Nature Vs. Nurture In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, she shows nature vs. nurture through Victor Frankenstein and the monster he creates. These two character’s nature intertwines into eachother’s, however, the monster and Frankenstein have different nurturing tendencies. Shelley begins describing Frankenstein’s nature, starting with his ancestory. She explains that his family is “one of the most distinguished” families around (Shelley 18). Frankenstein goes on to depict his family with positive qualities such as “honor” (18). Shelley’s description shows that the family has the ability to be leaders. Victor unknowingly becomes a victim of his own ancestory, he is obsessed with power. Once he creates the monster, he realizes his power has got the best of him. He had worked hard for the past two years, and he had “desired it with ardor that far exceeded…show more content…
His nature is solely derived from Frankenstein, his creator. Frankenstein gathers pieces, puts them together and creates a form of life. The monster is “born” from lightning, which is part of his nature (40). Once created, he acquires a natural yearning to speak, read, and fit in with other human beings. Because he is so different from human beings, he feels abandoned. He is rejected again and again, leaving him alone. He stumbles upon a family that lives in a cottage; most were horrified and one even “struck the monster with a stick” (110). This scene shows the abuse the the monster endures during his life. This seemed to devastate the monster, which shows more lack of nurture. Victor’s younger brother, William, tells the monster that he is a “hideous monster” (117). These words enrage the monster, and set off a symbolic fire inside of him. The monster’s paucity of nurture is what creates his downfall; he becomes mad at humans, which in return, murders and hurts them. Maybe if the monster was shown compassion in the beginning, he would react in a different
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