Role of Parents

Prompt: Explore the role of Victor Frankenstein in relation to his monster. What responsibility does Victor, as the creator, have towards his creation?

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Victor Frankenstein has a responsibility to his monster not in a paternal capacity, but he does need to watch over it and make sure it does not harm others. There is no need for Victor to feel like he must love the monster he created for it is not truly a human, and is not his child. His first reaction to his creation was disgust and fear, furthermore proving that he never once felt that he had paternal duties to his monster. He did however, shortly after the execution of Justine, feel guilt over his failure to contain the beast. He knows that he should not have run from it in fear, but since he created it he should have tried to kill or eliminate it as a threat.

Frankenstein had hoped that his creation would be a groundbreaking discovery in the scientific world, but he was startled by the true reality of his relentless work. He poured his life into this creation which he now could only call a monster, not the beautiful thing he had meant it to be. Despite the fact that the creature did not turn out as Victor had hoped, he still should have taken responsibility of it. He owed society that much.

I understand that Victor was frightened by what he had made, but he did not give the monster a chance to adjust to his surroundings. Victor had been trying to revive a human being after all, and no matter how grotesque the monster appeared, Victor should have treated it as such. He needed to stick around to access if his creation was a threat or truly a masterpiece just hidden below the surface. Although Victor never felt like creation was his child, he knew in his heart that he ought to have handled his first encounter with the monster differently, and had he not been so quick to bolt in fear a life might have been saved. Victor had a responsibility to guard the monster from society and also to guard society from his monster.

Word Count: 341

Ellis's Comment: I agree with Janie about Victor taking responsibility for the monster. Victor should have taken responsibility for his creation. I also think that he should have taken at least some parental responsibility for his creation. The creation has life, therefore he needs someone to watch after him and teach him. Some of that is society's responsibility, but some of it is the parent's responsibility. I like the way that Janie said that this creature was all that Victor payed attention to for a very long time, but when it came to life, it was not the beautiful thing he thought it would be. Word Count: 103