Frankenstein: Introduction and Study of orphan in Literature

Frankenstein:

Introduction and Study of orphan in Literature

Introduction of Writer:-

                                    Frankenstein or a modern Prometheus is a novel which is written by British author Mary Shelley.   She was born on 30 – August 1797 in Somers Town, London. Her father William Godwin was the political philosopher. Her mother Mary Wollstonecraft was the philosopher and feminist. Her mother died of puerperal fever ten days after Mary was born. The influence of her mother could found much and she got inspiration by her mother to contribute in Literature. She was novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus. Mary and P.B.Shelley began meeting each other secretly at Mary Wollstonecraft's grave in St.Pancras Churchyard, and they fell in love — she was nearly seventeen, he nearly twenty-two Mary Shelley's last years were blighted by illness. From 1839, she suffered from headaches and bouts of    relists in parts of her body, which sometimes prevented her from reading and writing. On 1 February 1851, at Chester Square, she died at the age of fifty-three from what her physician suspected was a brain tumour. According to Jane Shelley, Mary Shelley had asked to be buried with her mother and father; but Percy and Jane, judging the graveyard at St Pancreas to be "dreadful", chose to bury her instead at St Peter's Church, Bournemouth, near their new home at Boscombe.

Introduction of Novel: - Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

The first edition was published anonymously in London in 1818. Shelley's name appears on the second edition, published in France in 1823. In the novel, the monster is identified via words such as "creature", "monster", "fiend", "wretch", "vile insect", "daemon", "being", and "it”. Speaking to Victor Frankenstein, the monster refers to himself as "the Adam of your labors", and elsewhere as someone who "would have" been "your Adam", but is instead "your fallen angel."

Frankenstein is infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic Movement and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. it should be considered the first true science fiction story, because unlike in previous stories with fantastical elements resembling those of later science fiction, the central character "makes a deliberate decision" and "turns to modern experiments in the laboratory" to achieve fantastic results. It has had a considerable influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.

The novel has many characters. Among all character the character of Creation of Victor Frankenstein is an antagonist of novel. The antagonist is Frankenstein – Monster. Victor created the Frankenstein and after seeing, Victor frightened and did not accept. So hatred of master and society made the Frankenstein as a Monster.

Let’s look at the birds view at the characters of Novel.

There are many characters which are related with Monster or Frankenstein.

The Monster:             Frankenstein is a creation of Victor Frankenstein. He is 8feet tall. Scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Just because of his ugly shape and size, he is the true outcast of society, and though he has the intelligence of man, he isn't allowed into society

Robert Walton:        Walton is the first narrator of the story. He wrote letter to his sister

 Margaret. He first explained about his desire to explore north pole. Then he  narrates the story of Victor Frankenstein.

Victor Frankenstein: Victor is the protagonist, narrator and main character of the novel. He is the  curious to know the secrets of life. Eventually he finds the secrets of life.  After many attempts and experiment Victor is finally create the Monster.

Alphonse Frankenstein: Mr. Frankenstein is Victor's father.

Caroline Beaufort:    Caroline Beaufort Frankenstein is Victor's mother. She comes from a poor     but dignified family, and agrees to marry Alphonse after her father dies and   she is left alone to fend for herself.

Elizabeth:                   She is the poor orphan girl who eventually is adopted by the

    Frankenstein’s family.

Henry Clerval:      Henry is Victor's best friend and school peer. Unfortunately, he too is    murdered by the beast near the end of the story.

M. Waldman:         This man is science professor at Ingolstadt. He is largely responsible for      leading Victor away from alchemy and towards genuine chemistry.

Felix:                       Felix is the young man who lives in the small cottage near the monsters         Hovel.

Agatha:                   Agatha is Felix's sister and De Lacey's daughter. She, too, is forced to           leave with the family when they are found guilty in French court.

De Lacey:                De Lacey is the old, blind man of the cottage. He's the father of Agatha

and Felix.

Safie:                  Safie is the daughter of the Turk and a Christian Arab. She falls in love with Felix after he manages to free her father from prison. Through trickery, she eventually reunites with her lover at the cottage.

