Companionship & family Flashcards
Does Walton desire companionship?
In his letters to his sister, Walton’s desire for a friend similar to himself is evident.
How is Victor’s upbringing presented as idealised?
-The Frankenstein family love their son deeply.
-They also provide a home and affection for less fortunate children, such as Elizabeth and Justine.
What is the Monsters experience with companionship and family?
-The Monster is immediately deserted by the only ‘father-figure’ he has.
-He then continues to experience rejection at the hands of everyone he meets.
-The Monster idolises the lifestyle of the De lacey family and imagines that they are his ‘friends’.
-Victor’s family setting provides a stark contrast to the Monster’s start in life.
What happened after the Monster read ‘Paradise Lost’?
-After reading about Adam and Eve in ‘Paradise Lost’, the Monster comes to view companionship as the natural state of being.
-It is for this reason that he requests that Victor create him a mate.
‘No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself. My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence.’ (Chapter 2)
-Shelley focuses on Victor’s idyllic upbringing in order to highlight his privileged background.
-The fact that he experienced love and support as a child encourages the reader to be more critical of his own treatment of his creation.
‘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. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good – misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.’ (Volume Two: Chapter 2)
-From his reading, the Monster becomes aware of the positive effects of companionship and sees it as a natural state of being.
-Shelley attributes the Monster’s fiendish behaviour to his lack of companionship and love, thereby suggesting that humans need relationships in order to remain ‘good’.
-‘They loved and sympathised with one another; and their joys, depending on each other, were not interrupted by the casualties that took place around them.’
-‘…my heart yearned to be know and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition.’ (Volume Two: Chapter 7)
-The Monster recognises the positive effects of the close relationships of the De Lacey family.
-Their happiness seems to come entirely from each other, rather than any of their circumstances.
-The Monster deeply desires to experience this affection, seeing this simple thing as a great ambition. This encourages the reader to sympathise with the Monster, as his aims only extend as far as companionship and love.
‘You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being.’ (Volume Two: Chapter 9)
-After being rejected by society, the Monster realises that the only way he will be able to achieve companionship is with a creature similar to himself.
-He sees this type of relationship as a necessity, indicating the huge importance it holds in his life.
