Responsibility in Frankenstein
Text by Mary Shelley
Responsibility Today
Quotes
The second quote I have found in regards to responsibility is also found in chapter 10, and is again the creature questioning Frankenstein's reasoning for hostility: "How dare you sport thus with life." This quote also shows the creature indirectly calling Victor irresponsible and hypocritical.
The next quote is found in chapter 16 and shows the creature talking to Victor: "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. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create." This is the creature telling Victor he must make a companion for him because it is his responsibility to do so. This shows responsibility through the creature's eyes, as he believes it is Victor's job to do this.
Another quote I found that relates to responsibility is found in chapter 5: "Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, continued a long time traversing my bed chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep." This quote is said by Victor after he had constructed the creature. It shows responsibility because he mentions that he keeps walking around his bedroom unaware of what to do. He can't even take responsibility for his actions.
The next quote I found is also from chapter 5: "I stepped fearfully in: the apartment was empty; and my bedroom was also freed from its hideous guest. I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune could have befallen me; but when I became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy, and ran down to Clerval." This quote is found once Victor returns to his house to find that the creature is no longer there. He is very pleased to see this, as he no longer has to deal with it, or feel responsible for nay of its actions. He is so happy that he celebrates.
My final quote is from chapter 9: "I thought also of my father and surviving brother: should I by my base desertion leave them exposed and unprotected to the malice of the fiend whom I had let loose among them?" This quote shows responsibility in that Victor is debating with himself about how to handle the situation. Because he is responsible for creating the monster, he is worried he will feel guilty if it harms his family at all.
Works Cited
Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. N.p.: New American Library, n.d. Print.