 Brief synopsis of the novel:

The story starts with the narration of story. Victor starts story from his childhood. He was born into Geneva. Victor grew up into rich family. As a young boy, Victor is obsessed with studying outdated theories that focus on simulating natural wonders. He likes to study nature and super natural strength. When Victor is four years old, his parents adopt an orphan, Elizabeth Lavenza. They lived happily in the family. Then victor fall in love with Elizabeth then he married to her.

Victor went to study at the University of Ingolstadt in Germany. Before he leave he saw, witnessing a lightning strike on an oak tree inspires Victor to harness its power for his experiments. His mother dies of scarlet fever, creating further impetus towards his experiments. At university, he excels at chemistry and other sciences, soon developing a secret technique to reanimate dead tissue, which eventually leads to his creation of the Monster. It was very difficult to replace small parts of human body, so victor has decided to use big and large part of human body. So his creation became 8 feet tall. As a result, the beautiful creation of his dreams is instead hideous, with yellow eyes and skin.

After creating monster, victor saw him and shocked. Creature ran away from laboratory with books and clothes of victor. Because of monster’s ugly shape and look victor frightened from monster and fainted. As fainted, Victor falls ill from hard work of experience. He nursed back to health by his childhood friend, Henry Clerval. After four – month recovery, he returns home in Geneva. Then he came to know about the murder of his bother William. Justine, William's nanny, is hanged for the crime after William's locket is found in her pocket. Victor visit at the crime scene when murder tool place.  Then he came to know that monster would have killed the William. Ravaged by grief and guilt, Victor retreats into the mountains. Here he met with Monster and monster narrate the whole story that how he lived, and how he has treated by society. He told that when he went out from Laboratory he go outside. Here people hate him, beaten him. Because of monster’s ugly shape and size people did not accept his existence. People have beaten him and throw stones at him. Then he went outside city, went into forest. While living near a cottage, he grew fond of the family living there. The Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous. Despite of his ugliness he tried to be friend of that family, but the family member was frightened and fled their home. The Creature then burned the cottage in a fit of rage.

            Monster has felt that everyone has left him, nobody wants to be his friend, nobody love him. So he wanted to take revenge from his creator, because his creator doesn’t care of his creation. So now he felt that it was his master’s responsibility to take care of him.  He also narrate the quotation of Paradise lost.

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay,

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee,

From darkness to promote me? ”

      (Paradise Lost, X, 743–45)

The monster told victor to make a female partner for the company. So that he can live happily with her. The monster has told that he would never come back and went far away from Victor. The Creature promises he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Victor accepts it, then he tried again to create female partner for monster, but he thought that it will be very horrible to see Monster family. So he did not create the monster Clerval accompanies him to England, but they separate in Scotland. Victor suspects that the Monster is following him. Working on the female creature on the Orkney Islands, He destroys the female creature after he sees the Monster watching through a window. The Monster confronts him, vowing to be with Victor and Elizabeth on their upcoming wedding night. The Monster then kills Clerval, leaving the corpse to be found where Victor lands in Ireland. Victor is imprisoned for Clerval's murder and suffers another mental breakdown in prison. After that he returns home with his father. In Geneva, Victor married with Elizabeth. Then Victor has told to Elizabeth to stay in the room, and went outside meanwhile the monster enter from window and murdered Elizabeth. Grief-stricken by the deaths of William, Justine, Clerval, and Elizabeth, Victor's father dies. Seeking revenge, Victor pursues the Monster to the North Pole; however, he does not kill his creation. Victor met Captain Walton, and then he died on ship. At the end of novel Monster met with Victor and went to the North Pole, and never came back.

 Orphan:-

 The definition of orphan has a simple meaning; an orphan is a child whose parents are dead. Child whose parents have left them permanently, that child can be considering as an orphan child. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usually relevant. If she has gone, the offspring is an orphan, regardless of the father's condition.

