In Mary Shelly's version of Frankenstein, do think Victor Frankenstein is insane?
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In Mary Shelly's version of Frankenstein, do think Victor Frankenstein is insane?
no I do not I think he was an amazing man
I'm not necessarily sure if insane is a proper way to describe Victor Frankenstein. I would describe him more as obsessive. Victor Frankenstein locked himself away in a room to the point where his friends asked if he was sick in order to complete a dream of his. He studied ancient scientists with theories that were beyond irrelevant because he liked their ideas. Is this insane? It depends on your definition. However, I must point out that working on stolen body parts to re-assemble a human being is insane, not to mention sick, wrong and punishable by law.Quote:
Originally Posted by mw4what
I agree with MonsterMash that Frankenstein as not necessarily insane, but obsessive in his research. I don't think that by locking himself away to complete his research made him insane. I think that throughout history many of our great scientists have locked themselves away and retreated from society a time or two in order to complete a work or invention. I also agree that creating a "human" out of stolen body parts is a little sickening and wrong on so many levels. However, great strides in science has at times been sickening. Some years back a man received a full face transplant from a dead body. Replacement ears are being grown on the back of rats and mice. So in Shelley's day the monster was very far fetch, but in current time, aren't we doing similar things? Where I do feel that Frankenstein may have been insane was in his guilt. Guilt for the creature he created, guilt that he couldn't morally create another creature to co-habitat with the creature, and guilt that he was unable to keep those he loved safe. That guilt tormented him for the remainder of his life. It pervaded his every dream and waking moment.
I found Victor annoying, irritating and, yes, maybe insane. Not just because there has to be something inherently wrong with you if you can steal body parts and try to create a new person with it, but also because he knows, deep down, it's wrong and still goes through with it. If not, he would have shared his project with others, he's very open in the beginning of the book. He knew he was doing something wrong otherwise he would have told his father or friend.
I must admit I don't like Victor at all, he's self-absorbed and pathetic.
My sympathy lies with Creature.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mw4what
I think Victor was insane and suffered from a personality disorder specifically he mimicking antisocial tendencies. In his quest to discover the “secret of life” he fails to understand the impact of his actions. He took no responsibility of his consequences and seemed a bit removed from what he had done. He only showed real regret when his brother was murdered but not enough to prevent the execution of Justine. Instead he went away to the mountains to avoid dealing with the ramifications of his savagery. And then later on in an attempt to write his wrongs and purging himself of his guilt he completes the process again. During the time in which he created the monster till the telling of his death I kept thinking, yes he is indeed insane.
Insane? No… at times...obsessive, immoral and self-centered…yes. However I feel that with innovative scientist who are willing to think outside the box to get results, there will always be mixed reviews in regards to their sanity. Some of the technology and medical advances we utilize today would have sounded insane to people, even 50 years ago. With science in general, there will always be a moral debate about how far we should go and what is acceptable. Some people today believe that some of the advances we are currently using in healthcare are immoral, while others are ready to push farther.
I think he's not insane. At least at the beginning he wasn't.
No I do not think that Victor was insane. He was an intelligent, yet egotistical person who wanted to discover the theory of creation. With this he delved into the scientific pursuit of creating a new being with human quality.Quote:
Originally Posted by mw4what
I think Creature is the more primitive double of Victor Frankenstein. Like Dr Hyde in Stevenson´s The Strange Story of Dr Jekill and Mr. Hyde he incorporates the evil impulses of the other. But he also expresses his loneliness and his feeling of being an eternal outsider.
After reading Frankenstein, I can honestly say that Victor Frankenstein was insane, but he had a good heart because although he salvaged body parts together and created a monster, he still felt guilty that all of his friends and family were being killed, and he attempted to make things right, but he died before he could complete his mission.
I do not believe that Victor Frankenstein was insane because he had a goal and he did whatever he could to create a creature. Although he went through many extremes, for example, locking himself away and collecting body parts, he did all of this to reach his scientific goal. While locking himself away may seem unusual and going against the norm, Frankenstein did this because he was focused and it suited him. Frankensteins way to execute his plan may have been unusual but it does not classify him as insane.
I do believe that Victor Frankenstein was insane. It is not normal for a goal in your life to be creating another creature out of stolen body parts. I understand that he was a scientist and this was just a scientific goal for him, but it his achieved goal turned into a murdering monster. I think his insanity grew when his creation began killing people. If he was not insane then he would have told his family the truth about how his monster murdered his brother, but instead he lived his life in fear of the monster and in pursuit of correcting his mistakes he tries to create another monster to keep his first one company. That is not a sane solution.
