The theme of ambition is central to Frankenstein. By making the creature, Victor is presented by Shelley as trying to be God-like, giving life. He also has ambitions to defy nature through his scientific endeavours.
“For when I would account to myself for the birth of that passion, which afterwards ruled my destiny,” – Victor, Chapter 2
“a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient, …” – Victor, Chapter 2
Meaning and context
- In the first quote, Victor suggests that it was his desire for scientific knowledge that led to his downfall
- The second quote details a conversation between Victor and his father, after his father called Agrippa’s theories “sad trash”:
- It suggests that Victor would have stopped his scientific pursuits had his father fully explained the way in which modern science undermined Agrippa’s theories
Analysis
- Both of these quotes could be used together to argue that Victor does not consider himself ultimately responsible for his creation, or for his ambitions:
- In the first quote, Victor personifies his ambition when he suggests that it “swelled” and “swept away” his “hopes and joys”:
- This creates the sense that Victor’s ambitions are an autonomous identity, outside of his control
- It also infers that Victor has crafted the narrative to persuade the reader that he is subject to his ambition, rather than in control of it, perhaps to gain sympathy
- Within the context of the Romantic focus on the power of nature, the simile that his ambition rose “like a mountain river” creates an intense sense that Victor perceives his ambition as overpowering
- The second quote adds to the idea that Victor does not consider himself responsible for his ambition:
- Victor criticises his father for only calling Agrippa “sad trash” rather than for explaining “that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient”
- Victor indicates that an understanding of modern science would have made him disengage with his scientific pursuits
“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge...” – Victor, Chapter 4
“Are you, then, so easily turned from your design?” – Victor, Walton in continuum
Meaning and context
- The first quote details Victor’s advice to Walton:
- It suggests that Victor understands that his ambition was the key reason for his downfall
- In the second quote, Victor tells Walton’s crew that they should continue their voyage despite being trapped in ice
Analysis
- The first quote suggests a degree of self-reflection, and perhaps that Victor is trying to position himself as a tragic hero:
- Here, Shelley may be suggesting that humans would be better in a state of nature, as Rosseau argued:
- The sense of destruction in “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge” juxtaposes with the desire for a peaceful life in “how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world”
- The language contrasts with the vigour in, “are you, then, so easily turned from your design?”
- This implies that Victor has not lost his ambitious traits and that there has been a lack of character development throughout the story
- The contrast between these two quotes suggests that Victor has not learned from his past mistakes:
- The second quote is from a section of the text that Walton controls, not Victor, helping to lend it more reliability:
- This could be used to illustrate how the powerful are able to control others’ perception of events and are able to craft their own narratives
“I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path.” – Walton, Letter 1
“A new species would bless me as its creator and source;” – Victor, Chapter 4
Meaning and context
- The first quote implies that Walton desired prestige over ease
- The second quote indicates that Victor wanted to make a creature in order to have control over a being that would always have loyalty towards him
Analysis
- Both quotes demonstrate that Victor and Walton desired prestige through their ambitions:
- Walton’s says that he “preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path”:
- This suggests an intense desire for “glory” and prestige above all else
- In a similar way, Victor is presented as valuing his own personal gains from his scientific development:
- This reveals his desire for power over a “species” that will “owe their being” to him
- Together, these quotes imply that both characters desire personal gains from their ambitions:
- This could be a criticism of individualism and the idea of the Romantic genius
“Sorrow only increased with knowledge. Oh, that I had for ever remained in my native wood..” – Creature, Chapter 13
Meaning and context
- Here, the creature highlights how his understanding of his role in society has caused a deep feeling of sadness and a desire to return to a natural state
Analysis
- This suggests that living in a state of nature is the ideal, and that the desire for societal development causes distress and unhappiness:
- The use of an exclamatory sentence and the disrupted speech at “Oh,” creates a sense of intensity:
- This implies that the creature has profound “sorrow” due to his attainment of knowledge
- The very base senses of “hunger, thirst, and heat” suggest a primitive state:
- His desire for this, emphasised by the exclamatory nature of the sentence, suggests a profound desire to return to a more natural state
- This conforms with Rousseau's view that people would be happier in a state of nature
