Prejudice In Frankenstein Essay

Mary Shelly critiques the prejudice of her contemporary society. Victor, the mad scientist in her novel, is treated with respect and dignity, while his creation is mistreated as a social outcast. The cause of prejudice, of course, is an instinctive impulse engraved into our minds by society. It is not controlled by our rationality, but a psychological mystery. In a way, therefore, Mary Shelly is critiquing human being's irrational side. At the same time, however, Shelly critiques the contemporary era of Enlightenment and suggests that man should turn to something less rational- our intuition. It is not by chance that Victor tampers with the dangers of science, which ends up with deadly consequences. The double message and confusion are shared
In fact, she also critiques reason. Since science is a product of reason, Shelly uses it as the theme of critique and shows how it is dangerous. Victor tampers with the dangers of science by vitalizing the creature. During the Romantic era, the heavy industrial development left reactionary resentment, creating a wave of writers like Shelley who thought science to be dangerous. Rather than looking at the world through rational eyes, Romantics embraced the beauty of nature and the world with love. They argued that scientific machinery like factories will ultimately destroy the world. In Frankenstein, the creature is angry with the world due to social prejudice. "Remember that I have power..You are my creator, but I am your master..!" (Pg.224) By inventing a scientific creature that is uncontrollable even by the master, people's lives are jeopardized. Victor had created the monster with benevolent intentions. "I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." (53) Just as scientists start out with optimism, experiments go wrong and the world has to suffer the consequences. Instead of discovering a method to fight death, Victor has killed everyone around