If we took a bird view in our literature, we can find much character who is orphaned. In literature Orphaned characters are extremely common as literary protagonists, especially in children's and fantasy literature. Because of their situation, no one is ready take care of those orphans. So the lack of parents leaves the characters to pursue more interesting and adventurous lives. Parents, furthermore, can be irrelevant to the theme a writer is trying to develop, and orphaning the character frees the writer from the necessity to depict such an irrelevant relationship; if one parent-child relationship is important, removing the other parent prevents complicating the necessary relationship.

All these characteristics make orphans attractive characters for authors

Orphans characters are common in many literature forms like fairy tales, such as most variants of Cinderella. A number of well-known authors have written books featuring orphans. Examples from classic literature include Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, Among more recent authors, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, as well as some less well-known authors of famous orphans like Little Orphan Annie have used orphans as major characters. Almost all the most popular heroes are orphans: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Robin, The Flash, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Green Arrow were all orphaned. So from past many bunch of years we can say the characterization of orphan has significant role in literature.

            In the novel Frankenstein we can find, Monster as a orphan, Because of his condition, the theme of orphan-hood is seen in the monster. The monster has no father, no mother, and no family at all. Even society has not accepted his existence. Nobody wants to love him and accepted him. So he became so sad. He felt lonely and become mad. Those spirits draw him into bad way and that cause reflects into kill innocent people who were his creators love. He has become completely lost with no guidance and no body to care for him or love him.

  

  There are different perspective to see Frankenstein as an Orphan child. We can consider as an Orphan child.

 

When the monster was created, he has Victor as a father, because victor has created him. But ugly look and size of monster frightened victor. So Victor fainted and falls down on earth. At some extent we can say that even father didn’t accept the existence of his own creation. So that way monster may consider as an Orphan child. At the moment when the creature comes to life, Frankenstein is not triumphant, but horrified. Frankenstein turns away from his creature and rushes from the room in disgust and dismay. After a brief, additional encounter with the creature, he flees from the house and does not see him again for almost two years.

  

Monster ran away from the laboratory of Victor. Now society has seen him, and they came to know about the existence of Monster. He performs generous deeds in order to aid the family he’s been observing, yet when he attempts to cross over into their realm, he is rejected at first sight. Ugly look of Monster makes him horrible. So we can say that society has thrown out him. When people have seen ugly face of monster, they started beating him. So, monster feels lonely in the society. Nobody wanted to pay attention on him. Perspective of society to looking at Monster was cruel, and that vision makes a creature in Monstrous character. At some extent society is responsible to felt that Monster is orphan. In the society, Monster has no friends, no family so we can consider him as an orphan child..

Nature is equal to all of life, but here the nature is little opposed to Monster. Monster has horrible face. When monster is created he was just like a new born baby. He has no vision, no though, no relation and no view of living life. As he grown up he just learnt how to live life. Even his creator has not accepted his existence. By nature he was a good creature, but the society that makes him Monster.

            Monster is an abandoned child, a parentless orphan. Monster feels that nobody wanted to be friend with him. At that time he saw that everyone man has a female partner. At that time he felt that if his creator would make am companion for him. With the company of companion, monster can live happily. After that both of them went to North Pole and never came back. So Monster felt that he is orphan and nobody liked him. So when he met with Scientist Victor Frankenstein he told him to make companion for him. Victor accepted and he starts working on wish of Monster. So Monster can live happily with partner. During process of making Female Monster, victor thought that it would be very horrible to see MONSTER FAMILY. So he stopped making female monster, and destroys all equipment. The victor didn't see that Monster was looking outside the window. Monster was observed the whole process. Now he appears and told victor that why he has stopped working on female monster and why he has destroyed all equipment. Then Monster warned him that he will meet him on his wedding night. And he ran away. So here we can clearly see Monster as an orphan. Just for the betterment of the life, Monster wanted a female partner, victor didn’t create female partner. Wish of monster to get female partner was right, but that wish has been destroyed by his creator.

