Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is often read as a cautionary tale about scientific ambition and the ethics of creation. However, a closer examination reveals a potent undercurrent of revenge, a driving force that propels both creator and creature towards mutual destruction. From Victor Frankenstein's initial abandonment of his creation to the Creature's systematic annihilation of Victor's loved ones, the novel illustrates how the pursuit of vengeance corrodes the soul, erodes empathy, and ultimately leads to an inescapable cycle of suffering. This essay will argue that revenge, rather than mere ambition or societal rejection, is the primary engine of the novel's tragic trajectory, consuming the lives of both Victor and his creation.
Victor's initial act of creation is immediately followed by an act of profound abandonment, a rejection that seeds the Creature's future desire for retribution. Upon animating the Creature, Victor is repulsed by its appearance, a reaction stemming from his own hubris and aesthetic anxieties rather than any inherent malice from the being itself. He flees his laboratory, leaving the sentient, albeit nascent, Creature to navigate a world that immediately shuns it. This primal abandonment is the catalyst for the Creature's suffering and its eventual turn towards vengeance. As the Creature recounts its experiences – the rejection by the villagers, the De Lacey family's cruelty, and the murder of William – it articulates a growing bitterness and a clear intent to make Victor suffer as it has. "I shall collect my pay in pain," it vows, articulating a desire for reciprocal suffering that defines its mission. This establishes revenge as an explicit motivation from the Creature's perspective, a direct consequence of Victor's initial sin of omission and subsequent fear.
Victor, too, becomes ensnared in this vengeful spiral. Initially, his torment is born of guilt and fear, but as the Creature systematically targets his family – Justine Moritz, Clerval, and Elizabeth – Victor’s grief transforms into a burning, all-consuming desire for revenge. His pursuit of the Creature across the Arctic wastes is not a quest for redemption or scientific understanding, but a direct campaign to extinguish the life that has brought him such profound sorrow. He declares to Walton, "I will pursue the daemon to the last of the human race; I will tear him to pieces, and do but his own work." This declaration is steeped in the language of vengeance, emphasizing the active and violent termination of the Creature's existence. Victor’s mental and physical deterioration during this chase underscores the destructive nature of his revenge, demonstrating how the pursuit itself becomes a form of self-punishment, mirroring the suffering he wishes upon his creation.
The climax of their conflict, occurring on the frozen plains of the Arctic, highlights the futility and interdependence of their vengeful paths. The Creature, upon finding Victor dead, expresses not triumph but a profound weariness and regret, noting that its "heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the excess." This admission suggests that revenge was a deviation, a response to unbearable pain, but not its ultimate desire. However, the Creature's subsequent decision to immolate itself, rather than live with its actions and the emptiness left by Victor's death, is itself a final act of self-destruction born from the ashes of their mutual hatred. The cycle of revenge concludes not with catharsis or justice, but with the eradication of both its primary perpetrators, leaving a bleak testament to its power.
In conclusion, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein powerfully portrays the corrosive and inescapable nature of revenge. While the novel touches on themes of scientific ethics and societal prejudice, the driving force behind its tragic events is the relentless pursuit of vengeance by both Victor and his creation. Their shared animosity, born from abandonment and escalating through brutal acts of retribution, ultimately annihilates them both. The story serves as a stark reminder that vengeance, far from offering resolution, traps individuals in a destructive cycle, leading only to further suffering and the obliteration of all that was once cherished.