Frankenstein Quotes Mine

context - 'I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel...'

Adam made a choice which led him to be shunned by God, Satan did not realize he had made a mistake, and fell from grace. The monster says that, as Victor's creation, he should have been to Victor like Adam to God, and looked after, like a son. However, due to Victor's neglect, the monster sees himself as more like Satan than Adam, and this is the explanation of why he became violent and evil.

context - "I had resolved in my own mind that that to create another like the fiend I had first made would be an act of the basest and most atrocious selfishness."

After the creature requests that Victor make him a companion and Victor agrees, he determines that it is a bad idea and can result in negative consequences. This is a significant point where Victor proves that he learned from his first mistake.

context - 'Cursed creator, why did I not die'

Blames Victor for his suffering, and suggests that he would rather have never lived than live in the torment he has, as a result of Victor's neglect. At the end of the novel, after he learns that Victor has died, he too goes to die, as his only purpose was to get revenge on Victor.

speaker - "I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers-their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions; but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I started back...I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity."

Creature

context - 'Shall each man find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone?'

In words echoing Adam's supplication to God, asking for a mate like the beasts', the Creature points out the injustice of his loneliness, reminding us of the broken contract between Creator and Creation. A sliding scale down through the echelons of creation, culminating in the all-important isolation.

context - 'I was benevolent and good but misery make me a fiend'

Nature vs nurture, benevolence related to God, link to paradise lost?(likens himself to Satan) Use of hellish + biblical language.

context - 'It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn'

Pretty deep stuff for a kid, shows his thirst for knowledge. His desire to learn these secrets led to a massive shit show, so perhaps Shelley is saying that scientists should know their limits, and not try to break the bounds of nature - link to context (Romanticism)

context - 'fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature'

Shows his hunger for knowledge too, 'fervent longing' suggests that he is very passionate about it, much like Victor (however he abandons his mission, because he learns from Victor, showing that nature is more powerful than man)

context - "I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers-their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions; but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I started back...I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity."

The creature first realizes he is a monster and not like the other humans. This also adds to his lonliness because he realizes that he will most likely not be accepted. The creature was in a state of bliss. He was connecting emotionally with the family and he created a fantasy in his head in which he was one of the De Laceys. Shortly after he had begun to experience those feelings of love and affection, he had the horrid experience of seeing his reflection in a pool of water.

context - "God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image, but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred"

The creature has read Victor's journal on the creation and he feels dejected that his own creator is disgusted in him. This results in the creature wishing he was never created because he is lonely.

context - "This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind."

The monster has just saved a girl's life, yet people attack him because they believe he is trying to murder her. This society's prejudice against him because of how he looks. This is a significant turning point in which the creature realizes that he thinks there is not much benefit for trying to be good, so he turns evil.

context - 'The feelings of kindness and gentleness ... gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth'

The monster was born kind and gentle, Victor's neglect and society's prejudices turned him angry and violent (gnashing teeth one)

context - "On the evening previous to her being brought to my home,my mother had said playfully, I have a pretty present for my Victor"

The night before Victor's sister was adopted his mother said this to his father. His mother had a bigger plan for this adoption, one day Victor would marry his new sister Elizabeth.Analysis: I believe Victor's mom was looking out for Victor in away, making sure he always had a companion, a person to love, and eventually a partner for life. His mom was loving in that way. The book is foreshadowing into a possible future relationship as well.

context - "But I am a blasted tree; the bold has entered my soul; and I felt that I should survive to exhibit what I shall soon cease to be-a miserable spectacle of wrecked humanity, pitiable to others and intolerable to myself."

This comparison reveals how Victor recognizes the severed connections he has with humanity. The seek for knowledge has caused him to become almost as monstrous as the creature because he lost his morals in his project.

context - "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries."

This quote reflects on his own conduct and mistakes that he has made. Frankenstein is saying that there is nothing wrong in discovery or science. His fault was not to take responsibility for his creation. His ambition clouded his judgment and humanity. Frankenstein feels that he perverted his own science by not looking after the creature. Victor tells Walton the moral of the story is to be satisfied in your ignorance, as ambition only leads to destruction.

speaker - "But I am a blasted tree; the bold has entered my soul; and I felt that I should survive to exhibit what I shall soon cease to be-a miserable spectacle of wrecked humanity, pitiable to others and intolerable to myself."

Victor

speaker - "But, as if possessed of magic powers, the monster had blinded me to his real intentions and when I thought I had prepared only my death, I hastened to that of a far dearer victim."

Victor

speaker - "I had resolved in my own mind that that to create another like the fiend I had first made would be an act of the basest and most atrocious selfishness."

Victor

speaker - "I was like the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and found a passage to life, aided only by one glimmering and seemingly ineffectual light."

Victor

speaker - "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries."

Victor

speaker - "Such were the professor's words-rather let me say such the words of fate-enounced to destroy me."

Victor

speaker - "The tortures of the accused did not equal mine; she was sustained by innocence, but the fangs of remorse tore at my bosom, and would not forego their hold."

Victor

speaker - "We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to me-my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only."

Victor

context - 'Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction'

Victor can't accept blame for his actions, he claims it is his destiny. Shows he a) believes in fate and b) is unable to accept responsibility for his actions (link to the 'true murderer' quote, which shows his change during the novel)

context - "I was like the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and found a passage to life, aided only by one glimmering and seemingly ineffectual light."

Victor feels as though his work is exhausting him and the only thing that is keeping him going is the project. He felt like he was buried in his work, and his new found ability to create life was the one thing that kept him going, even if it wasn't the best option, it was his only and his last hope

context - "The tortures of the accused did not equal mine; she was sustained by innocence, but the fangs of remorse tore at my bosom, and would not forego their hold."

Victor feels extreme guilt for the murder of his brother and the execution of Justine because it was his creature that he created that committed the crimes, so Victor feels guilty. He inevitably suffered more than her because he did not get peace until the very end of his life.

context - "We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to me-my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only."

Victor is explaining how he is kind of protective over Elizabeth and seems almost possessive of her. She is the opposite of him in the fact that she is a romantic and he is more of a realist.

context - "Such were the professor's words-rather let me say such the words of fate-enounced to destroy me."

Victor is learning from his professor, and determines that it would be interesting to pursue creation. This is a significant change because previously Victor had been seeking knowledge that had already been discovered and recorded. He then realizes that he should be looking for new discoveries that lead to new knowledge.

context - "But, as if possessed of magic powers, the monster had blinded me to his real intentions and when I thought I had prepared only my death, I hastened to that of a far dearer victim."

Victor says this when he realizes that the creature is going to murder Elizabeth, not Victor. This makes Victor pained because he lost his dear newly wed wife and has entered true misery due to the monster's revenge. This is not the first time Victor has been blinded, and others include when he was originally performing the creation as well as when he started to help the creature.

speaker - "What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?"

Walton

context - "What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?"

Walton's quest to reach the northernmost part of the earth is similar to Victor's quest for the secret of life: both seek ultimate knowledge, and both sacrifice the comfort of the realm of known knowledge in their respective pursuits. Additionally, the beauty and simplicity of the phrasing epitomize the eighteenth-century scientific rationalists' optimism about, and trust in, knowledge as a pure good. However Walton abandons his mission, because he learns from Victor, showing that nature is more powerful than man.

speaker - "God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image, but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred"

creature

speaker - This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind."

creature

speaker - "On the evening previous to her being brought to my home,my mother had said playfully, I have a pretty present for my Victor"

victor

speaker - 'fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature'

walton