“Seven Shades of Life and Death”
An Analysis of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s
Representation of Her Own Personal
Experiences Through the Rise and Fall of the
Characters in Frankenstein.
Words of Mary Shelley
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”
― Victor Frankenstein, Chapter 23, lamenting his wife’s [Elizabeth] death
“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel...”
― Frankenstein’s Monster, Chapter 10, casting responsibility onto Victor for the destruction
“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!”
― Frankenstein’s Monster, Chapter 17, expressing his hatred for his condition and for the person
he was speaking to, Victor
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”
― Frankenstein’s Monster, Chapter 10, proclaiming (threateningly) to Victor that he is physically
stronger than Victor and would defend himself easily against him
What is anguish?
How does it keep its hold on us?
Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s what keeps us in this world and yet far away.
But nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.
And what can I not bear but this world and what it gave?
And I can name seven of which I could not save.
When I, alas, I did not give a drop of the blood that was spilled.
No, my mother did.
My beloved cast my fears into the reality of common existence,
And who is here?
Who is here but I?
And what keeps us together as we fall apart?
Oh, I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel,
Who departs from here and all along stays anchored in his heart,
Oh, yes, I have fallen apart.
I am spent,
I have faced creation, and welcomed its rival.
I have stayed the course, except when I held to survival.
Come here.
Rather, go away.
I cannot create something that will not too see its day,
I cannot create life from a womb,
Or face my mother’s tomb,
I must look down below and make room.
For you are not near.
And I cannot spark your heart into mine own ear.
If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear.
I will destroy them, and myself, and my cause.
Only the paleness will serve your applause.
There will be no soul come out of rest to mend it.
For life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.
Death’s Quartet
Robert Walton
“I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the
enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my
joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor
to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to
paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the
communication of feeling. I desire the company of a man
who could sympathise with me; whose eyes would reply to
mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I
bitterly feel the want of a friend.” (Chapter 1, Letter 1)
“At that age I became acquainted with the
celebrated poets of our own country…”
(Chapter 1, Letter 2)
“Remember me with affection, should you never
hear from me again.” (Chapter 1, Letter 2)
Victor Frankenstein
“Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should
first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark
world.” (Chapter 4)
“The fallen angel becomes the malignant devil. Yet even the
enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his
desolation; I am alone.” (Chapter 24)
“It is so long before the mind can
persuade itself that she whom we saw
every day and whose very existence
appeared a part of our own can have
departed forever—that the brightness of a
beloved eye can have been extinguished
and the sound of a voice so familiar and
dear to the ear can be hushed, never
more to be heard.” (Chapter 3)
The Fiend
“When I looked
around I saw and
heard of none like me.
Was I, a monster, a
blot upon the earth
from which all men
fled and whom all
men disowned?”
(Chapter 13)
“You can blast my other passions, but
revenge remains—revenge, henceforth
dearer than light of food! I may die,
but first you, my tyrant and
tormentor, shall curse the sun that
gazes on your misery.” (Chapter 20)
Works Cited
• "B&N Community." Robert Walton vs. Victor Frankenstein. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
• "Foil." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
• "Frankenstein." Frankenstein. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
• "Frankenstein: Quotes." LitCharts. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2013.
• "Mary Shelley Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
• "Mary Shelley Quotes." Mary Shelley Quotes (Author of Frankenstein). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
• "Robert Walton." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
• Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Diana Gibson. Frankenstein. Madrid, España: Edimat Libros, 2000. Print.
• "Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton There Similarities." - WriteWork. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.