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Confrontation in Frankenstein

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CONFRONTATION IN FRANKENSTEIN.

Frankenstein is a novel that was written in 1818 by Mary Shelley. It deals with a young science student named Victor Frankenstein, who gives birth to a being in a scientific experiment. The novel revolves around the conflict between two characters : Victor Frankenstein and the creature, who are linked in a complex, multidimensional relationship. In fact, the creature and its creator become enemies the first time they meet and battle against each other through the entire story. Moreover, it is easily noticeable that their confrontation has several aspects to it. First, we will study their confrontation to each other through the story. Then, we will see how these two characters are involved in a confrontation with the human kind. Finally, we will ponder on the way the characters and their conflicts mirror the confrontation between nature and science.

First of all, by reading Mary Shelley's novel, we can see that Frankenstein and the creature are struggling with each other until the end of the book. Actually, we have on one hand the Frankenstein monster who is dependent on his creator because he is the only man with enough knowledge to create another of his kind. On the other hand, we have Frankenstein who is dependent on his creation, because it is physically stronger than he and able to murder his family and friends. For these reasons, each of these two characters is able to blackmail the other, and so they PAGE 2 do : the story is nothing but a pursuit between them, as they are both craving for revenge, each of them believing the other is responsible for his own failure. Each of them is feeding the other's rage and wish for revenge : «When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation.» (Victor Frankenstein) ; «My feelings were those of rage and revenge.» (The Creature). In fact, while Frankenstein refuses to create another being to be his first creation's companion, strongly opposing the creature and making it mad at him, the aforementioned creature tells Victor it is going to kill those he loves, feeding its creator's rage. The creature knows that he is in a powerful position as the stronger of the two, and can threaten Victor Frankenstein because of it : “Have a care; I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall curse the hour of your birth” ; “remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night”. This implies that on Frankenstein’s first night of being married to his adopted sister, the creature plans to be there to kill her. The monster states his dominance over Victor : “You are my creator; but I am your master; obey!”. Talking about Victor Frankenstein himself, as said before, he strongly opposes the creature by refusing to create it a female companion. While at the beginning of the novel he is quite afraid by the creature and runs away from it, he slowly starts to rebel against its wishes and to confront him eventhough he is threatened by it. In fact, «Be gone!» are the words of disgust spoken by Victor Frankenstein in response to his creature's desire for a companion.

It is also important to mention that both Frankenstein and the creature are not only confronted by each other but also by solitude for they are rejected by the rest of the human kind. PAGE 3 As a matter of fact, the creature is, during the whole story, rejected by human beings. He starts to act benevolently, such as when he tries to save a drowning girl and help the peasants to chop wood, but he always ends up being rejected by the human kind, feeling excluded, alone and desperate : «I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on» ; «Satan has his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and detested.». Slowly, the creature's sadness turns into rage and his response to receiving mistreatment becomes to murder innocent people, like a woman he starts fantasizing on and kills after being hit by the truth : she would never be able to love him or give him affection, only to feel disgusted by its global appearance and to run away from it, scared to the bone. The reader can see the creature turning from the martyr to the executioner : «If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!». In another way, Frankenstein is also confronted by solitude and rejection, as he feels like no one could understand his main concern : the creature. In fact, he has done something that no one has done before him and that is completely unnatural : creating a being, or, according to his point of view, a monster. His neglect causes Frankenstein to roam Europe in search of guidance and friendship, neither of which does he ever receive : he will die as lonely as its creation is doomed to live.

Finally, the fact that Frankenstein has to face solitude and despair because of his scientific experience that opposes the laws of nature leads us to another topic that is highly important to the novel : the confrontation between nature and science. On one side, we have Victor Frankenstein, who gives birth to the creature thanks to his knowledge of science by recreating dead body parts and giving them a second life, which is against all of the laws of nature, suggesting that science is able to surpass it. PAGE 4 The author, Mary Shelley, also starts by giving us a negative and pathetic image of nature, sustained by the many deaths we are dealing with in the book, such as Elizabeth's and Victor's mother's ones. On the other side, we are quickly introduced with the fact that Victor becomes less happy, less human and more miserable without nature. He is consumed in his science and turns into a somewhat bad person. He is depressed while at home and the only time he can gain some semblance of happiness is when he is out in nature. Talking about the creature, which is nothing but a work of science, it learns to speak and feel while living in and off nature. This is while he lives in nature that he becomes able to figure out who he truly is, and to develop human abilities and characteristics. All of these elements take part in the confrontation between nature and science, which constitutes one of the major themes of the novel.

As a conclusion, this novel revolves around several confrontations. To begin, the two main characters are confronting with each other throughout the entire story, both considering the other as an absolute enemy. Then, Frankenstein is confronted by solitude as no other human being is able to understand his main concerns : the being he has created, which is itself confronted by the human kind that rejects him. In the end, these two characters' confrontation reflects another one, which is very important to the whole story : the confrontation between nature and science.

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