Frankenstein

Society’s Beliefs in Frankenstein
During the nineteenth century, society did not approve of scientific knowledge, as it threatened religious beliefs. Shelley explores the idea of society inFrankenstein through demonstrating the way in which society members treat a living product of scientific knowledge, and how this relates to their class and place in society and their beliefs.
Crossingscientific boundaries and breaking the basis of religious beliefs, victor accesses the secret of life. Shelley suggests that the society of the time did not approve of scientific knowledge as it threatenedvarious elements of society. Society's religious beliefs of God being the only procreator were threatened by science as Victor had attempted to play the role of God by procreating, as the creature'slanguage suggests "natural lord" "my creator", and uses religiously negative language throughout the novel, for instance "I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish" Through this, Shelleyis demonstrating society's belief that scientific exploration cannot replace the role that nature plays in creating a natural world; it is portrayed as a threat to the natural world through Victor'sline "I pursued nature to her hiding places" which shows that Victor is disturbing nature.
This idea is also reinforced through Victor's destructive language when describing the creature'sappearance, for example "The deformity of its aspects" "demoniacal corpse", it is evidently physically ugly and repelling. This provides a contrast to several characters created by nature, Justine is describedas "the most grateful little creature in the world", Elizabeth as "So dear, so worthy...the purest creature on earth." By Victor procreating, he is defying God's role and consequently violence willcome out of this act. Through this, Shelley enforces the idea that science, which has allowed Victor to defy God, is troublesome and should not be explored.
Shelley explores society's belief that...