Enlightenment Philosophy in Frankenstein Essay Sample

The Enlightenment period was a time of immense breakthrough for the individual. Enlightenment thinkers placed heavy emphasis on one’s ability to broaden their scope of knowledge. In the article “What is Enlightenment,” author Immanuel Kant explains and encourages the emergence from one’s “self-imposed nonage.” Kant defines nonage as: “the inability to use one’s own understanding without another’s guidance” (Kant). Victor Frankenstein and his creature embody Kant’s Enlightened ways of thinking in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, as they both use their individual understanding to reach a turning point. Although both characters have a turning point through enlightenment, the creature reaches a point of destruction, disregarding the morals he had learned on his own.   

Throughout the Enlightenment, philosophers advocate for individuals to think for themselves and “to have the courage to use your own understanding” (Kant). In Kant’s writings, the idea of self-imposed nonage is due to the reliance on another’s knowledge as opposed to gaining it by oneself. The Enlightenment transformed thinking with the foundation of reason as opposed to already established principles: “Dogmas and formulas, these mechanical tools designed for reasonable use – or rather abuse – of his natural gifts, are the fetters of an everlasting nonage” (Kant). Kant is encouraging those to challenge authority and ideas, in order to “cultivate their own minds” (Kant). Because Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during the period of Enlightenment, her work is a reflection of the ideas outlined during this time. The use of religious beliefs as an escape of thinking shifted into daring to know and daring to think for oneself, which resulted in the challenging of authorities and allowing people to live in an age of enlightenment.  

Victor Frankenstein’s character reflects the enlightenment motto of using your own understanding and daring to know. Although Victor was taught and learned from teachers, he did teach himself and had to learn a lot on his own. “… but while I followed the routine of education in the schools of Geneva, I was, to a great degree, self-taught with regard to my favorite studies. … I was left to struggle with a child’s blindness, added to a student’s thirst for knowledge” (Shelley 20). Victor’s fascinations with science and creating something extraordinary coincide with the ideas of the enlightenment. He has his interests, different from those around him, and he wants religious beliefs to be self-examined rather than the simplicity of following already established religious authority. Victor becomes completely and utterly obsessed with the idea of this new and original creation. It is evident that Victor was intelligent, and that he was searching for greatness, however he was so consumed with his studies and his obsession with science that he overlooked the possible consequences of bringing this creature into the world. It is not until he experiences a life with the creature that he realizes he had made a mistake. Although his creation was ultimately a failure, his ideas and motives behind this creation reflect Kant’s enlightenment teachings.  

Victor experiences character development as the novel rears, reaching a second enlightenment as he contemplates a second creation. The original creation, who was abandoned by Victor, realized he would never be accepted by the rest of existence, and in return, demanded Victor make him a female version for companionship. Victor initially agrees, feeling obligated to provide happiness to his creation. He contemplates the moral conflict between potentially wreaking more havoc on humanity and doing the right thing for his creature. Eventually, Victor concludes that creating another human-like creature would be a danger to humanity. He rips apart his already begun female creation: “I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged” (Shelley 121). It could be argued that Victor made the right decision in destroying the female creature. On one hand, creating another artificial life could continue the destruction and terror over humanity: “My companion will be of the same nature as myself” (Shelley 105). On the other hand, readers could argue that if Victor had created the female version, the creature would leave everyone alone, and no one else would have died on Victor’s conscience. The creature says “If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again” (Shelley 105). Victor’s enlightenment in this situation was realizing the consequences of his actions, thinking based on science and experience with the original creature, and deciding to make the choice he thought was better for those around him. 

The creature, who was brought into the world and immediately abandoned, being left to fend for himself with nothing, is a reflection of Enlightenment ideas. The creature had to learn morals, speech, and reading on his own, without the knowledge of God or any sort of religion. He finds a family cottage in the woods, where he watches them interact, learn, and live. “These thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language” (81). After watching the family for months, he not only learns language, but he also develops a set of morals and can tell how the family is feeling and understands the difference between right and wrong. “I learned, from the views of social life which it developed, to admire their virtues and to deprecate the vices of mankind” (90). He learns all of this without the knowledge of God, which proves that Enlightenment views are shed throughout Mary Shelley’s work. Seeing how the family loves and lives together, the creature feels more alone than ever. He craves companionship, which he knows he cannot receive from the other humans who continually reject and outcast him. All the creature wants is to be accepted by and live within society. He develops his own morals, through his own means of examination. The creature could have chosen a lazy life, yet he goes out, not only seeking but also gaining knowledge and learning how to think for himself.  

Victor Frankenstein and his creature show similarities throughout the novel, both resulting in enlightened thinking. They both read philosophical texts on their own to gain a better understanding and self-educate themselves. Also, both characters have turning points in the novel. The monster seeks to do good for the rest of humanity but is always shut down when he tries: “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone” (101). The creature reaches a turning point when he chooses kindness and learns the right way to treat others, but he is lead to choose a different lifestyle due to how those around him treat him as the monster he looks like. In this case, he rejects all of the virtues and the conscience he gained on his own to vow revenge on mankind. If the world did not treat him how he looked, then he would have found his enlightenment and used it for the better good. Victor, his creator, reaches his turning point when he decides to destroy the female version of the creature he was working on. He realized the consequences of his scientific inventions, which he had overlooked in the initial creation, and used his reasoning to choose not to make the same mistake again. Both of these turning points can be related to their individual enlightenments. The creature learned social situations from watching the family in the cottage, which was his own idea in the first place. And Victor learned his lesson of creation when he experienced a life with his initial creature. These characters from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein reach enlightenment on their own, both using forms of self-education and the observation of experiences around them.