Frankenstein's destruction of Innocence

In an essay in Critical Terms for Literary Study ideology is described as a tool for controlling societies and managing social contradictions. The dominant social class controls the critiques and views that are seen in their own world. A dominant social class that desires to encourage the lower social class to focus on producing and exporting profitable products to make money to sustain their society may bring to light the benefits and importance of their position.

Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" does not seem to create an ideology that is aimed at one specific group of people. More important themes and symbols seem to litter the book, making a bigger influence with critics over the years. The novel does focus on the tribulations and the consequences of Frankenstein delving into the powers of God. Maybe Shelley is crafting a cautionary tale. However, Frankenstein's agony and the trauma he suffers can indicate that Shelley is trying to continue a tradition that nature should not be controlled and surpassed by man alone.

Victor Frankenstein found himself in great pain and agony as soon as the monster came to life. He was bedridden for days and looked ill. Frankenstein's physical condition has become worse and he is even acting out of place. The doctor "traversed the streets without any clear conception," as his "heart palpitated in the sickness of fear." These physical descriptions describe a man who is wounded and ill. Frankenstein's condition has worsen to the fate of a zombie. He is in pain and is not in the best state as his suffering surrounds his obsessions to defy nature and create life,

Frankenstein also suffers when it comes to his relationship with his family. His ambition and obsession with science leads him to ostracize himself, but the creature also brings pain to Frankenstein's family. His cousin William is murdered at the hands of his own creation. "The sweet child, whose smiles delighted and warmed my heart, who was so gentle, yet so gay!" as Frankenstein's father describes the young boy, is a child who's death resembles an innocence lost due to Frankenstein creating the monster. The death of William is just one of the consequences for the monster's creation.

The monster is not a creation of nature as Victor Frankenstein created him out of science and research. He is not a man or woman birthed from a man and Frankenstein, along with his loved ones, is being punished for that transgression. This is not a world that one would want to live in and Shelley is showing us that by framing the novel with a darker aesthetic. Frankenstein is often described as "melancholy" and devoid of joy throughout most of the novel. This darker setting is used put in place after the monster has been created. Shelley is showing readers how dark and perilous the world is when a person defies the laws of nature.

The darker, downtrodden aspects in the story of Frankenstein reveal a place that many people were people would not want to live. Shelley's focus on realism and consequences in the novel have an important affect on Frankenstein. The loss of the scientist's innocence is highlighted with the many deaths that the monster leaves in his path while also proving that their is a responsibility to be upheld with scientific discovery.

Discussion Questions:
1): With her novel "Frankenstein," Is Mary Shelley upholding an ideology that men and scientists in general, should not break away from the rules of nature? Is this accentuated through the death of Frankenstein's innocent family members at the hand of the monster? Is this a realistic claim to make now?
2) Is their a significance that the creature murders William instead of a random passerby? Does it have more of an impact on the novel if it is just a child?