Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
Group 8: Ideas Notes1. Destruction of innocence; unveiling the
truth & its consequences, selfdiscovery, etc.
2. Guilt, personal responsibility, remorse
By: Chris Leigh, Andrew Bertha, and Michael Albert
Themes involving Innocence
1. Those who lose their innocence survive because those who haven't lost their
innocence die (Elizabeth, Clerval, William) to
those who did lose it.
– many different types of innocence – knowledge,
morality
2. Loss of innocence is parallel to the
gaining/pursuit of wisdom in the novel
Quotes to #1
• Innocence – (40-A), “A human being in perfection ought to preserve a
calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire o
disturb his tranquility. I do not think that the pursuit of knowledge is an
exception to this rule. if the study to which you apply yourself has a
tendency to weaken your affection and to destroy your taste for those
simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is
certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind. if this rule
were always observed; if no man allowed any pursuit whatsoever to
interfere with the tranquility of his domestic affections, Greece had not
been enslaved, Caesar would have spared his country, America would have
been discovered more gradually, and the empires of Mexico and Peru had
not been destroyed.” (end of Ch 4)
• “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drank also of the
intoxicating draught? Hear me – let me reveal my tale, and you will dash
the cup from your lips!” – Frankenstein to Malcolm (28)
More Quotes to #1
• Frankenstein loss of innocence— (33-A; end of Ch 3)
“Such were the professor’s words—rather let me say
such the words of the fate—enounced to destroy
me. As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling
with a palpable enemy . . . and soon my mind was
filled with one thought, one conception, one
purpose. So much has been done, exclaimed the
soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve .
. . I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers,
and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of
creation.
Quotes to #2
• Innocence of Clerval –
“Meanwhile Clerval occupied himself, so to speak,
with the moral relations of things. The busy stage
of life, the virtues of heroes, and the actions of
men, were his theme…” (33)
• Innocence of Elizabeth
"The saintly soul of Elizabeth shown like a shrinededicated lamp in our peaceful home," (33)
Another quote for #2!
• Unveiling the truth and its consequences—
(60-A) “My first thought was to discover that I
knew of the murderer and cause instant
pursuit to be made. But I paused when I
reflected on the story that I had to tell . . . I
well knew that if any other had communicated
such a relation to me, I should have looked
upon it as the ravings of insanity”
Theme involving Guilt, Personal
Responsibility, and Remorse
• Any guilt that one person has is self created.
- people create their own conflicts/problems.
“I called myself the murderer of William, of
Justine, and of Clerval.” (157)
Quotes
• (Ch 7, p. 60-A) Victor Frankenstein “No one can conceive the
anguish I suffered during the remainder of the night . . . I
considered the being whom I had cast among mankind and
endowed with he will and power to effect purposes of horror, such
as the deed which he had now done [murdering William] . . . nearly
. . . my own spirit let loose from the grave and forced to destroy all
that was dear to me.”
• (last lines of Ch 8, p 71-A) Victor “Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as,
torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend
vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless
victims to my unhallowed arts.”
MORE QUOTES!!
• (beginning of Ch 5, p. 42-A) “I had worked hard for nearly two
years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.
For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it
with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had
finished, he beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror
disgust filled my heart.”
-immediate beginnings of regret and remorse for his creation
• “Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest
Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await
their destiny…” (157) – upon seeing Clerval’s body
YES!! MORE QUOTES!
• “As I looked on him, his countenance
expressed the utmost extent of malice and
treachery. I thought with a sensation of
madness on my promise of creating another
like to him, and trembling with passion, tore
to pieces the thing on which I was engaged.”
(148) – pre-emptive guilt
One Last Quote!!
• “ . . . yet your presence will, I hope, revive our
father . . . and your persuasions will induce
poor Elizabeth o cease her vain and
tormenting self-accusations.” –Ernest
Frankenstein (61-A,Ch 7)
Work Cited
• Picture of Alice Cooper - http://mediafirealbums.blogspot.com/2010/07/alicecooper.html
• Picture of Wayne and Garth –
http://cinegeek.com
• “Feed my Frankenstein” – Alice Cooper