philosophical questions. Should man have the power to create? Do we have the right to destroy that which we create? How is evil created? Do we create our own evils? Is society's blind pursuit of science a strength or a weakness? Does this pursuit bring us closer to our virtues and ideals or drag us away from them? These are the questions at the core of Frankenstein.And, in fact, these are questions which have become very important in the last two centuries. With the rise of industry and technology, we no longer look to God for answers to questions which seem unanswerable, we look to our own science. But can this science be trusted in the way we trust our God? If our own science can answer these questions, how does God play a role? Are we our own God?Victor Frankenstein may have thought so for an instant. He is a character who embodies many of the struggles which characterized a new age-- an age where questions we previously thought would always remain a mystery were suddenly very much within our understanding, where powers we never thought we could possess are now very much under our control."when we did not hurry over the pages in disgust, we sometimes paused to laugh outright"Perhaps the most important part of the monster is the how absolutely human it really is. It is at first hopeful, curious, and sympathetic, gradually mistreated, jaded, and disgusted, and finally angry, vengeful, and lonely. The wretch is not a monster which insights fear in us at all times. We are scared of its implications, but not necessarily itself. In fact, we often feel sorry for the wretch. The wretch is not intended to be gore for the sake of gore. It is violent at times, but the fact that we can sympathize, and even find humor in the description of the wretch is what makes it all the more lasting. The over-dramatic description may be very much a product of Shelley's time, but the ridiculous detail gives us loads of material to compare...
