StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper "Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein" investigates the plot of the Mary Shelley’s story titled "Frankenstein" in order to examine the possible criticism of the novel. The writer pays special attention to the relations between characters…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.5% of users find it useful
Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein"

Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein This critique on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is certainly one of an assured position. Inother words, it is blatantly obvious as to what this particular critic's point of view is on this subject. I agree with the feeling which is put towards Victor and his father, "Christopher Small sees in Victor's upbringing an 'atmosphere of perfect love, harmony, and parental indulgence'." "he calls Victor's father 'benevolentwisealtogether un-authoritarian." (103). I find the attention drawn to "the many ways in which Frankenstein portrays the consequences of the failure of family, the damage wrought when the mother or a nurturant parental love is absent" (1968, 39) to be extremely interesting, especially because this is a point which the average reader may not actually take into consideration at all. I also believe that this is a significantly strong point in this story, and that it encompasses much of the morale of the story itself. There are many other significantly relevant and important theories and points made in this critique; one of these being "I invoke an object relations perspective that explores the centrality of an infant's early experiences with primary caretakers and of the intense feelings of love and hate that, even on the surface, are the main concern of Frankenstein (3). With this is discussed "how the 'facilitating environment' shapes these relationships." Also, one of the most emphasizing comments made on this subject in the critique, I believe, is: "The infant's disposition is important, but for Winnicott much depends upon the child's earliest relations with others who may respond either in a 'good-enough' way that allows his or her 'true self' to emerge or by imposing rigid structures that leave the child in a 'false' position, caught between an endangered inner world that can't be made known and an unresponsive external world that refuses to know it." (p.2). The thought provoking statements made in this critique truly give another life in a way to the Frankenstein story, making a reader of this critique, whether they agree or not, at least have an array of new and inspired impressions on the story. The feelings of this writer seem to be very psychoanalytic, in that they continuously compare the Frankenstein story to morale and ideals in the real world, and bring the story very much to life. The matter of social obligations and responsibility, family obligations, and emotions are all brought out strongly. It speaks predominantly about the 'ideal' infant's life, and how Victor's "father's 'smile of benevolent pleasure' and mother's 'tender caresses' might ordinarily suggest recognition and love, but that doesn't square with Victor's being objectified as a 'plaything' or the sense of 'duty' and 'owing' that defines his relationship to his parents." (p.3). This particular comment strongly evokes in me a feeling of emotion towards Victor, and how his relationship is towards his parents. I feel as though Victor saw through the external showings and felt as though he was not appreciated by his parents the way he would like to have been. The relationship between Victor and his father is shown as being especially tense: "Alphonse doesn't get the point of his son's enthusiasm: 'My father looked carelessly at the titlepage of my book, and said, Ahl Cornelius Agrippal. My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash'." (44). In this, we see that by failing to receive his son's eagerly profound communication, "Alphonse cannot present the external world in a way that recognizes and affirms the inner one; what might have become a 'potential space' between subject and object instead remains a vacuum." (p.4). Through this we see that Alphonse's lack of recognition towards his son was incredibly more relevant than perhaps one would take it at first; his ignorance towards his son's enthusiasm brings great negativity to an already dire situation. The effects of Victor's infantile dilemmas are spread thoroughly across this critique, and are proven in various different circumstances, such as how it haunts his later years during "his awakening from delirium in an Irish jail, imprisoned under suspicion of killing Clerval." (p.5). The writer goes on to state how "His condition here approximates an infant's not only in his helplessness, but also in his having to contend with intense anxiety and guilt and in his difficulty in establishing the external world as external." (p.5). I agree wholeheartedly with these opinions, and am especially enlightened in regards to the opinion on Victor and how even later on in his life he felt and acted like an 'infant'. This truly affected my reading and understanding of the novel in that it made me see the novel in an entirely different way. By methodizing and capturing the true essence of the story, what one might miss without actually taking the time to consider it; Victor's emotions and his feelings towards his parents - these are both truly significant 'hidden' meanings in the morale of the story. I am again enlightened by the pointed argument about Victor's strife to learn about the "secrets of heaven and earth" (p.6). This thirst for knowledge reveals a rather premature instrumentality modeled on his father's, and "a 'temperature' forced by a rigid 'law' to forego the playing that, Winnicott holds, constitutes a precondition for authentic living." (p.6). These statements make it seem that Victor experiences the self he presents to others as fake or fraudulent. The most significant comment made in this entire critique is that of the following: "his (Victor's) real need for the world to meet him half way, and his rage at its duty-bound refusal to do so, remains hidden and inexpressible, and is ultimately disowned by being projected into the monster." (p.6). This single comment truly ejects the entire story into one, by expressing to the reader the actual reason for Victor becoming the monster. Victor's position and that of how he considers to have a 'false self' is that of great importance, not only in relation to the fact that that is what caused him to turn into the monster, but also for more simpler facts, such as all of this truly seemed to stem originally from his infant and child life, where he felt ignored and reputed by his parents. Works Cited Shelley, Mary. 1831. Frankenstein. Ed. Johanna M. Smith. Boston: Bedford Books, 1992. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay”, n.d.)
Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1510314-examining-literary-critisism
(Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay)
Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay. https://studentshare.org/literature/1510314-examining-literary-critisism.
“Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1510314-examining-literary-critisism.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Examining Literary Criticism: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

