A commentary on a passage from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein

The passage from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's â€Å"Frankenstein† is a warning to society that we cannot let science get too far out of hand; that knowledge entails social responsibilities. She writes in the style of the 19th Century Romantic Movement, portrayed though her long sentence structures punctuated with commas, colons and semi-colons. The syntax is often inverted from that of modern writing; word use is also different from that of modern writing. The passage is written in first person narration, which means that the reader rarely sees anything outside of the narrator, that is from Frankenstein's perspective. Hence the tone of the writing is mostly reflective and self-critical, but is frequently changing throughout the passage. The passage is very â€Å"Gothic† and explores indecisiveness, horror and pity. The passage commences â€Å"I sat one evening in my laboratory† which conveys a feeling that there is nothing unusual in his sitting there. The word â€Å"evening† is the height of the line, thus stressing the time of day. The â€Å"evening† is often associated with dying and mystery, and so a sense of murky mystery is immediately created in the passage with the â€Å"the sun had set, and the moon was just rising from the sea† which depicts a clear picture of the atmosphere. It illustrates a time of transition, and is a metaphor reflecting the indecisiveness of the scientist, Victor Frankenstein. It is also a reference to nature, which is, along with the long sentence structures of the passage, typical of the 19th Century Romantics. Shelley often uses this long structure to make our voice rise and fall on certain words, so we accent some of them. It makes us concentrate and pause on certain words of importance. The words â€Å"idle† and â€Å"pause†, which are still a continuation of the long first sentence, slow down the sentence reflecting the actual notion of being in thoughtful pause. Next, the sentence continues on to stress the word â€Å"labour†, which explains to the reader what the scientist was thinking about. His contemplation is described with a metaphor present in the beginning of the next sentence, â€Å"a train of refection†. He is, in particular considering â€Å"the effects of what I was now doing†, which implies that his present work could have major effects, and he perhaps has not yet considered them fully. â€Å"now doing† is an example of inversion, as we are accustomed to write ‘doing now' in modern English. This again shows a characteristic of writing in the 19th Century Romantic genre. The tone of the passage is soon turned from reflection to one of regret. The phrase â€Å"bitterest remorse† is used to describe the absolute regret that scientist felt for the action which he had been â€Å"engaged in† three years ago. From his thoughts it becomes apparent to the reader that he had â€Å"created a fiend† three years before and that he is currently creating another. From this we can see that Frankenstein is bitter at both the monster, potentially wanting revenge, and also at himself for creating that monster. The uses of the word â€Å"fiend† shows that Frankenstein believes that the monster is an evil, devilish creature. It is here that we feel that Frankenstein has perhaps gone too far with science, misusing the power of knowledge for self-indulgences, and now reaps the product of this self-indulgence. It portrays how unpredictable and potentially disastrous playing with nature and creation can be. This was a conventional belief of the 19th Century Romantic movement. The narrator then goes on to describe the â€Å"fiend† as having â€Å"unparalleled barbarity†, an example of hyperbole, which implies that the monster he has created is so hideous that he is even odd in his barbarity. However, it can be felt that Frankenstein does not directly blame the monster for his devilish character, but rather its â€Å"unparalleled barbarity†. This implies that the monster became barbaric and evil through circumstances, such as not belonging or being able to relate to anything or anyone, rather than through his basic nature. Frankenstein's uncertainties are further expressed when he illustrates that he is â€Å"ignorant† of his female creation's potential disposition. He hypothesizes that â€Å"she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate†, displaying how evil the creature could be. Shelley makes us pause on the word â€Å"delight† to further describe the possible evil of the creature, as she continues in the sentence to describe that the â€Å"delight† is in â€Å"murder and wretchedness†. This is the first time in this extract that the gender of the new monster becomes apparent. Also, while it is implied that the original monster, was involved in â€Å"murder and wretchedness†, it took no delight in it nor did it for its own sake. As well, to get his point across, Frankenstein again uses hyperbole in order to create an impression of his fear and uncertainty as â€Å"ten thousand times more malignant† implies that any atrocity could occur. â€Å"He had sworn to quit the neighbourhood of man, and hide himself in deserts†. In this line the reader realises that the monster has asked Frankenstein to create a female mate for him, because of his loneliness and desperation; and for this we have pity for the monster. Frankenstein suggests that the female monster might refuse to leave human civilisation, further expressing his doubts in persevering with his â€Å"labour†. Frankenstein's thoughts reflect the fact that this female creation â€Å"in all probability was to become a thinking and reasoning animal†, but at the same time lower her to the status of a savage â€Å"animal†, and so, once again, demonstrating his loathing of the original monster. â€Å"the creature who already lived loathed his own deformity, and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form?† – is Frankenstein's consideration for the fact that the two monsters might have a loathing for each other. This view is probably originating from 19th century social belief that the female's main function was to look attractive and be obedient. â€Å"She also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man† is written in, what is to us an arrogant tone, as we feel that Frankenstein is much too biased towards â€Å"man†, although voicing the general convention of the time that humans were the peak of creation. Thus, we feel even more pity for the monster. In a way, this is once again Shelley's way of reflecting society's view of women in her time. Women, like the monster created, were lonely, helpless and had no power. The monster has no choice for a mate other than another of his kind, a kind whose appearance he finds horrible. He is helpless. Frankenstein also suggests that â€Å"she might quit him, and he be again alone, exasperated by the fresh provocation of being deserted by one of his own species.