Frankenstein - quotes Flashcards
1
Q
‘I ought to be thy Adam but I am rather thy fallen angel’
A
- allusion to paradise lost
- only plausible that M is Adam bc he was created unnaturally
- in contrast, it also makes sense that he is a mirror of the fallen angel as both were left isolated by their Gods
- Frankenstein is both God (bc he created the creature) and Satan (bc of his transgression which leads to his loneliness and demise)
-> Shelley diverts gothic convention by not making it clear who is good or mad which distorts the reality of their loneliness as both characters have diff experiences
2
Q
‘If I cannot inspire love, then I will cause fear’
A
- juxtaposition between love and fear, highlighting how the monster desires companionship and intimacy that most humans share
- But he is incapable of sparking it due to his physical defects so, in spite, he contestable embarks on nurturing a contrasting feeling to love
- as a result of abandonment, he turns to cause havoc and carry out revenge upon the ‘barbarity of man’
- distorts the power dynamic between him and his ‘creator’ who is also his ‘arch-enemy’ bc V.F ‘shuns’ him despite being his father
- L.W. ‘Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?’
-> creature employs a sense of wrathfulness toward himself - self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby the creature turns into what people have deemed him to be - an ‘abhorred monster’
3
Q
‘I was benevolent and good, misery made me a fiend’
A
- blank slate theory -> creature wasn’t born a wretched monster
- shows he is a product if his abandonment, without moral guidance and a parent to install moral values and endorse education, he is left to deal with his emotions on his own
- warns parents against disregarding and isolating their children - the isolation of infants leaves the infant without a mode, without someone to learn emotional restraint fro
- L/W: ‘My hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation.’ - V.F.
- Shelley shows endless amount of revenge that is driven by pure hatred and rage and displays the immoral and destructive effects that revenge can have through BOTH V.F. and Monster
-> V.F. didn’t think about the consequences of abandoning life, he is responsible for setting in motion the train of events that result in the death of his loved one BUT never accepts this, just blames monster
-> V.F’s guilt transforms into an extreme desire for revenge, he thinks if he destroys the monster it will excuse what he has done
4
Q
‘life and death appeared to me ideal bounds which I should break through and pour a torrent of light into the dark world’
A
- ‘life and death’ -> altruistic intentions - how easily unchecked ambition can corrupt
- ‘ideal bounds’ -> transgression, God-complex, hubris despite trying to sound good
- ‘light’. and ‘dark’ -> colour imagery, wants to conquer, is still seeking to improve the world -> he genuinely believes his transgression will bring good
- S reveals the ambition can become an individual’s tragic flaw if they seek to bring glory only to themselves as it surpasses moral and ethical boundaries
5
Q
‘I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet’
A
- ‘infuse’ -> relates to science, links to galvanism, the science of bringing the dead alive through electricity
- seemling contrasts with ‘spark of being’ -> biblical connotations, genesis story, God blew life into Adam, which V.F. attempts to mimic
- ‘lifeless’ -> amplifies V.F’s ambition in overreaching, he over-steps his boundaries as a human and attempts to usurp God’s role.
- S primarily warns against the love for sciences over religion, which was becoming common during enlightenment period
6
Q
‘My spirit let loose from the grave’
A
- the creature is the ‘evil’ manifestation of V.F, which is clear from the start -> V.F. = a benevolent man but M = brutal, ‘abhorred monster’
- BUT there are parallels to this division of good and evil -> readers sympathise with M’s actions bc they’re only a result of his isolation BUT V.F. becomes more malicious bc he inflicts the isolation upon himself, setting himself aside from the society
- ‘spirit and ‘grave’ -> gothic lang, plays on the fears of society who were afraid of the enlightenment causing hostility and danger
7
Q
‘I bitterly feel the want of a friend’
A
- foreshadows how V.F. and Monster will be desperate for companions
- Walton is a doppelgänger for V.F. BUT V.F. takes his companions for granted, he doesn’t realise their importance until they die at the hands of the monster
- first desire appears hedonic, then changes to heinous desire for knowledge ->
L/W: ‘One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the…knowledge which I sought’ - shows selfish nature, undermines the preciousness of human life as he is willing to throw it away for his own gain
- doppleganger for V.F, both constantly search for new knowledge to fuel their selfish desires but believe it’s for the better of humanity
- knowledge becomes dangerous when one is never satisfied with the knowledge they have, emphasises how mankind doesn’t learn from their self-destructive tendency of overreaching for knowledge
8
Q
‘No human could have passed a happier childhood than myself’
A
‘I was their plaything and their idol’
- evidently privileges as his parents had a high status and were therefore wealthy
- implied that he was overly indulged and supported by his parents all the way to early adulthood
- major contrast with his prompt abandonment of his monster following its creation
9
Q
‘Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition’
A
- V.F. denounces the egotism that drove him to an early and lonely death, very clear in his warnings regarding the pursuit of glory
- V.F. can tell Walton has tendencies toward reckless ambition so encourages to abandon this behaviour to prevent him from making similar mistakes
- astutely notes that ambitions directed towards science can seem on the surface to be less risky but, if taken to the extreme, can bear horrid consequences
10
Q
‘his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness’
A
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