Role of Feminism in Mary Shelley's Life and Frankenstein

Role of Feminism in mary shelley's life and Frankenstein mary shelley was the daughter of the two revolutionists William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft.... She was a prolific reader and a writer, her most famous work being frankenstein published in the year 1818 which is read to this day.... Her mindset and belief shows through her few works including frankenstein.... The fact that Shelley wrote a book like frankenstein with all its horrors in itself was telling....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Character & Theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

mary shelley's Frankenstein is tightly connected to the historical changes and events taken place in the 18th and 19th centuries.... But the people's dream of resuscitation and transformation of lifeless substance was and is still survived, and this aspiration is eloquently reflected in mary shelley's Frankenstein.... In mary shelley's Frankenstein the old idea of aspiration of man superiority over nature is clearly visible.... As well as many other young men, Victor frankenstein was fond of natural scientific researches and decided to devote himself to the science....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Role of the scientist in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

One of these debates was the question of the proper role of the scientist in the contemporary age, addressed in the novel Frankenstein written by mary shelley.... In this novel, Victor frankenstein, the main protagonist, stretches the bounds of technology to its limit takes the concept of new technology to its ultimate limit trying to overcome death by re-animating dead tissue, trying to create life on his own terms.... “The ancient teachers of this science,' said he [frankenstein's first professor], ‘promised impossibilities, and performed nothing....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Literary Analysis of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

In the novel Frankenstein, mary shelley symbolizes one's need to be accepted by society through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster.... At the me time, Victor frankenstein, the human doctor who created the monster, is easily accepted into society because of his humanness and his social status as a member of a respected family.... frankenstein receives warnings regarding the unnatural teachings of his early scientific teachers yet continues forward with his experiments until he progresses beyond the point of no return....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Our Inner Demons

Hyde, and mary shelley's Frankenstein.... Characters in novels are sometimes categorized as monsters without any exact definition of what a ‘monster' might be.... In a social context, a monster might be deemed a person who is detrimental to the social collective in the most extreme sense, such as a… However, even this social definition of monster has nuanced complexities dependant on personal beliefs and perspective....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

Signifiance of Frankenstein in the Romantic period or era

By examining the prevailing thought during the Romantic period and examining the text of mary shelley's novel, the concepts of the Romantic Period become clear.... Characteristics of the genre identified by Welleck (2003) include a “revolt against the principles of neo-classicism criticism, the rediscovery... Looking at the Romantic Period through a literary lens, the world was seen as a place full of signs and symbols that were capable of transmitting meaning, perhaps even providing indications of the future....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

When Ethics and Science Collide

mary shelley's Frankenstein tells about the story of a madman who was so consumed with the teachings of a well-known occult philosopher and alchemist, Cornelius Agrippa.... Inspired by the amazing things he learned from the works of the philosopher, frankenstein yearned to know… Despite his father's discouraging words regarding his interest and later, his professor's show of contempt about the science of Agrippa, the hopeful scientist did not abandon the back-numbered teachings....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Case for Criticism Why Critical Theory Belongs in the English Literature Curriculum

"The Case for criticism Why Critical Theory Belongs in the English Literature Curriculum" paper argues that introducing critical theory broadens the reach of “classic” literature and encourages students to look at work in different ways, from different angles, and with different interests.... Implementing critical theories doesn't mean banishing formalist or reader-response criticism; those ways of reading will always remain significant textual approaches for students of all ages....
8 Pages (2000 words) Article
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us