This paper examines the tension between science and humanism in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), arguing that Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein's two transitional phases — from humanist to scientist, and back to moral awareness — to critique a society increasingly dominated by rationalism and objectivism. The paper analyzes how Frankenstein's obsessive scientific pursuit produces the Creature, a being capable of suffering yet denied human compassion, and how the resulting tragedy illustrates the moral dangers of science divorced from human values. Drawing on textual evidence and secondary scholarship, the paper concludes that Shelley ultimately affirms humanism and morality as more essential to humanity than the power and control promised by science.
Since its inception in 1818, Frankenstein has radically altered the horror genre of literature by introducing the horrors of humanity as a result of using science to attain power and control beyond humanity's capabilities — that is, humans creating humans through scientific, rather than natural, production. Mary Shelley introduced the theme of humanity's pursuit of rationalism and science to illustrate the state of society as she experienced it in the 19th century: a society that was gradually becoming more rationalist, scientific, and indifferent to human concerns and values.
The theme of science versus humanism is evident in the two transitional phases that Victor Frankenstein undergoes in the novel: (1) his change from being a humanist — a lover of the arts — to a man of science, and (2) his eventual return to moral awareness after recognizing how morally wrong he had been in creating the Creature. This paper discusses and illustrates the theme of society's pursuit of science and objectivism at the expense of humanism and human-based morality, and reflects on how that objectivism resulted in the Creature and its wrath against humanity. The Creature's lack of morality and its complex emotional suffering ultimately expose science's limits in shaping human life and upholding humanity's moral standards.
Frankenstein depicts the opposing nature of science and humanism. The characters of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the Creature, represent science's objectiveness and its detachment from human values and morals. Victor's transition back to being a humane individual toward the end of the novel reveals Shelley's central argument: that cultivating a humane and moral society is more important than the social and intellectual progress associated with science. For Shelley, humanism was not merely preferable to scientific achievement — it was essential to the survival of both individual and society.
The first transitional phase presents Frankenstein as a lover of the arts who becomes obsessed with attaining power over humanity by creating a human being through scientific experimentation. As a lover of the arts, Frankenstein displayed a keen interest in languages and various human cultures. As a student, he showed an aptitude for exploring cultures other than his own and found delight in discovering the different natures of other peoples' traditions. This is evident in his admiration for his friend Clerval (53–4):
The Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit languages engaged his attention, and I was easily induced to enter on the same studies. Idleness had ever been irksome to me, and now that I wished to fly from reflection and hated my former studies … Their melancholy is soothing, and their joy elevating, to a degree I never experienced in studying the authors of any other country … How different from the manly and heroical poetry of Greece and Rome!
This passage reflects Frankenstein's emotional outburst of admiration for the arts. At this stage, he still regarded the arts as the primary venue for human expression and the pursuit of meaning, illustrating how his sense of morality and appreciation of humanity and nature remained intact.
However, his growing disillusionment with the arts — his sense that they could not provide true power or control — led Frankenstein to shift his focus to the sciences. Through science, he became a changed individual, favoring isolation and detachment over his previous love for humanity and its natural creations. Influenced by the works and lectures of Waldman and Krempe, he endeavored to deepen his studies in natural science and its methods. Growing particularly interested in human life, he sought to discover the origin and cycle of life itself, stating: "I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? … I determined thenceforth to apply myself more particularly to those branches of natural philosophy which relate to physiology" (36). This stage marks the completion of Frankenstein's first transition: he had become detached from society and from any creation bound to humanity or nature, and was instead wholly engrossed in his experiment to bring about human life through sheer scientific means.
"The Creature embodies suffering born of scientific amorality"
"Victor regains moral conscience after tragic loss"
These two transitions in Victor Frankenstein's life demonstrate the detrimental effects of science when used for the benefit of the individual alone and bereft of any sense of human morality. The demise of both Frankenstein and the Creature shows that humanism and morality ultimately prevail over the temporary wonders and benefits of science. Shelley's novel endures as a cautionary tale not simply about the dangers of unchecked ambition, but about the deeper cost of abandoning the human values that give meaning to scientific progress in the first place.
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