Student Essay on Playing God in Shelley's Frankenstein

Playing God in Shelley's Frankenstein

Summary:   Shelley, through her tale of Frankenstein, gives reasoning as to why man should not play God. Through the creation and neglect of the monster, Victor has created a deadly force. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge proves dangerous, as Victor's act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him, and his obsessive hatred of the monster drives him to his death.

For as long as science has existed to satisfy man's appetite for knowledge and exploration, there have been people with the belief that science is none other than man's attempt to play God. The 19th century was a time of enlightenment where philosophical thought began and man's concern to better himself in a psychological form developed.

During this time of enlightenment and exploration however, the standards of Christianity and ethical thought challenged science and its moral reasoning. Despite the large progress in society, the church's vast power led the people to fear science. However the church's fear was not just for the salvation of their church, but that science would disprove the proof of God and take God's place in society. For this to happen would bring chaos to society and give little hope to people. The thought of a life without God is daunting to most, and would create an uneasiness to life and an immense fear of death. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein through Victor Frankenstein's perilous journey shows the destruction behind man's thirst for scientific knowledge and the ethical reasons as to why man should not play God.

The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to go beyond the acceptable human limits and access the secret of life. Victor's experiment created in the name of science holds the key to which Victor believes is his future success. "The accomplishment of his toils" is a monstrous male figure created from parts of other corpses which he brings to life through his work (Frankenstein, 34). Victor's motivation for success and scientific exploration drive him to play God. "It was the secrets of heaven and earth that [he] desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied [him]" (22). However, in Victor's role as God he is so enthralled with the thought of bringing life to a lifeless corpse that he ignores the moral affects that his creation will have on society. He wants so badly to understand, and potentially prevent, the mortality of man that he never thinks there may be a reason we can't create life or live forever. He thinks nothing to altering a system that has existed in the world since the inception of life. It is not until after he completes his experiment, he can only begin to understand some of the consequences. In discussing the shock of his creation Victor states, " how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pain and care I had endeavoured to form?"(34). Much like with the current stem cell and genetics research ethical questions being raised, there are a lot of things to consider when one begins messing with the complexity of life. Life itself is complex beyond our understanding; relatively little is known today about its inner-workings. Therefore, it can be nothing better than irresponsible to create life from death, when you don't understand what is already alive. The admittance of his disappointment in his work causes one to question why he would create such a monstrous creature that would obviously not fit into society. The most obvious explanation would be that he is so overpowered with the possibility of his own death, that he hopes to gain the knowledge of life to one day prevent it. If this is indeed the case, it means that Victor's scientific pursuit is for selfish means, not for the betterment of society. Victor addresses this argument by saying, "The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of mankind" (34). The novel goes on to prove this could be no farther from the truth. By simply addressing the issue that some scientists may be "erroneously directed", Victor shows he is considering the ulterior motives of his plans. He is recognizing that his motives may not be for the "advantage of mankind", and that this would be simply a bi-product of his creation. Blinded by these motives, Victor has lacked to think of how his creature would be affected by society and furthermore how society would react to this creature. As the creature is similar to a child in its intellect and experience in life Victor has proved to be less than a parent in planning out the birth of his baby. He sends it into the world with the nature of man, but lacking entirely the nurture aspect that we all must obtain. This God-like roll, which Victor has given himself, is not what man was intended. Men were not created to make children without women, and human beings truly were not intended to control life. It is a responsibility no human can bare.

The monster Frankenstein creates represents a creature that lacks the simple things in life that Victor takes for granted. "I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me." (129). All the monster wants in life is someone to share it with. He wants to love and be loved, and from these simple pleasures he sees happiness. Victor instead allows his reckless scientific pursuit to get in the way of this primal happiness. It is no coincidence that something created from nothing wants companionship, such as the monster. This is our most basic need, and it is something that Victor loses from his endeavors. He has a woman who loves him, but he will not take the time to be with her. He does not allow himself a chance at happiness, a chance that his creation never gets. This presents Shelley's argument that when you allow things such as science to get in the way of your true needs, such as love, you will not live a life worth living. Frankenstein and his monster are both miserable because they both live their life without love. Frankenstein chooses a scientific path so encompassing that he has no time for anyone else. This is Shelley's problem with science; when it gets in the way. Since he chooses this life for himself, he lives in the same misery of his creation, who never has a chance at love. He solves the question that no scientist can understand. He reaches the pinnacle of scientific understanding. He accomplishes the task he sets out to complete, yet he isn't happy. "For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (42). Shelley sets up Frankenstein to accomplish the greatest of all scientific feats. It brings Victor no happiness, but instead disgust. If the completion of such an experiment cannot bring happiness, the hypothetical holy grail of science, Shelley makes the point that no scientific knowledge can.

Shelley presents an argument that living a basic life is more satisfying than a life of scientific conquest. Victor ruins his life and the life of others through science. Much like the scientists who created the first atomic bomb, Victor failed to analyze the far-reaching, long-term consequences of his discoveries. Shelley makes a valid argument that in many ways, we would all be better off without complex scientific thought:

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." (38)

Knowledge is often a very dangerous and unsettling thing. Contrary to most scientific thought, not everything to know is good. The human mind cannot comprehend everything there is to know of the world, and instead should live life for the moment. This quote is from Victor very early on in the novel, and Shelley spends the rest of the novel proving its truth. Every event from the miseries of Victor and the monster to all the deaths they cause further accentuates this passage. Shelley then reiterates this point late in the novel when Victor tells Walton, "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries" (200). This passage takes the point further in that it discusses the selfishness of Victor's scientific pursuit. He mentions avoiding distinguishing one's self. This shows Shelley's argument against scientists who seek knowledge for their own fame and notoriety. She argues that these scientists are so focused on making a name for themselves, that once again they do not consider the consequences of their actions and delineate the potential to be notorious from famous.

Shelley through her tale of Frankenstein gives reasoning as to why man should not play God. Through the creation and neglect of the monster, Victor has created a deadly force. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge proves dangerous, as Victor's act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him, and his obsessive hatred of the monster drives him to his death. He sought the knowledge of life scientifically, and although he achieved it, he totally missed the true meaning of life and happiness. Instead of simply living his life, he probed too deeply into its inner workings. Unlike his monster, he had the chance to live a happy life. He was well off, he had food, shelter, and most importantly people who loved him. Instead, he through that all away. If it were not for his scientific pursuit, Victor would have been poised to live a happy, fulfilling life.