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Essay / Heaven through the eyes of Frankenstein
"Paradise has been lost." Frank Henenlotter's 1990 film, a campy re-release of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as Frankenhooker (Wolf 344), tells the story of a mad scientist who, to bring his wife back to life, decapitates, dismembers and reassembles the prostitutes of 42nd Street. in the form of what he believes to be a perfect woman ("Frankenhooker"). When his reanimated creature proves far too contumacious to handle, he quickly begins to lose his once unshakable grip on life. Unable to exonerate himself, he utters the aforementioned sentence. Those who have not had the opportunity to engage with Frankenstein's sources have most likely let these four words pass without thinking about what Henenlotter is paying homage to. It is, however, very obvious to those few who know how significant this quote is. In the 1660s, a well-known poet named John Milton decided the value of his name for years to come. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Milton wanted to do for the English epic what Homer, Virgil and Dante had done for the Greek, Latin and Italian versions respectively ("Paradise Lost"). It was with this in mind that John Milton wrote “Paradise Lost,” based on the Genesis account of the creation and fall of man (Burris). As for Shelley's Frankenstein, the pre-romantic poetic work of Milton (Lynch) who used "things yet unpublished in prose or rhyme" (Milton I. 16) has much merit in deciphering the true knowledge of Shelley's timeless classic. For it is the complex, but at the same time very parallel, characters of the two works that make the lessons they teach all the more meaningful. The idea of a “noble savage” has been popular in literature for hundreds of years. This is especially true in the case of Romanticism, the era in which Mary Shelley took it upon herself to write her much-revered novel Frankenstein (“Noble Savage”). As it happens, Shelley's “favorite poetic work” (Gerson 170), “Paradise Lost,” takes full advantage of this character convention in its telling of the story of Adam and Eve. Seeing the first of many similarities between Victor Frankenstein's monster and the hunted Adam doesn't require much intuitive thinking. Of the three literary translations that Frankenstein's creature stumbles upon while seeking solace in a cottage, "Paradise Lost" just happens to be one (Shelley 175-76). After indulging in the two other illuminating works, Lives and Sorrows of Young Werter (176-77), the monster begins its journey through the “Paradise Lost”. The monster readily admits that the epic poem "excites different and much deeper emotions... moving every sense of wonder and awe" (178). The creature continues to find the similarities and, in its mind, the differences between itself and the Adam of the story. Like Adam, I was apparently not united by any connection with any other existing being; but his condition was very different from mine in all other respects. There had come from the hands of God a perfect, happy and prosperous creature, guarded by the special care of its Creator; he was allowed to converse with beings of a higher nature and acquire knowledge from them: but I was miserable, helpless and alone. (178) By the time the monster makes this statement, forces beyond his control have already tainted him. The obvious rupture, however, does not hinder his ability to establish complex connections between himself and Adam. Both the creature and Adam are the product of a creator who made him and her unique:respectively Victor Frankenstein and God (178). Mary Shelley contributes to the character's connections not only with the story's dialogue, but also by inserting the three-line prose: "Did I ask thee, Creator, of my clay / To mold me, man?" Did I ask you / From darkness to promote me?" (Milton Paradise Lost” nor mentions it, it is not difficult to imagine these words – originally coming from the mouth of Adam and the mouth of the creature Even in today’s enlightened world, great controversy always goes hand in hand with the idea of "playing God" (Rice-Oxley), the scientist Victor Frankenstein does just that by becoming the creator of his own creature "Paradise Lost" sees the same. thing happen on a much larger scale In the epic, God is the creator of everything in the universe, including heaven, angels and hell ("Paradise Lost"). creations is man (Milton II, 350), whom Satan aspires to corrupt. The correlation of the two stories allows comparisons to be made between God and Victor Both characters lose one of their creations to evil. God created Satan, just as Victor fashions the creature from corpses found in “vaults and mass graves.” (Shelley 78). From its creation, the creature is scorned by Frankenstein (86), who soon dismisses it for being a "vile insect!" » (139). While Victor is solely responsible for his fate and that of those around him based on his baseless actions, God losing control over Satan is the fault of the latter's vainglory. Satan leaves heaven not because he has been banished, but because he feels that his high position in the hierarchy of angels makes him too important to bow before the Son (Milton I. 36-9). Once their creations are gone, both God and Victor Frankenstein feel their wrath. The creature decides that the best way to destroy Victor's life is to make him feel guilty. The murders of William, Justine, and Clerval leave Victor "lying for two months on the verge of death" (Shelley 240), and soon blames himself for the deaths of his former acquaintances. Satan takes a different approach to hurting his creator. Not only does he turn many of God's angels against him ("Sparknotes"), but Satan also manages to strike God even harder by using the form of the serpent to "pervert Eve" (Milton IX. 3) and make Adam eat this which is prohibited. tree (143). God is capable of suffering such losses because his omnipotence allows him to punish (“Sparknotes”), but the creature’s vengeance against his creator drives Victor to madness (Shelley 240). While God only tarnishes his paradise, Victor destroyed his. ". (Shelley 178). The creature speaks these words to Victor Frankenstein, shedding light on the reality that Shelley attributes the creature to more than the actions of a singular character from "Paradise Lost." The fallen angel in question is Satan, who became the ruler of Hell after falling from God's kingdom, Victor's first word to the monster is "Devil" (139), echoes the sentiment that Satan is part of God's character. the creature. Another similarity can be found in the evil tendencies of both. The creature tells Victor that he has made the decision that "evil would henceforth be my good" (288). All good for me is lost;/Evil be my good” (Milton IV 109-110) from “Paradise Lost”. Their paths to malevolence are different but deep down they have a deep similarity; of Milton becomes corrupted by his foolish pride and resents >