The scene where the monster is talking to the blind man opened my eyes to many questions and ideas about Frankenstein. Not only did I empathize with the creature’s immense grief, I also criticized the family’s inability to know the monster, a cruel and inhumane act in itself. Appearances often deceive; it seems a habit of humans to immediately judge a book by its cover. Although, he is initially upset and wants to avenge himself on the family, the monster reconsiders to give the family another chance. This hope is short-lived, but it also shows the full range of emotions the monster has. If the family knew the monster as the reader does, maybe they would not run away. Then again, maybe it is better to be blind like the old man, simply accept what we cannot see and go by our gut. Maybe knowledge does not have all the right answers. Or maybe it does.
As a said earlier, the family running away seems like a cruel and inhumane act. However, how cruel could it be when they did not really understand what was going on? Despite this, knowledge itself, and knowledge of the human condition is the main focus of the book. But I think it is important to note a base knowledge of history shows us that humans can be inhumane, even monstrous; something that I think we often forget. The creature is surprised to learn this from Volney’s Ruins of Empires:
Was man, indeed, once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle, and at another as all that can be conceived of noble and godlike… I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased, and I turned away with disgust and loathing” (145).
Man uses military knowledge to conquer. Military knowledge spawns from technological advances. However, too little knowledge, like the absence of technological advances, or the flooding of knowledge, such as not knowing what to focus on next, is an empire’s downfall. Mary Shelley certainly would certainly be familiar with the emergence of the British Empire at this time and the role the Industrial Revolution played in it’s advancement. This causes me to wonder how much is Frankenstein a social commentary on the period? For example, industrialization also caused a lot of social fluctuation. Due to Victor’s superfluous upbringing, he often acts like a child and runs away from his problems. Everything is seemingly always about him. Is Victor’s monstrosity a result of his rich and selfish childhood? Do humans encourage inhumanity in one another either through power, technology, or knowledge? Is inhumanity a part of being human? I don’t really expect an answer to these questions. I don’t think I really want them either. I just want to send these questions out into the void…
Your post, specifically your reference to the monster's reaction to Volney "I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow," reminded me of some song lyrics that always get me thinking. A Hip-Hop group called Cannibal Ox has a song titled "Iron Galaxy" in which they sample a sound clip of a man saying "Do you know that you're one of the few pradator species that preys even on itself?" It always floors me, because we believe mankind is supposed to be the only species with the ability to rationalize situations and solve them without resorting to instinctual violence. Yet, humans shed the most blood of their own species for reasons beyond survival, recklessly. Maybe we have to think about the unreasonable side of humans to answer some of the questions you posed, after all, humans are animals too.
ReplyDeleteWhile the monster acts like a human being, it also epitomizes what humans would consider a monster, through its destruction. I think that the monster's actions were determined by the society that he was created in. However, it is so easy to call the creation a monster when the humans, Victor and the family that treated it poorly, all acted as monsters. Each had a part to play in the monster's actions, although I would say that Victor had a huge part. So, I appreciate your post because it reminded me how we have all been monsters, whether we directly did or said something wrong or indirectly did it.
ReplyDeleteHello Amy, I'll bet you didn't know Thomas Jefferson translated Volney's Ruins of Empires. It's a fascinating story, told in full at the link below...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.librarything.com/profile/ThomasCWilliams