Loss of Innocence in Frankenstein :: Frankenstein essays

Loss of Innocence in Frankenstein       In the novel Frankenstein, passe-partout Frankenstein is the creator of a monster. Because of his thirst for knowledge, he goes too far and creates a huge monster, which he immediately rejects. This rejection plays a major part in the monsters hatred for humans. The author, Mary Shelley, supports the theme, firing of innocence, by plot, setting and characterization. This paper will explain the many ways that the characters lost(p) their innocence throughout the novel.   The plot deals with the conflict that is inside Victor Frankenstein, who produces a monstrous creature. Victor is disgusted at the site of the creature he has created. I had gazed on him while unfinished he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could non have conceived(43). After Victor rejects the monster, he meets a family that brings out his pure side. When t hese people reject him, the creature destroys everything in sight. I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a staglike swiftness(121). The innocent Justine is accused of a murder, committed by the creature, and dies, thence increasing Victors feelings of guilt and his need for revenge. Victor makes it his mission to destroy the monster, who has been dilapidation his life. The monster threatens to be there with Victor on his wedding night. Victor interprets this as a threat against his own life, but instead finds his wife, Elizabeth, murdered. She was there, dead and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and ill-shapen features half covered by her hair(179). The next paragraph discusses how loss of innocence was portrayed through setting.   When Victor is seventeen, he leaves for the University of Ingolstadt, where he spends six years. He creates t he monster in an old deserted house in this city. It is when he rejects the monster that he begins to lose innocence. I did not assume return to the apartment which I inhabited, but felt impelled to drive on, although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless monger(44).