Frankenstein Blog #1

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Once a mysterious and unknown figure, Victor Frankenstein slowly becomes less mysterious as readers are introduced to Victor's past. First and foremost, readers learn about Victor's passion and desire for learning through the statement, "It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to to learn, and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me,"(Shelly, 19). Furthermore, readers are acquainted with Victors mother, Caroline, who died of scarlet fever, as well as his father, Alphonse. Also introduced is Victor's life long friend, Elizabeth. Victors mother is presented as an all loving, tender, and kindhearted woman. It appears that Victor has deep affection for his mother, which leads me to believe that her death partially led him to pursue his experiment. Through his creation, Victor believed he could possible solve sickness, something his mother and other family members suffered and died from. I found this to be Victor's motivation. Although he was creating the creature for the purpose of discovering something new and uncharted, I think Victor was also driven by his desire to cure the sick and even bring is own mother back from the dead. Later, when Victor does manage to create life though, he is horrified and runs away. After seeing his creation, I highly doubt Victor believes he could still bring people back from the dead or cure anyone was sickness.