Frankenstein and the Faustian Bargain

Victor fleeing from his creation

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein differs greatly from the watered down version of the cinematic world. What the cinematic versions lack are Shelley's Victor Frankenstein and his battling conscience. We catch glimpses of it in the old movies, but it never is as fully developed as in the original novel. Victor Frankenstein has an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He devotes all of his time and energy to the study of science. You could almost say that Victor had... sold his soul... for the total understanding of science, life, and death.

Faustus (right) making a deal with Mephistophilis (left)

This metaphorical selling of one's soul harkens back to Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus. In this play, a man of theological study makes a deal to sell his soul in return for knowledge on life and death, knowledge that normally is known by God and his angels. This concept has become known as a Faustian Bargain, and is still prevalent in today's books, television, and movies. The TV show Supernatural and Disney's The Little Mermaid are popular examples of Faustian Bargains.

Crossroads Demon Deal

Ariel and the Contract

One of the concepts that preoccupies the mind and studies of Victor Frankenstein is the idea of bringing life to the dead, or necromancy. Faustus too is interested in this idea. In fact, this is how he is introduced into the play. Both men desire to have the power of God, the ability to control and create death from life and life from death. It is suiting that the original title of the novel was Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. Prometheus was a titan of ancient Greek mythology. His crime was bringing fire to the mortals. Previously this knowledge was only known by the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Faustus receives the knowledge he seeks and the service of the devil Mephistophilis for twenty four years at the cost of his immortal soul.

Victor's situation is a little more complicated than those of Prometheus and Faustus. At a young age Victor found a book on Agrippa. From then on he devoted his studies to the ancient and medieval scientists and natural philosophers. These men's theories and experiments were what launched modern science and medicine. But their theories also dabbled in magic and the occult. These men are noted for things such as alchemy, astrology, and astronomy. The scientists of Victor's time thought these to be crackpot ideas and the study of them as time wasted. Once Victor gets to university in Ingolstadt, he meets Monsieur Kempe who tells him that his ardent study of the old natural philosophers was in vain. Oddly enough, this does not deter Victor's passion for his dream of fully understanding nature, it actually increased the fervor of his studies. He threw himself completely into his studies. After two years, he had become one of the foremost scholars at Ingolstadt. During this time, he did not eat or sleep much and he did not keep in touch with his father, brothers, or Elizabeth. It was not until after he had finally created his monster that he took a break from his scientific pursuits. 

Arguably, one of the most lasting tropes of Doctor Faustus is the idea of a good angel and a bad angel. Faustus is constantly doubting himself and whether he should continue with his plans. He is visited by a good angel that tells him to repent and God will forgive him. But Faustus is also visited by a bad angel. The bad angel tells Faustus that God will never forgive him and never love him again so he should keep his deal with the devil. Victor also has a good angel and a bad angel, however they exist in his mind. He battles with his conscience from the moment he throws himself into his studies in Ingolstadt. He argued with himself over the ethics of science and whether he should continue with his experiments. In the end, Victor chooses to continue and does finish his experiments just as Fautsus continues with his deal.

Discussion Questions:

1. The metaphorical deal- If Victor sold his soul, to whom did he sell it? What does he get from the deal? What sealed the deal? What are the repercussions of the deal? What do you think will happen when his time is up? What is the role of the monster in this deal?

2. Did Victor truly foresee what his experiments would lead to? Victor mentions that both his father and Monsieur Kempe told him to abandon Agrippa and the like. Could he have heeded their warnings? What would it take to change his mind? Victor is noted for his passion for science, how can we apply Baillie to this?