Paradise Lost and Frankenstein

 

    Frankenstein captures the notorious saying “ignorance is a bliss” very vividly throughout the novel. As Victor strives to understand the anatomy of the human body, he neglects all other aspects of his life causing his family and friends mild pain. Victor’s pursuit of knowledge causes such pain to others which raises a question that begs to be answered, should morality and ethics be ignored in the pursuit of knowledge and advancement of science? Frankenstein is one of the most prominent critiques of enlightenment in which the pursuit of knowledge and advancement of science were given utmost importance. Some people valued too much that they neglected the importance of ethics and morality because they viewed rational reasoning to be the sole instrument in leading a life. Frankenstein presents a critique that shows how such implacable pursuit can be detrimental. The following quote will explain the obsession for knowledge can devour the soul “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed”. Here Victor gives more importance to his scientific work than his feelings and his nature. He neglects his father making him not only sad but also dooms him to a downfall. This quotation, therefore, answers the question, no morality and ethics should not be neglected in the pursuit of knowledge. Lastly, as Victor says “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”. a subtle foreshadowing presents itself unfolding that Victor is subjected to a fatalism in which he cannot escape. The firm grasp of the pursuit of knowledge captures him and there isn’t anything that can stop him. His passion takes control over everything. This also addresses the theme of the dangers of knowledge.

    Victor professes that he wants to create the *monster* for benevolent reasons. He allegedly strives to be beneficial and “useful” to his “fellow beings”. Here it is quite obvious that Victor is in an attempt to deceive himself.  His selfish reasoning and desire to create life stems from his desire to become a God. It is utterly blasphemous and detrimental and dooms him to not only his but his beloved ones to an inevitable end. His God complex becomes more prominent as he gets closer to creating the monster, he says on the verge of creating it “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me”. Here, his intentions are not purely selfless, to be precise it is the very contrary of it; they are purely selfish. On the other hand, the monster is not selfish and the similarity between the monster and its creation lays its roots in the novel’s fundamental theme; knowledge can be dangerous. The monster after coming into the realization that he is ugly cries and says “Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock”. Knowledge hurts both Victor and the Monster.

    The Monster wants some affection and tries to introduce himself to the family to which he is eavesdropping. Being horrified, they reject him causing him to flee. On his way, he tries to save a girl on the verge of drowning, leading him to get shot because the man next to the girl assumes that he attacks the girl. The Monster’s intentions are not evil rather they are benevolent yet the monster is faced with harsh consequences. The similarity presents itself quite evidently, Victor’s initial words about being useful can be observed in the Monster’s same attempt. However, both Victor and the Monster face harsh consequences. The difference is, Victor’s suffrage stems from his own selfishness and the Monster’s torment is also caused by Victor’s selfishness.

    The feminist reading of Frankesatian is most prominent when the relationship between Victor and Elizabeth is perused. Victor views her as a possession “And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine” Victor’s mother gives Elizabeth as a “gift” to Victor and Victor sees her as a possession “as mine”. This objectifies women and portrays the role of women as a server for men. However, this is utterly incorrect and Elizabeth is unnaturally depicted to be very dull. Her dullness is a critique asserting that women’s only job is not consisted of being beautiful and serving to men.

A deeper interpretation however presents itself when science and gender roles are perused together. Victor creates the monster and what comes out of it is mere horror. The monster without guidance causes terrors. This depiction of the monster proposes the idea that women shape the identity of the child. Without a woman, the child is left without guidance and doomed to cause evil. Through this, a critique is proposed by Shelly. Women give birth to children and they shape the identity of the children, it would be utterly silly to view women as irrational, incompetent beings. They are very competent at reasoning and their absence can result in terror.  

    John Milton in his Paradise Lost portrays women as only sheer companions of men. Women’s reasoning is not as functioning as men’s. In Paradise Lost, Eve eats the apple causing humanity to fall. More importantly, the angels sent by God to warn Adam and Eve about Satan only talk to Adam. Also, after committing the sin. Michael only talks to Adam. Put it shortly, Paradise Lost, in most of its parts portrays women as inferior beings. Most importantly though, it could be argued that the reason why angels talk to Adam is that only Adam can use his reasoning. Shelby’s Frankenstein presents a critique of such an idea and this essay will contemplate on how Shelby uses Wollstonecraft’s meditation on women and reasoning through the depiction of Safie.

    Women in Frankenstein are described with only their physical appearance as though they do not have other qualities. They do not comprehend the art of science and hence their relationship with it is utterly weak if not absent. They are objectified as sheer beautiful beings and they are viewed as possessions of men whose mission is to serve. When the monster demands Victor to create a mate for him, there is a subtle reference to Paradise Lost where the image of women as servers is prominent. The Monster thinks that he needs a server-like companion for him and such a thought probably arose from Paradise Lost which the monster reads. This scene introduces the idea of women as the server of men. This depiction of women presents itself in every woman except for Safie, who is very much able to do more than simply being beautiful. Elizabeth’s only physical appearance is described and given importance, on the other hand, Safie’s reasoning is given importance in the novel. “When alone, Safie resolved in her own mind the plan of conduct that it would become her to pursue in this emergency.”  Here Safie’s different image from the other girls alludes to the idea that women should not depend on men’s reasoning because they can independently use their own reasoning. Such an idea is proposed and reinforced by Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft’s argument’s fundamental pillars rely on the idea that women should have rational souls.

    In conclusion, considering that Shelly is Wollstonecraft’s daughter, it is very likely that she is influenced by her. Wollstonecraft’s impact presents itself most pronounced in the image of Safie and her letters. Safie’s independent and rational stance portrays a controversial image against the traditional image of women in patriarchal societies.