Who Is More Responsible For Their Demise, Victor Or His Creation Frankenstein By Mary Shelley Essay, Research Paper

The word responsible is defined as being accountable for, in charge, or being liable for one s actions. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, both Victor and his creation are fully responsible for their ultimate destruction; however, Victor is more liable for his own tragic demise. When compared through their self-inflicted removal from society, their quest for knowledge, and their roles of creator and creation are both not satisfied. It is clear that both characters are considerably responsible for their own tragic downfall, but when compared Victor is evidently more responsible than his creation.

Victor and his creation both are responsible for their own demise because of their self-inflicted removal from society. The creation further removes and alienates himself from society because of certain incidents that he has experienced regarding rejection and alienation from society. The creation deserts himself into his hovel and separates himself from society following the episode concerning the rejection that the creation has felt from the cottagers. The creation s self-inflicted removal from society is proven through his reaction to the rejection he has received from the cottagers:

I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter and stupid despair. My protectors had the world. For the first time the feelings of revenge and them, but allowing myself to be borne away by the stream, I bent my mind towards injury and death. (Shelley 123)

This passage depicts the severity of the creation s withdrawal from society. Although the creation s removal from society is self-inflicted, the rejection from society and from the cottagers cause the creation s continual alienation and isolation from society. This isolation from society leads to the creation s overall destruction. Victor is clearly more responsible for his own tragic downfall because of his own self-inflicted removal from society. Victor is more responsible because he removes himself from society to create his supreme being and ignores the needs of others to do so. Victor is clearly more responsible for his tragic end because of his choice to remove himself from society to create his being which leads him to a state of physical and mental sickness. Victor is motivated to do so because of his longing to be divine and to seek out power and control. Victor also further isolates himself from society following the catastrophe he has created. Victor s isolation from society proceeding his catastrophe is clearly illustrated through this passage: Two years have passed in this manner, during which I had paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit make. (Shelley 35) This passage clearly outlines of how Victor is evidently more responsible for his tragic downfall than his creation because he removes and isolates himself from society.

Victor and his creation also share the quest for vast amounts of knowledge, which leads them both to their tragic demise. Victor is much more responsible for his tragic demise because he seeks out great amounts of knowledge that cannot be obtained. This is proven when Victor is speaking about his dreams: I entered .what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death! (Shelley 26) Victor s limitless aspirations of wanting to be god-like and his passionate drive for knowledge lead him into the depths of evil, which leads him to his own tragic downfall. This is turn proves that Victor is more responsible for his own tragic downfall. The creation also does seek out vast amounts of knowledge through learning how to socialize with other and also learning to read. This is especially significant when the creation stumbles upon a bag full of books lying in the forest. The creation possesses a drive for knowledge which leads him to read these books and to eventually read Victor s journal: It was your journal .Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred. (Shelley 115) This quotation proves that the creation has a quest for knowledge because of his curiosity towards the books and Victor s journal. As a result of the creation s drive for knowledge he reads Victor s journal which forces him to seek revenge on his creator, which leads to his tragic downfall. Although, both the creation and Victor are responsible for their tragic demise, Victor is much more responsible because of his great quest for knowledge.

The relationship between Victor and the creation is clearly not a typical father and son relationship. The roles of the creator versus the creation are both clearly not fulfilled which leads to their tragic downfall. Although Victor is the more responsible party, the creation also does not fulfill his role as the creation in Victor s eyes. To fulfill the role of the creation to his creator, the creation should look up to, seek knowledge from, and love his creator. The requirements that Victor expects from his creation prove that the creation has not fulfilled his expectations or role as the creation. This is depicted when Victor is listing his hopes and expectations from his creation: A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. (Shelley 39) The creation fails to achieve the role of creation . As a result of the creation not accomplishing Victor s expectations, he seeks revenge and justice upon his creator and also upon human kind. The creation is responsible for his tragic destruction because he fails to portray the role of the creation . In Victor s eyes, the creation is a total catastrophe because it did not look or act like the ideal superhuman that Victor had once dreamed of creating. As the role of creator , Victor owes his creation a loving, caring, and providing environment. Instead, immediately after Victor infuses life into his creation, he abandons it, which is illustrated when Victor abandons his creation: Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room mind to sleep. (Shelley 42) Victor also expects a great deal of satisfaction from his creation. Victor possesses limitless aspirations towards the making of his creation by wanting to be blessed by his creation. Victor is clearly more liable for his tragic destruction because he has not satisfied the role the creator to his creation.

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, both Victor and the creation are responsible for their tragic destruction; however, when compared through their self-inflicted removal from society, their drive for vast amounts of knowledge, and their roles of creator and creation , Victor is clearly more liable for his ultimate tragic demise. In society today, responsibility plays a large role in the everyday lives of people. People must take responsibility for their actions and realize that their actions will lead them to either good or evil. Either way it leads, that person can always be held responsible for the path they have chosen to their ultimate success or destruction.