            Society didn't accept to live with them with monster, ugly and different size of monster was a main reason to not allow living in society. When monster has created he has no vision, that how society will react at him. When he appeared in front of people, they started beating him. So monster was not accepted by society. When he lived outside the city in the forest, here he also tried to be friend with De Lacey family and with an Old man, at that time old man was blind, so the fearful face is not seen by old man. So they talked when son of old man came and he saw monster then he found that monster would harm. So he starts beating him. Then the family left way from the house. He performs generous deeds in order to aid the family he’s been observing, yet when he attempts to cross over into their realm, he is rejected at first sight. When monster see empty house then he become so angry and turn house into fire. So that incident reflects that monster was just like an orphan child and nobody wanted his existence near them.

            Victor Frankenstein had a hunger of knowledge. He wanted to learn more about rules of nature and life. His curiosity drew him to create monster. Victor wanted to know about life and death. He challenged rules of physics. He saw the professor and his experiment on creating life in laboratory. In one night he saw lightning strike on an oak tree, then tree turn into ashes. That inspired victor that those power would be helpful for his experiment. Problem that is still with us—what are we to do with our creations, especially when they fail to live up to the promises of their creators? The Monster is, on the deepest and most personal level, a rejection of Mary Shelley’s Feelings of isolation and hatred. On a larger scale it serves the same function.  An orphan of science, created and abandoned, the Monster threatens to take out its anger and rejection on the species of man

After getting knowledge of reading, speaking etc. from De Lacey family, He reads Milton's great epic as if it were a "true history" giving the picture of an omnipotent God warring with His creatures; he identifies himself with Adam, except so far as Adam had come forth from God a "perfect creature, happy and prosperous." Finally, of course, he identifies with Satan:

"I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam;

but I am rather the fallen angel,

whom thou drives from joy for no misdeed.

Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.

I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend Make me happy,

and I shall again be virtuous."

            When monster is created he was just like a new born baby. He has no vision, no though, no relation and no view of living life. As he grown up he just learnt how to live life. Even his creator has not accepted his existence. By nature he was a good creature, but the society that makes him Monster. When first time his existence is found in society, people start beating him. At this time monster could not understand that why this is happening with him. So he was crying and ran away from there. From birth he was innocent but the refusal of society makes him Monster. It was effect of society on his behavior. So he becomes Monster. He was thrown by society. If we criticize from that perspective we can say that monster is really an orphan child.

        

                    In Greek mythology, it is said that Prometheus, who has stolen fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mankind, so he was punished by Zeus, king of the gods. In Roman legend Prometheus also created mankind with the use of clay. 

           
            But contrarily to Prometheus, a good god that brought knowledge and freedom to humanity, the same thing can be found here in this novel like Doctor Frankenstein is a flawed character, neither good, nor evil but certainly blind by his selfish ambition to equal god. Dr Frankenstein is the archetype of the classical mad scientist but also the embodiment of our scientific age.
                        In the Greek myth of Prometheus, he had to suffer a lot just for helping mankind. And it was eternal kind of pain that he suffered simultaneously in the novel when monster was helping De Lacey family but due to ugly shape and monstrous look he was neglected by the family. Then after family left the home and monster became lonely. Hence we can say that he is orphan and also consider him as a modern Prometheus
Before dying, Frankenstein states,

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous
Is the acquirement of knowledge, and how happier the man is who believes his               Native town to be the world,
than he who aspires to become greater than his nature Will allow" (Shelley Ch-53).

            After took birth in laboratory, Monster had come into possession of Frankenstein's laboratory notebook and had read the story of his own creation. In contrast to the creation of Adam, the creature finds the story of his own creation to be filthy and disgusting. Again the underlying horror is the realization that he is a merely physical being. Once he went to rink water near Lake, at that time he saw his own reflection in the water, at the time he realized that how he was “DISSFORMED” and “GUILTY”. So he thought that he is different from other human being. Those feelings of made him orphan. Thus the self realization and existence of his own makes Monster as an orphan.

            As per novel, after looking from different kind of perspective we can say that monster was really generous person, but the unaccepted of his existence that makes Frankenstein as an Orphan child.