English 2850

Description

In Frankenstein, Volume 2, Chapter 9, the Creature tells Victor that if he creates a companion for him, then he will agree to live in exile, far away from human civilization, and stop his destructive acts. Victor replies,

“How can you, who long for the love and sympathy of man, persevere in this exile? You will return, and again seek their kindness, and you will meet with their detestation; your evil passions will be renewed, and you will then have a companion to aid you in the task of destruction.” (103 [PDF 127])

Compare this to Satan’s soliloquy early in Book IV of Paradise Lost, where he laments,

“O had His pow’rful destiny ordained
Me some inferior angel! I had stood
Then happy: no unbounded hope had raised
Ambition.” (IV.58-61)

What is the relation between these two passages? Compare and contrast Satan’s lines with the lines Victor speaks to the Creature. What is each of them suggesting about responsibility and free will?

You may also want to consider these two passages in relation to the following lines from the Creature in Volume 2, chapter 8: “I, like the arch fiend, bore a hell within me” (95 [PDF 119]), as well as Satan’s words from Book I: “The mind is its own place and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven” (I.254-255), and his similar lines from Book IV: “Which way shall I fly / Infinite wrath and infinite despair? / Which way I fly is Hell, myself am Hell” (IV. 73-75).

You don’t need to discuss all of these passages in your response, but I would like you to try to consider the relationship between the Creature and Satan, as well as the ideas of responsibility and free will, as reflected in these lines.

Book Pages

Frankenstein, Volume II, Chapters 7-9; Volume III, Chapters 1-2 (Print pp. 88-118; PDF pp. 112-143). Selections from John Milton, Paradise Lost.