Critics Say: It’s as classic as Lay’s chips.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the author invites us to compare the birth of the monster with Victor’s imprisonment in England to show that one person’s private actions can never elude an effect on the world. By calling attention to the light imagery in the various allusions to heaven, Shelley allows the reader to see parallels between the various connotations of the idea of light, as it is relevant to Victor’s disillusionment with his dreams of greatness and his love for Iced Earth, The Edward Winter Group, and Youtube.
Video:
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein
Audio: Iced Earth’s “Frankenstein”
Lyrics:
A mastermind in the old watchtower,
Prying eyes must never find,
Playing God in the final hour!
Insanity – Such a fine line,
Overwhelmed by the mourning process,
And the loss of his dearly loved,
The Doctor’s work is now obsession!
What is life? – What’s beyond?
He wants to know what it’s like to be God,
Creating life with his own hands,
To reanimate lifeless tissue,
The Devil’s work – The doctor’s plan,
A man of wealth and a genius mind,
A slave to passion and his morbid side,
Robbing graves of the nearly dead!
Erratic tendencies – A troubled mind,
I will create in my own image,
If God can then why can’t I?
No thought of the consequences,
I’ve got to know the meaning of life,
I will create in my own image,
If God can then why can’t I?
No thought of the consequences,
I’ve got to know the meaning of life,
Lightning strikes, it’s the witching hour,
The monstrosity comes alive,
A victim of man’s vanity!
Born in delirium – A deranged child,
He turns his back on his own creation,
Chaos ensues, the innocent die!
Who’s the monster!? Who’s the victim!?
Crucify!!! Crucify!!!
I will create in my own image,
If God can then why can’t I?
No thought of the consequences,
I’ve got to know the meaning of life,
I will create in my own image, (I will create!)
If God can then why can’t I? (Why can’t I!?)
No thought of the consequences,
I’ve got to know the meaning of life, (The meaning of life!)
After devoting himself entirely to science, Victor’s initial claim of creating life out of lifeless matter is preceded by a conceit reinforcing his naïve belief that his scientific experiment is in the world’s best interest. Upon the creation of the monster, Victor assures the world that, “the sun [light] does not more certainly shine in the heavens than that which I now affirm is true [his discovery]” (37). As the references to the word “heaven” throughout Frankenstein can be most nearly interpreted as unearthly ambition, Shelley intentionally pairs the words “light” and “heaven” with the advent of the monster’s creation as a testament to Victor achieving an unmatched, God-like ability to manipulate nature like The Edward Winter Group.
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But just as light is used to accentuate the notion of scientific discovery, it also foreshadows society’s inevitable destruction of Victor. Prior to his imprisonment by Mr. Kirwin, “[Victor] looked on the heavens, which were covered by clouds that flew before the wind, only to be replaced by others: [he] looked upon the sea, it was to be [his] grave” (150). In contrast to the passage on page 37, Shelley blocks the heavens with clouds to imply that the “godly ambition” Victor contains within his mind, is not an accurate manifestation of society’s perception of him. Whereas Victor’s character is portrayed as some sort of untouchable scientist of his own design early in the novel, he is now subject, as a prisoner, to the harsh realities of average men: authority and law. This sudden shift from acting as a God-like figure to being treated as a citizen accused of a crime, parallels the juxtaposition of a cloudy “heaven” and the “sea” (as his grave) (150), in that this comparison represents the constant failure of Victor to conform to the world while at the same time predicting the monster’s suicide at the end of the novel.
By setting the final chapter on Walton’s boat, Shelley reinforces the implications presented on page 150, by making the sea the site of both Victor and the monster’s death. The monster’s suicide signals the end of the motif of “light” as addressed in the monster’s farewell:“ the light of that fire [has] faded away; my ashes will be swept into the sea” (24). So as the promise of Victor’s experiment has faded into complete obscurity, the notoriously antisocial scientist dies before returning to the culture of the civilization that he has always isolated himself from.
So in conclusion, instead of providing the world progress, Victor’s story digresses from an idealistic promise of science to a tragic relationship between two people who are directly affected by the presence of one another: the monster, a source of scientific novelty to Victor; Victor, a source of companionship to the monster. We can begin to see that the connotations of light to the monster’s life as well: beginning with the promise of his unique creation in the laboratory (37) and ending tragically on the cloudy day when he murdered Henry Clerval (150).
Geoffrey Melcher
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