弗兰肯斯坦中的死亡意象

Death in Frankenstein

Death is a theme running throughout the story of Frankenstein, indeed most of the book's characters meet their ends in one way or another before the final page is turned. Those who do not are either intending to die soon (the Creature) or possibly could (Walton, who has been in the Arctic for months and whose crew is depleted and fed up with him).

It is then ironic that Frankenstein states early on in the novel "Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!" As a consequence of his actions, most of his friends and fimily end up meeting violent deaths at the hands of the Creature.

"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world... I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption." Frankenstein wishes to interfere with the natural process of death in a godlike way but this backfires on him. By the end of the book he feels that death is all he has left to look forward to. Shelley is perhaps making a point about the inevitability of death and the repercussions of interfering with nature, even its negative aspects.

The book suggests that a person can die peacefully and not fear death if they are a good person and have resolved all matters in their lives before they die. Examples of this are caroline Beaufort and justine, both of whose deaths are sacrifices.

In order to find a way to overcome death, Frankenstein pillages graveyards, showing a complete disrespect not only for the natural order of things, but for people who have already died.

Two characters in the book are condemned to death by the government; Safie's father and Justine. In neither of these cases is the death deserved - Shelley seems to be saying that no human being has the right to decide another's death, that the government's power is not that great, that it should be left to the forces of nature.

Each time one of Victor's family or friends are murdered, Frankenstein's state of mind seems to suffer and even his physical state deteriorates - this shows what a powerful effect death can have on others, and the irrepressible guilt that is caused by Frankenstein knowing that he caused these deaths.

The death of Henry Clerval also represents the metaphorical death of Frankenstein's romantic self. Victor loses the friend that let him appreciate goodness and nature; once Clerval is gone he only thinks of revenge - he is driven by darker purposes.

Victor becomes doubly responsible for Elizabeth's death: he built her murderer and he sent her (for her protection, tragically) into the precise moment of death.

By Laura Gray

Further thoughts on Death in Frankenstein

?Frankenstein is a novel plagued by death. Throughout the course of the novel, there are a number of deaths including the death of Beaufort, Justine's relatives, Justine, William, Caroline Beaufort, Elizabeth, Clerval, Frankenstein himself and ultimately the Creature.

?The first time death is discussed is in Chapter 1. Alphonse Frankenstein's friend, Beaufort, dies, and his daughter, Caroline, is distraught: "Her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar... she knelt by his coffin, weeping bitterly." This shows that the death of her father deeply affected Caroline Beaufort but it also emphasises the excess emotion displayed in a typical novel.

?The death of Victor Frankenstein's mother, Caroline Beaufort, is a significant event in Chapter 3. It can be argued that her innocent death is the first of many for many of the characters in the novel. Frankenstein is upset by this loss and says: "I need not describe the feelings of those whose dearest ties are rent by that most irreparable evil."

?Justine also died innocently. As Frankenstein continually emphasises, Justine was not guilty of the murder of William but she is forced to confess as there is not enough evidence in her defence. "And on the morrow, Justine died."

? A fear of death and decay drives Frankenstein to create his Creature. He believes that if he can discover the secret of life, then he can cheat death and defeat old age. With the death of his mother and a strong feeling that her death was unjust, Victor finds a way to achieve his goal: creat a new species, which would ignore illness and disease, which would be strong and beautiful. He even talks about getting rid of death entirely. With his experiments he finally manages to bestow life on a dead creature - he has God-like powers.

?Henry Clerval also falls victim to Frankenstein's creation. Throughout the novel, Clerval is praised for his virtues and benevolence: "Could aught ill entrench on the noble spirit of Clerval?" "So perfectly humane, so thoughtful in his generosity - so full of kindness and tenderness amidst his passion for adventurous exploit." Even after helping Frankenstein recover from his many fits, Clerval is killed by the Creature.

?The Creature also kills Frankenstein's new wife, Elizabeth. Victor describes her as "My love, my wife, so lately living, so dear, so worthy" but she still dies as a result of Frankenstein's selfishness.

?The novel seems to concentrate on dead bodies. Early on in the novel, emphasis is placed on his mother's body when Frankenstein hugs what he thinks is Elizabeth but it becomes his mother's rotten corpse in his arms: "I thought I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms... I saw the grave worms crawling in the folds of the flannel." There is also Frankenstein's obsession with the dead body parts out of which he intends to create a companion.

?In a later chapter, Frankenstein visits a cemetery: "I found myself at the entrance of the cemetery where William, Elizabeth and my father reposed." He has not wanted to blame himself for the deaths that have occurred but here he indirectly takes on some of the responsibility as he prepares to hunt down the Creature. He says "They were dead, and I

lived; their murderer also lived, and to destroy him i must drag out my weary existence." To say Frankenstein feared death he is still prepared to kill the Creature, despite what has happened to his close family and friends. He even goes so far as to ask their spirits to help him: "I call on you, spirits of the dead to aid and conduct me in my work."

?Death is clearly foreshadowed by the setting and landscape. It appears that every time character is about to die a strom is brewing or it is night. For example, when Clerval's body is found:"It was a very dark night"; when Elizabeth dies Shelley sets a dark, typically Gothic scene:"The wind, which had fallen in the south, now rose with great violence in the west...

Suddenly a heavy storm of rain descended."

?Mary Shelley also makes many references to death through heaven and hell, although there is greater mention of hell. Frankenstein often describes the Creature as the 'devil' or

a 'demon'while William and Caroline are described as 'angel'.