Religion in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein

While many people view Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” as a horror novel, I believe it has more of a religious background due to the insertion of “Paradise Lost” into the story. The story of God creating Adam is a popular topic in this story and I believe Shelly intended for “Frankenstein” to be an allegory for the story of creation. Many references are made to the apple, God and Satan so this is a very plausible idea.

“Paradise Lost” is an epic poem in blank verse written by John Milton in 1667. Milton incorporated Paganism, classical Greek references, and Christianity into the poem. There is also a large portion of history revolving around Genesis, the New Testament, the deuterocanonical Book of Enoch, and the Old Testament. Why would Mary Shelly put so much religion in a horror novel? The only option that makes sense is the fact that the characters in “Frankenstein” are mirror images of the characters in “Paradise Lost”.

In “Frankenstein” the monster finds the book on the ground and reads it to learn more about the world. He states, “ But ‘Paradise Lost’ excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history” (Shelly 116). The monster compared himself to Adam and Satan and then compared Victor to God and realized he fit the role of Satan more than God. Victor plays the role of the creator, and is very successful in creating the creature as was God in creating Adam in “Paradise Lost”. Unlike God Victor is self centered and often only does things that benefit himself and no one else.

Obviously the monster represents Adam after he is created. Similarly to Adam the creature was created perfectly and didn’t intend to do any harm to those around him. To further back this proposal the monster states, “ Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect” (Shelly 116). He then goes on to say, “Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (Shelly 117). Similarly to Adam, his creator cast him away. When Adam betrayed God’s trust he was cast away, like the creature who Victor cast away as soon as he viewed the true appearance of the monster. Another strange coincidence is that Adam eats from the Tree of Knowledge, and the creature finds several books and obtains knowledge from them. Unfortunately, the monster soon turns into Satan. In “Paradise Lost” God originally created Satan to be good but the character soon fell from the good graces of his creator and became evil. The monster went through the same process when his creator and everyone around him rejected him.

Many people consider “Frankenstein” as one of the greatest horror novels ever, but personally I just can’t see it. There is too much religion and the reader is eventually left feeling sorry for the Monster. In reading Mary Shelly’s novel I see more the story of Genesis and “Paradise Lost”. I think this is what Shelly intended because I can’t see any true signs of horror in the novel. Usually in the horror movies that stem off of any book, the plot is twisted so all you do is see the bad side of the monster, and the directors cut out the side, which makes you, feel empathy for the creature. It is evident that Mary Shelly’s novel “Frankenstein” is an allegory for the story of creation otherwise known as Genesis.

In response to my essay I believe I had strong arguments and organized them well. For the future I want to better my vocabulary instead of using just basic words.

I pledge my word of honor that I have abided by the Washington College Honor Code while completing this assignment.

~ by frauh2 on February 26, 2010.