Shellys Frankenstein and Miltons Paradise Lost Essay

Mary Shellys Frankenstein narrates a story about a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his creation of a monster set apart from all worldly creatures. Frankensteins creation parallels Miltons Paradise Lost and Gods creation of man; Victor Frankenstein is symbolic of God and the monster is symbolic of Adam. The parallel emphasizes the moral limitations of mankind through Victor Frankenstein and the disjunction and correlation with Paradise Lost. Shelly links the two stories together through Victors creation of the monster and his fall from humanity which I will focus on initially. More importantly, the main divergence of the two works lies in the representation of God in Paradise Lost and Victor in Frankenstein. Both the†¦show more content†¦Some scholars see Frankenstein as a negative critique of the progress during Shellys literary era, when there were many scientific discoveries and attempts to improve upon nature. These improvements were looked upon by the romantics as in sufficient and deviating from what God or nature had already given humanity. I do not profess to know the socio-political stance of Shelly and the technological progression of her period, but I do believe that through Frankenstein, she focuses on human limitations to bring us back to earth, in a sense. In Miltons epic, God is represented as omnipotent; Victor Frankenstein does not have this ability, a human moral limitation brought out through the juxtapositions of the texts. In Paradise Lost, God is described as the Omnipotent Eternal Father (188), and knows that men will fall and explains to Jesus what will occur. On the other hand, Victor is not omnipotent and cannot see what will become of his creation. The monster even mentions Gods omnipotence in his narration to his creator about his reading of Paradise Lost, It moved every feeling of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting (74). Conversely, Victors story to Walton about his years spent working on the creature do not includeShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein essay 2 672 Words   |  3 PagesFrankensteins Monster and Miltons Satan An Essay on Paradise Lost and Frankenstein By Chris Davidson Almost all great works of literature contain allusions to other great works of literature that enhance the meaning of the work. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is an excellent example of a major literary work that contains a sustained allusion to another major work. Frankenstein contains many references to Milton’s Paradise Lost, and the two stories are parallel in many aspects. 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