore, Shelley leaves us with a message that our inner and outer monsters will continue to exist until we learn not to equate ourselves and others according to established stereotypes. In this regard, the novel is considered one the greatest tragedies of human existence.
Works Cited
Burley, Justin, and Harris, John. A companion to genetics. US: Wiley-Blackwell, 2002.
Henwood, Karen, Griffin Christine, and Phoenix Ann. Standpoints and differences: essays in the practice of feminist psychology. US: SAGE, 1998.
Levine, George, and Knoepflmacher, U. C. The endurance of Frankenstein: essays on Mary Shelley’s novel. US: University of California Press, 1982.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Smith, Johanna. Frankenstein. US: Palgrave McMillan.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Panshin Alexei and Cory, Cook Paul. Frankenstein. US: Arc Manor LLC, 2009.