† This suggests that the monster is destined to be alone, deserted by even his own kind, simply because of his appearance. The second paragraph of the passage mentions the â€Å"deserts of the new world†, which returns us to the theme of the Romantic writer's exploration of nature, with the idea of â€Å"new world†. Even so, the tone of the paragraph soon changes to one of fear. There is a shift from the sympathy of the previous paragraph, and Frankenstein's fear becomes apparent. He soon talks about how one of the first â€Å"sympathies for which the daemon thirsted would be children†. The description of the monster as a â€Å"daemon†, once again depicts Frankenstein's view of the monster as being purely malicious. He fears that a whole â€Å"race of devils would be propagated upon the earth†. Frankenstein fears that this â€Å"race of devils† would make the human race â€Å"full of terror† or, at worst, destroy the human race. Then, changing into a tone of nobility, and even a hint of egoism, he asks himself – â€Å"Had I a right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations?† From this he implies that the world depended on his action, and that he should not be selfish for his own safety, which is a change from his previously self-centred thoughts. He refers to the monster as a curse, an indication of its perceived position, and perhaps also the theological implications of the monster's presence. However, Frankenstein does not mention the best possibility of his situation – that the monster would just quietly go, and remain out of the reach of human civilisation. The description, nevertheless portrays Frankenstein's view of the monster as being malevolent, as well as his discontented belief that the monster would show any sympathy to the human race. Frankenstein realises how craftily the monster had lured him into making the female monster, with the â€Å"sophisms† put forth. Despite all of the disastrous results of Frankenstein's creation of the original monster, and Frankenstein's fear and horror, the monster managed to persuade Frankenstein through a combination of sophisms and â€Å"fiendish threats† to create him a female mate. Again Frankenstein realises the potential importance of his actions, and the fact he could become famous for his self-centred actions. Here the cunning of the monster becomes apparent to the reader, but a sense of pity is still felt for the monster, who could relate to no one. The next paragraph is commenced with an ambiguous statement, â€Å"I trembled, and my heart failed within me†. We are left with a sense of uncertainty as to the source of all this terror – was it the fear of creating the monster he was working on, or the fear of the monster that already lived? This is answered later on in the fifth paragraph of the passage where we find that it is the thought of resuming his â€Å"labours† that is the cause. On â€Å"looking up†, Frankenstein sees the monster at the window. The tone of the passage at this point changes to one of fearfulness and absolute terror, reflecting how weak Frankenstein is compared to his creation. This fear is reflected through the description of how â€Å"a ghastly grin wrinkled his lips†. The word â€Å"ghastly† reflects the fact that the monster is not ‘human', rather a mythological savage. The monster is described as having ‘allotted' the task of creating the female monster to Frankenstein. The use of the word ‘allotted' implies that the monster has gained power over Frankenstein, through terror and cunning. Frankenstein's fear is further conveyed when we find that the monster is, through his desperation, ‘stalking' Frankenstein, to ensure that he attains his female companion. Frankenstein then tells us that the monster had an expression of â€Å"the utmost extent of malice and treachery.† At this point of the paragraph, Frankenstein kills all sympathy that we had previously felt for the monster, portraying him in the dimmest, most horrific light. Hyperbole is also being used, to exaggerate this effect. This treacherous look leads Frankenstein, to come to his senses and destroy the monster in a fit of rage. He describes himself as â€Å"trembling with passion†. He is so overcome with rage and fear that he trembles. His enraged strength is enough to tear the monster to pieces, again demonstrating the intensity of his anger, fear and horror. The destruction of this female creation was the destruction of all chances of happiness that the existing monster could grasp. The monster is now referred to as â€Å"The wretch†, making him seem helpless. Calling him this also projects the fact that all happiness has been destroyed. This is a contrast to his previous descriptions as a â€Å"daemon†, an image of strength. The monster again becomes subject to the sympathy of the reader. The monster is described as giving a â€Å"howl of devilish despair†. By howling, he is reduced to being almost an animal. The fact that he is howling with revenge implies that he has not yet been defeated, and Frankenstein has perhaps secured his own downfall. As well, the device of alliteration is evident here: the two ‘d's in â€Å"devilish despair† emphasising the plight of the monster. The fifth paragraph switches back into a tone of reflection. He speaks of never resuming his labours again, making a â€Å"solemn vow†. From this we see the absolute remorse Frankenstein feels in his heart for creating the first monster, as well as his sense of absolute helplessness. The next paragraph is a contrast to the rest of the passage. It is written in a lighter, Romantic tone, presenting a sense of calmness and tranquillity. It is a description of nature, another trait of the 19th Century Romantics when he describes a ‘few fishing vessels alone speckled the water†, portraying how nature can overcome man. A sense of mystery is created as the paddling of oars and a person landing their boat near Frankenstein's house interrupts this calm. The arrival of the boat is shortly followed by the slow opening of a door, the creaking of the door suggests the slowness, which creates a sense of imminent peril. We are left with a sense of mystery, as even though we predict that it is the monster, we do not know who is at the door.