Importance of Family in Frankenstein: Essay Example (2024)

Theme of Family in Frankenstein: Introduction

The family relationship is the most important intimate relationship that involves humankind. If there is absence of this intimacy relationship, human beings would not transform to what they are expected to act, and this deforms the essence of human nature. The feelings are always absent in any human being whose background and daily life is short of proximity and the sense of family closeness.

Frankenstein’s novel talks about different thematic outlooks relying on what the reader identifies as the thematic impact of their modern culture. The novel conveys the issues of family relationship, issues under relationships, betrayal, and revenge these serve as the core themes.

The characters provided are also planned to portray the development of the themes and the ultimate delivery of the designed thematic impact. This paper discusses mostly on the essence of the family relationship and the effect of the absence of this relationship binds in human beings. Some other themes, such as revenge, betrayal, and agony, will also be expressed with reference to the novel.

Discussion: Role of Frankenstein’s Family & Relationships

The novel is mainly an outline narrative that integrates the narration of Victor and Frankenstein as the main characters, and the novel begins with narrative of Victor and later finishes with Walter’s narration. In Victor’s narration, the monster provides a story, but this is introduced directly from Victor’s story. Frankenstein’s family is important in this novel since the monster was created based on this family.

Nearly every family cited was either imperfect or was dysfunctional, and Frankenstein’s family particularly was without a female character. This family had no mother, but a female character, Elizabeth, was there, and she was adopted while in her younger age. Monster’s creation was due to this incomplete events, not basically to complete the function of the mother, but to complete the position of the missing person in the family.

The realism of the input of monster to the major theme in the plot is revealed in the woodshed scene. Here, the monster, as he expresses to Victor, was spying on the De Lacey family in which he obtained enough education regarding the lifestyle of human being. Moreover, its was also here that the monster disclosed the fear he possessed for humans and the isolation he experienced that was caused by the denial from humans and through his personal creator who had deserted him (Shelley, 1993).

The impact of family relationship and how vital a family is to everyone is expressed evidently in this novel. On the Monster’s perspective, the emotion of isolation was due to rejection from his creator and from his dreadful experience. The monster got educated after observing the De Lacey’s family being educated about the value of the family binds during daily life.

He observed the love that existed between De Lacey and Saffie, her daughter, and the relationship that existed between Saffie and Felix. Actually, the observations he experienced at the cottage disclosed a different character inside him and turned into more passionate and even attempted to look for intimate relationship with human beings.

However, his every effort was avoided by the same human beings he was attempting to become intimate with and this made him have a feeling of loneliness. For instance, he was shot by a person who made him deeply hurt. It is at this scene that he got dejected while attempting to be intimate with human beings and assured to revenge the rejection by his creator, and the unsuccessful efforts of defeating loneliness.

The essence of relationship to humans is extremely important and due to the point that the monster was formed from different human organs created him closer to humans than a monster or an animal. This is the reason that, when the monster comes to contact with his creator Frankenstein, he insisted that his partner should be created so that they can have an intimate connection and love.

Victor began the creation of monster’s partner, but on critical consideration of the behaviors of the monster, withdrew his creation and even demolished the creation. In turn, this motivated monster to be angry and promised to revenge the agony caused by his creator, and he was to fulfill this through killing every partner that Frankenstein had.

From Frankenstein’s narration, it portrays that the monster had in fact lacked appropriate education from his creator and after the inspection of the actions from woodshed in the cottage that was closer, he felt informed. The actions that he expressed are to draw out the significance of family to a person.

The monster cleverly made a paradox of the De Lacey to the Frankenstein and illustrated particular events where love was a source of power to particular events such as Saffie being saved by Felix and De Lacey choosing Saffie and deserting Felix (Shelley, 1993).

The novel reveals evidently the poignant desertion that the monster had that he promised eventually that the same will be experienced by Victor. The Monster’s revenge through killing every origin of pleasure to Victor, and this took Victor to very situation he was experiencing. Actually, Frankenstein did not have the sufficient force to hold back the stress and this made him yield and surrender as a lonesome and unhappy person.

The last part of the novel disagrees with the opening where Frankenstein described himself as coming from a joyful and stable family. The actuality revealed is that even if they were from a rich family, they were not basically contented.

His mother died after a communicable scarlet fever (Goodson, 1996) and later William, his brother, followed her and finally because of agony and shock his father also passes away. In reality, with all the deaths that occurred, it is difficult for all families to invent happiness. Additionally, the monster afflicted the emotions of Frankenstein when he murdered Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s partner.

Certainly, the monster had turned into a bright creator and the vital faculties were at the moment refined. This is to portray the essence of education and the significance of the cottage, and according to the novel, the cottage is the turning point of the life of monster. It is from the vital observation that he understood the hatred that humans had towards him, which he attempts to resolve although without success.

From the cottage’s narration, it is very important to point out that the monster had obtained an opportunity to internalize every example that he found out from the relations in the cottage. For example, he found out that he had no relationship, no language, and no identity in his existence, and the monster was really rejected creating him to experience much agony and anger all through his life (Ferguson, 2010).

When the monster attempted to bring good relations with the humans in return for intimacy, everything did not happen as expected and was actually shot eventually and deeply injured.

From the novel, we also find out that the acquirement of education can have a positive or negative consequence. In the narration, we learn that Frankenstein was an extremely strong-minded scholar and placed more effort to make an animate being using an inanimate, which he performed although not to his anticipation.

The outcome of the tests brought about agony in his life and in contrast, the education of the monster was also devastating. Certainly, it was a pleasant thing that the monster found out who his creator was and understood the significance of family binds within the life of humans. However, it is due to the explanation that he had to act in a very intolerable approach so that he could avenge for his emotional misery.

Family & Relationships in Frankenstein: Conclusion

In conclusion, it is very important to have an outline of different important elements talked about in the paper. For example, the paper discuses the theme of family relationship and the strength of the family bind in the existence of all human beings. In the novel, there are different features that may highly clarify the essence of family relationships. In the family of De Lacey and Frankenstein, a major representation of family relationships is seen and on the other hand, the monster is experiencing loneliness and puts the fault of his isolation to Victor, his creator.

He understands the spirit of intimacy from what he saw from the cottage that accommodated the family of De Lacey and another aspect that is discussed here and that has great significance is about the impact of education. Education is intended to provide success and constructive change in the community and we learn some negativity and damage that is brought into being by education.

References

Ferguson, F. (2010). Generationalizing: Romantic Social Forms and the Case of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas, 8(1): 97–118.

Goodson, A. (1996). Frankenstein in the Age of Prozac. Literature and Medicine, 15(1): 16-32.

Shelley, M. (1993). Frankenstein. New York: Random House.