I don't think I would say that V. Frankenstein was insane but rather incredibly obsessed with his research. As a scientist he obsessed over his experiment and believed in it so much that I think the research and overall components to his goal ultimately consumed him. Although he seems to be self-absorbed, I don't think he was a crazy person who decided to create this monster I think that being wrapped up in his work caused him to lose focus on the reality around him and was so intently focused on achieving his scientific goal that he just kind of lost it mentally. I really can't say I think he was insane, he just let his work consume him.
I don’t believe insane to be the proper way to describe Frankenstein. I think that he had an immense amount of dedication to his research and goal to recreate another create out of recycled body parts. He did whatever he thought necessary to help him reach his goal. This would not classify him as insane but focused. I think had Frankenstein not had a conscious and felt no remorse for the consequences of his actions then I would classify him as insane. I think it is safe to say that Frankenstein was obsessed with discovering the theory of creation and he put his heart in soul into doing so. Many of the greatest scientist known to man displayed similar behaviors, even if their research didn’t include such inhumane ways.
I believe Victor Frankenstein was insane not because of the science he used; the science was could have been used in ways that benefited humanity. No, his insanity lies in his inability to be responsible for his actions. He could have prevented the death of Justine by confessing his creation. He could have prevented all four murders had he taken care of the monster like a creator should.
I do not necessarily think Victor Frankenstein was insane, but too ambitious. I agree with some of the above responders when they say he was obsessed with his work. Victor simply wanted to create a new living body/creature out of recycled body parts. Although, he should not have tried to play God in my opinion. Historically, in literature, whenever anyone tries to create life, something goes wrong. This may be true to the simple fact that God should be the only one who have the control of life in His hands.
I do not think Victor Frankenstein was insane. I believe he was fascinated with science and what he could create using he knowledge of science. However, his science background seemed much stronger than his skill in human relations. It is after he created Frankenstein he realized that the monster was going to lead an existence by itself and he had failed to prepare proper provisions for the monster’s survival. This also shows that Victor was selfish in his pursuit of achievement without thought of the consequences his actions could have for him or for others.Quote:
Originally Posted by mw4what
As so many others have said, I would call Victor self-absorbed, obsessive, and yes, maybe even pathetic and immoral, but I don't think he was insane, per se. He wanted to bring dead body parts to life and he did, so perhaps we could say that the whole graverobbing part was insane, but it did work, so at the very least he was determined and extremely intelligent to the point that he was willing to push legal and moral boundaries to achieve a dream of his. Of course I do agree with Lemonade and say that my sympathy definitely lies with Victor's being.
Victor Frankenstein is insane because he created this abomination with different human body parts and allowed it to have life. While he was dedicated to his work I think this project went too far and he wasn’t prepared for the consequences it would bring. As the creation, Frankenstein had committed murder, Victor Frankenstein wasn’t prepared to take responsibility for his creation’s actions. As seen when Victor is approached, arrested, and questioned about the murder of another victim. I see this as insanity because Victor’s obsession with this project completely clouded his judgement and common sense.
I would agree with some of the above posters that Victor Frankenstein is not necessarily insane, but extremely obsessive. He came up with a plan and locked himself away in order to accomplish the goal he had set forth. However, using pieces of humans was not exactly "sane" either. I think he walked a fine line between obsessive and insane. But more on the obsessive side of things. He did however lose complete focus on reality and was completely consumed by his work and research.
I can't say that I think he was insane, but he possibly grew towards insanity. Had be been insane, I don't think he would have felt any sort of guilt. I view insane as just completely withdrawn. Many scientists lock themselves away and have that sort of passion towards their work, despite how strange it is. This particular trait reminded me of Tesla, minus the stolen body parts. Though the stolen body part aspect of his research was a little far-fetched, I think it stemmed from him being obsessed with his vision. Anyone who is locked away and has their mind fixated on one thing can begin to become obsessed with it. This obsession basically consumed him and took over his mind to the point where it was literally all he could think about. It even clouded his judgement.
I think Victor Frankenstein grew "insane" because of society. When someone is different, they are ostracized and left out of the group. The same thing happens in prison. If someone disrupts the population they are put in solitary confinement. Increasing time spent by oneself has a tendency to leave the person angry, hallucinating, with PTSD, insomnia, paranoia and more. This are things that the general population (even today) calls insanity. The brain doesn't function well when a person is isolated and doesn't get much interaction.