Frankenstein

4 Pages 893 Words

In Mary Shelley’s classic novel of the Romanticism period, Frankenstein, there is much destruction and remorse caused by the creature Dr. Frankenstein creates. The creature, a living being made of body parts from various dead human corpses, kills several individuals that are held close by his creator Dr. Victor Frankenstein. However, the events caused by the creature bring up an interesting issue, who is responsible for the deaths of these innocent individuals? The obvious solution would be that it’s the creature’s fault, since he in fact carried out the deeds directly, but can an eight-foot tall collection of human body parts be held responsible for such acts. The next answer would put the onus of these people’s deaths on Dr. Frankenstein, since the creature was of his making and he should be held responsible for his creation. Although both characters were involved in the deaths of William Frankenstein, Henry Clerval, and Elizabeth Lavenza, it is society that is most responsible for the passing of these individuals. The reason that society should be held accountable for these individuals’ deaths is it was in fact society that drove Dr. Frankenstein to make the creature that would achieve his fame and fortune and it was society that made him conceal the truths about the creature out of fear of embarrassment and failure.
The main reason for society’s liability in the death of William, Elizabeth, and Henry is due to its emphasis on success and prestige on the impressionable Dr. Frankenstein. Even as a young boy Victor Frankenstein was enthralled with the ideal of being an alchemist, which shows that he wanted nothing more than to just make success in the eyes of society. Also, from his infatuation as a youngster with alchemy it is made apparent that he wants to create something deemed as valuable, but with little responsibility and work. When Victor goes off to Ingolstandt to study ethics and chemistry at the university he is...