Great Works II

Volume 3 of Frankenstein starts off with Victor returning to Geneva and ends with his death onboard Robert Walton’s boat. Although Frankenstein initially agrees to create a female companion for his Creature, he reneges on the deal to give himself peace of mind, but that doesn’t sit well with his creation. Because of his decision, Victor suffers many trials and loses many of his friends and family members; the loss of each person gradually erodes Victor’s conscience to the point where his sole desire in life is to slay the Creature. Even though he had a chance to reconnect with humanity/society after making a deal with his Creature, Victor gradually returns to being selfish and becomes driven by an extreme passion to exact revenge against his “wretched” creation”.

Through the end of his story, we can see that Victor is obviously distraught by the Creature’s threats against his life and the lives of his companions. Victor’s misinterpretation of the Creature’s promise to “be with [Frankenstein] on [his] wedding-night” (121) reminded me of his selfishness. While the Creature threatened to cause him harm, he assumed that the intended target was himself rather than his future wife. When I read the section of the Creature’s threat I thought that Victor should first move to protect Elizabeth after their wedding because he promised to cause Victor grief by harming his friends and family. Rather than fulfilling his duty as a husband and protecting his wife, Victor foolishly leaves her alone as he tries to prepare himself for a final showdown with the Creature. Although Elizabeth was brutally murdered, I partially blame Victor for not protecting what might have been his last source of happiness.

The ending to Frankenstein was less dramatic than I would have liked, however, it stayed true to the sad/solemn mood of the story. When Walton shifted from one frame to another (his manuscript of Victor’s story to his perspective on the boat), I expected more action in the final scene. Despite agreeing to Victor’s final request of killing the Creature if he appeared, Walton speaks with the Creature and allows him to escape the boat and humanity. For the first time in the novel, a character other than Frankenstein directly speaks with the Creature and hear his plight against his creator. In my opinion, the Creature’s monologue summed up his incomplete relationship with Frankenstein: he remains upset about his life and future prospects, yet he regrets his stubborn creator’s death. For a brief moment, the Creature receives the fair treatment he desired from humanity before he disappears into the distance.

Right from the start of volume 2, the effects that arose from monster’s creation looms over Victor like a dark cloud he can’t escape. We can see that he tries to escape himself and his consciousness by wandering to the valley of Chamounix then followed by the glacier and taking in nature itself. Although it fulfills his purpose and intention for the time being, nature reminds him of everything he wishes not to. It reminds him of the grief and sorrow and he has produced with his creation of the monster which comes as the ultimate outcome of his obsession for knowledge and science. He is constantly haunted by his own thoughts and his exposure to nature itself draws a grand connection to the monster that leaves Victor trapped by his own grief.
The story offering from the monster to Victor sheds light on the monster’s process of understanding the world on its own due to Victor’s abandonment. The monster is learns great values and explores himself to find that he is a mere outsider to all humans. Seeing his own reflection consumes him and that labels his physical difference from everyone else. Realizing that his appearance usually drives others away, he finds refuge in a hut where he is peek, discover and learn from the cottagers about the basics of communications which is language. Understanding their stories and the sad history of Felix and Safie, the monster grows to understand his solitude more than ever. Some part of him wishes that Victor would do the same and accept him for who he is and provide him with all that he needs just as Felix did as he lives in poverty due to his attempt to save Safie’s father. The monster wishes the same affection and acceptance from his creator, Victor Frankenstein.
Through his newfound capability or reading, he is able to read the writings authored by Victor Frankenstein and what he finds in the letter reveals to monster that his creator disgusted him as his appearance horrified him. The books he reads with an utterly realist lens, confirms his creators dislike of him. Within the closing chapters of this volume, we begin to see that the monster has reason and purpose for his existence. Having learned all of these humanistic qualities, he seems more human than monster despite his physical attributes saying otherwise. His solitude and sorrow leads him to kill as he reveals his side of the story as the murderer of Victor’s younger brother, William. What he seeks from Victor is a companion, a soul mate that will relieve his seeking of revenge mentality and his request is agreed upon to the delight of the monster.

Having read Frankenstein in high school I was eager to see how my perspective would change after reading and analyzing it at a college level, specifically in the light of self-actualization and  subjectivity. I was surprised at how little I remembered, and how much my perspective has changed.

I love the idea of beginning the novel with letters from an outside character, and how the letters blend into the storyline itself. We will come to realize just how important Walton’s thoughts and feelings are to the overall theme of the novel, and possibly to the topics we discuss in class. The letters set the stage for the novel, and will be referenced throughout the story.

As we continue to read, we learn more about the stranger’s story. First we learn his name, Victor Frankenstein. This comes to a surprise to most readers, as it did to me my first time reading the novel, because we usually think that Frankenstein is the big green monster that we see around Halloween. We learn about Victor Frankenstein’s childhood passions, interests, and family life. As a child Victor Frankenstein begins to question the world around him, like many of the characters and thinkers that we have discussed so far in class. Frankenstein talks about the scientists and thinkers that he studied as a child, and how they changed his point of view. At this point I realized that my understanding of the novel would be completely different this time around. I took more interest in Victor Frankenstein’s ability to question standards, and how this may fuel his actions and ambitions throughout the story. I am eager to continue reading the novel while analyzing it through the lens of self-actualization and subjectivity.

Before when I only possessed a very basic idea of what the book “Frankenstein” was about, I thought it was Victor Frankenstein who wrote the letters to his acquaintance in the opening of the novel. In fact, that’s how most books begin- with the protagonist unfolding his story- right? Contrary to our expectations, the novel actually starts out with four letters composed by Robert Walton to his dear sister, Margaret Saville, in England. In the letters are detailed accounts of his long-awaited journey through the seas of the North Pole and more importantly, his encountering of a European man who was chasing after a gigantic creature “that fled from him.” It was interesting to read how Mary Shelley chose to frame her masterpiece by initially presenting letters that provide background information about Victor Frankenstein, from somebody else’s perspective. In addition, Walton describes the stranger, as a man with dignity yet constantly overwhelmed with grief. The readers cannot, however, fathom what caused him to undergo such a transformation just yet.

Fortunately, the mystery slowly begins to untangle as the stranger recalls his childhood memories regarding his enduring passion for science, upon reading the scientific theory of Cornelius Agrippa and other scientists who are considered outdated. Although strictly dismissed by the modern people as “sad trash,” or nonsense, they nonetheless inspire his search for the “elixir of life.” His strong devotion to chemistry reminds me of other great works we read in class, in terms of the Enlightenment and self-actualization. Victor Frankenstein moves away from the divine inspiration and advances towards the empirical way of examining the world. He also realizes what he truly loves, other than the subjects that his father wishes him to study. As he turns 17, he departs his home to attend the university of Ingolstadt, leaving all his loved ones behind. There he meets his advocate who forever changes his life: Professor. M. Waldman. Not all of the mystery has unveiled, but we certainly know more to ponder upon than before. Which other characters may reflect the notion of the Enlightenment and self-actualization? Would these concepts always render positive consequences, or would they tell us something different from what we have been taught?