The Role Of Parenting In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus, is a cautionary tale of what may happen when a person chooses to go against the natural order of life. In her novel, Shelley’s protagonist Victor Frankenstein asking himself, where it all went wrong as his previously quiet and studious life is turned into chaos. Faced with several tragedies, Frankenstein is never quite ahead of the curve in a way which allows him to attain peace and happiness, a problem he oftentimes brings upon himself but a burden which Shelley has put on the character without his own compliance. Frankenstein’s story and in turn that of his family and the monster he creates is a look into the perils of ineffective or absentee parenting.
The Frankenstein family, while it seems nearly perfect at a glance, Shelley gives the reader cues to look more critically at Victor’s upbringing. Frankenstein states, “my parents were indulgent; and my companions amiable” (62). Parents who are well off and kind can certainly make for a happy childhood, but parents who are, …show more content…
Without any regard for the monster itself, made of his own ingenuity, Frankenstein who is appalled at his results, abandons him. “Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room…” (81). Frankenstein’s repulsed reaction to the monster, exhibits to the reader that some things are best left to nature and the natural course of life, while at the same time speaking volumes to Frankenstein’s fickle nature as a creator. His repulsion at the monster, was simply superficial, and yet he left the monster all the same without giving him a chance to grow and learn from him, or without even ending the spark, which would have perhaps been an even kinder option. The monster’s reaction to his abandonment is to be desolate, lonely and craving for attention and love, so much so that he lashes out at the lack of care he
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