Frankenstein Cause and Effect

Mary Shelley’s story of Frankenstein tells the tale of one man recklessly experimenting with the gift of life. Doctor Victor Frankenstein, a well-studied alchemist learning of modern science, becomes intrigued with the secret of life. In his studies, he stumbles across the answer and uses it to create life from death. Because of this, his life flies off the tracks on a terrible downward plummet to insanity. With such power comes great responsibility that when neglected could, and did, result in severe consequences. Victor Frankenstein’s first and greatest mistake was experimenting at all. What’s dead should be left to the grave. Frankenstein even admits to himself that he was scared when he realized he had brought life to the lifeless mesh of a body that lay on his table. “Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world (pg. 228).” He immediately regrets playing God when he realizes that what he has created was far from what he had hoped. When Doctor Frankenstein first stood in sight of his creation, he made his second mistake of running away, leaving the “monster” on its own. The creation was pushed into the wild where he stalked a family through the crack of their cottage. It was through this that he learned fluent english as well as the basic agonies of life such as poverty and death. In his isolation, he also learned of hunger, the cold, and exhaustion. Frankenstein’s creature found humanity within himself through this family and began to assist as much as he could unnoticed by leaving small bundles of firewood on their doorstep overnight. Eventually, he decided it was time he tried to communicate to them and invited himself into the cottage when the only person home was a blind old man, in hopes that the man would converse with him and be able to convince the others of his sensitive and humane nature. Unfortunately, the rest of the family came home