Kelsey Newborn
Religion plays a key role in the actions of society as a whole. Whether a person follows Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or Islam, there is always a creation story that leads to ultimate disappointment. Man has been letting down its creator and fellow men since the first humans populated the earth due to an insatiable need to fulfill his own wants and desires first, and that of others second. It is this selfishness that causes man to act like Adam, the first man in Christianity, who fails society by sinning. However, despite man’s bad behavior, it is his fixation on perfection that leads to his ultimate downfall, the judgment of everyone and everything. In her novel, Frankenstein, Shelley uses the idea of a monster who is imperfect to illustrate the innate human reaction. Her protagonist Frankenstein, judges his creation on pure appearance, and upon finding himself disappointed, casts out this creature, as if he were Adam being cast away from the Garden of Eden. However, Shelley argues that the creature is made to be a fallen angel in the way that his actions do not lead to his downfall, but rather what is judge to be his shortcomings. Shelley employs inter-textuality in her novel, especially with references to the Bible and fallen angels, to illustrate man’s obsession with perfection and its instant judgment that ultimately leads to his downfall.
The relationship between Frankenstein and his creation is often considered that of a parent who abandons a child, however Shelley uses references to the Bible to illustrate the deeper meaning of the interaction between creator and creation. At first, the reader is drawn into the simple parent child dynamic, which is found to be a deeper and more convoluted interaction. Shelley begins to compare the creature with Frankenstein to that of both Adam and God as well as God and Lucifer, the fallen angel. Shelley writes, “I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king (…) Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed” (Shelley 93). In the Bible, Adam, the creation of God, is made in his apparent likeness to live in a garden of paradise, as long as he obeys certain rules. In the same manner, the creature is created in what Frankenstein sees as the perfect human, and should be able to follow certain rules. However, unlike God, the creature due to the simple flaw of looks, and no direct action disappoints the scientist. The “monster” does nothing to create tension or strain the relationship but to exists whereas Adam falls from God’s good graces when he disobeys the simple rules of not eating from the tree of knowledge. As such, the monster argues that Frankenstein should be able to see past the looks to what is on the inside and the overall actions of the monster and see that he is indeed a good creation. When the creature finds his creator cannot get past looks, he sees himself as nothing more than Lucifer, an angel who falls from favor with God from his mere existence and immorality. Despite the fact that the creature morphs into a true monster, at his conception and his initial life experiences, he is just looking for a fair chance and a good guide to protect him, teach him, and lead him into the world.
Despite the creature’s comparison to Adam and the fallen angel, the true disappointing character is Frankenstein. Ironically, it is not Adam who abandons his creator in this case, rather the god-like figure who leaves behind his young creation. Frankenstein leaves his creature due to a lack of perfection. However, like God, Frankenstein created the monster in his image and thus, is afraid of his own reflection. Shelley uses this passage to illustrate the fear of perfection and imperfection in human behavior and Frankenstein’s reaction is a prime example of how man reacts to disappointment. Acting as God, Frankenstein toils over his creation so as to create a perfect being, who will flourish as a representation of something already good. Similarly to God, Frankenstein is disappointed by his creation, but herein lays the difference. Frankenstein’s disappointment stems directly from appearance. He is afraid that his own imperfections are directly reflected in the face and looks of his monster. Here, he is let down by the lack of perfection both because he was striving for a perfect creation and because he realizes he is not perfect either God, on the other hand, was disappointed by Adam’s actions. He realized that by giving his being free will, it could never be perfect. Shelley illustrates human nature as it relates to perfection. No one or no thing can be truly perfect when created by man, because man is not inherently perfect. Thus, Shelley helps the reader to realizes that all of mankind is similar to Adam in that it disappoints based on actions but judges based on appearance and create fallen angels daily.
The exploration of failed human existence is key to Shelley’s novel. Frankenstein is obsessed with creating the perfect being and because he himself is imperfect, cannot possibly conceive something that will ever meet his expectations. His judgments of his creation, based on pure appearance, reflect something that all mankind experiences. Man is constantly disappointed by his own actions, the actions of those around him, and the experiences with others. No one is ever truly satisfied because everyone is an Adam and creates fallen angels through his judgments and ultimately his striving for perfection.
[...] You might consider these examples: Bible: Adam and Even intertextual reading [...]