Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
(Mary Shelley)

Nature vs. Nurture

The creature serves as a type of experiment in human personality. The question the creature poses at the end of the book is whether his actions were a result of his circumstances or of choice. The monster argues that he was naturally good, as when he was learning about humans from the De Lacey’s he seriously desired to be as kind as them, and then wanted to be as virtuous as the people in the books he read. While he doesn’t deny that he was responsible for his actions, he also points out that he was driven to it because every time he tried to act correctly he was attacked. Seemingly, the argument of a naturally good being turned evil by society fits in with the Romanticism literature of the time.

Destructive Power Of Ambition

Robert Walton begins the novel by noting that he wants to do historic things and is willing to pay a high price for it. It is this characteristic that convinces Victor to tell his story in an attempt to convince Robert that some accomplishments are worth the sacrifice.