Quotes Flashcards
(36 cards)
Walton quote-letter 2 hinting at arrogance and loneliest
“there will be none to participate my joy…no one will endeavour to stain me in interjection”
writes with arrogance that reunites many of the male characters within the novel
He does not consider his travel companions to be his equals;he believes they wont understand his lofty ideas.
introduces loneliness and foreshadows Victors arrival
Quotes for parallelism between Victor and Walton and the danger of ambition…
“As I once did”
“May not be a serpent to sting you, as mine had been”
“Once”- past tense indicating a dismal reversal of fortune
“serpent”-allusion to the bible and John Milton’s paradise lost
(epic poem that dramatizes Satan’s rebellion against God and his subsequent role in Adam and Eves banishment from the Garden of Eden. The biblical story matches Victors transgression in creating the monster, which was a perversion of natural laws.
Shelley actually perceived Satan as a sympathetic character awesome in his ambition and intellect
“serpent”-literally a manifestation of Satan in which he identifies the monster yet it can be argued that he is mislabelling satan for himself or his ambition
What does the quote “appeared” demonstrate about Victor when he creates the monster?
The absurdity of his goal-Only in retrospect does Victor understand that life and death are vast, complicated concepts that simply cannot be manipulated by science
Ironically he lacks the wisdom to see these truths
How does light play into the theme of enlightment and through the quote “flash of lightning”?
-Illuminates the monster in chapter -Victor wants to bring light(scientific knowledge) into the world yet he cannot control its radiance and light becomes terrifying
-It is so bright that it binds him to the consequences of his actions
-Indeed the modern Prometheus-Greek titan who gave humans fire and in doing disobeyed the Gods and was terribly punished
What do the words “break” and “torrent” indicate about Victor ?
-Violent impulses and lofty dreams that are typical of the romantic hero
-Refuses to abide by conventions and lives on the outside of society, tormented by a heightened understanding of the world. These same traits are somewhat exhibited by the creature
“native town to be the world and “one who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow”
Establishing a distinction between two types of men:first a happy man of society who is “native” so views others as his peer.The second is a romantic hero in his isolation,ambition and misery.In trying to become great he cuts himself of from the rest of the world and has no domestic comforts
“beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”
Scientific enthusiasm has morphed into repulsion
Marks the beginning of Victors disillusionment- a progressive loss of innocence
“dream”-hints that reality and innocence are at odds with each other and they cannot coexist-not one of the characters escapes unscathed, unharmed by human ambition of injustice.
The monsters unfortunate appearance will causes him to face visceral reactions and intolerance yet he is presented as intelligent, complex and sympathetic asking us to think about prejudice and empathy.
“A flash of lighting illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me”
“Deformity, hideous, wretch, filthy demon
Monsters shape is seen as a bolt of lightning that had flooded the landscape and he understands that his own creation had murdered his brother
Victors disgust for the monster is depicted through adjectives that betray his prejudice. Doesn’t realise that the monsters appearance might not respond to its emotional or intellectual state
Light-either symbolising scientific but also the harsh reality of lost innocence as the lighting shows victor the horrible truth of the situation
“sublime”
Victor finds peace and solace of the mountains and the spectactular views that bring his mind to rest after both his brothers and justines death
“Yet you, my creator detest and spurn me,thy creature”
The monster aligns himself with Victor
“creature” and “creator” sound similar both are “miserable” psychologically and physically isolated-both romantic hero’s taunted by guilt and loneliness
reminder of Satan’s relationship to God in paradise lost-Satan is gods heavenly creature that is then sentenced to a miserable existence
What does the monster foreshadow when he says “annihilation of one of us”
Inevitable moral conflict between the two characters as only “annihilation” can break the ties that bind them.
“I saw and heard of none like me”
As the conversations within the delacy cottage become more complex the creature begins to question his own identity, unusual origins and appearance
“man will not associate with me”
“My companion must be of the same species have the same defects. This being you must create.”
Monster seeks a companion that is exactly what the rest of the society rejects and isolates. Both Victor and the creature are consumed by their single minded and lonely obsessions
Link to paradise lost as the creature considers himself to be Adam, the first man and Eve is the only other companion in the garden of Eden created because Adam was alone-the female monster would play a similar role
“revenge remains-revenge henceforth dearer than the light of food”
repetition of revenge and the exclamative indicates a pivotal moment in which the stakes are high. He has watched humans reject him(the delacy family) and now his own creator has taken away the one thing that would of brought him happiness
“shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery”
light appears=ambigious significance
The sun is particularly foreboding (prompting a curse from Victor)
Threat and an assurance of things to come
How does the word” native” contrast to chapter four?
Victor is too caught up on his research to belong to his family or the environment; like Robert Walton and the monster, he is not at home in the world-Shelley presents this as undesirable
“Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition”
Imperative language-Victors last words to Walton and Victors message has already been inferred from earlier conversations.
The romantic hero’s in the novel have either endured a solitary, abnormal life or sought out such an existence. Ambition leads to isolation, in turn, leads to misery and anger.
Victor does not die a fully reformed man and before his last words he asks Walton to take on his burden and exact revenge against the monster. He remains conflicted, until his final breath, wavering between revenge and forgiveness, ambition and tranquillity
“The fallen angel has become the malignant devil”
This occurs after Victor dies and the monster comes on board comparing himself to the devil-like the devil the creature once believed in good virtues and goodness, only to become violent and cruel following his disillusionment and loss of innocence
“Yet even the enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation alone:i am alone”
The creature comes to the conclusion that he is even more wretched than the devil because at least he had a community even in hell
His anguish is striking
The simple words “ I am alone”-brevity uncharacteristic proof that Victors death had an effect on the monster reaching new levels of despair
“Am i thought to be the only criminal ,when all human kind sinned against me?”
Rhetorical questions yet Shelley makes it clear that indeed mans prejudice was an injustice and that all prejudice men are sinners
The inconsistencies in the human world are laid bare, here: men who claim to be good and virtuous are blind to their own tolerance.
Sublime example quotes…
“mighty alps whose white and shining pyramid and domes towered above us all as belonging to another earth, the habitations of another race of being”
What quote presents the gothic double between Victor and the creature?
“My own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave and forced to destroy all that was dear to me”
“I shunned the face of man”
Victor chooses solitude the creature is forced into it
