IN A FIT OF MADNESS

I CREATED A RATIONAL BEING1”

An essay on Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley

By Pilar Gómez Ruiz

December 2009

1Phrase spoken by Dr. Frankenstein on his deathbed, after having pursued

uselessly to his creature throughout Europe and the North Pole. (p. 326)
 ...and they will be like gods
(Genesis 3:5)
!
My spirit quickly felt possessed by a single thought, a
purpose, a goal. [then I thought] I will achieve more, much more.
Taking advantage of the paths already laid out, I will explore new ones, I will study.
unknown forces and I will amaze the world by revealing the deepest
mysteries of creation. (p.73) After days and nights of work without
rest, I managed to discover the causes that generated life, and even more,
I felt capable of bringing an inanimate matter to life. (p. 80) It turns out to be impossible.
to imagine the diversity of feelings that overwhelmed someone like a hurricane.
There would be new species that would bless me as their creator, and others
they would thank me for the excellence of the being that I was going to give them. There would be no in the
world father with more right than I to the gratitude of his children [...] I arrived at
to believe that in the not-so-distant future it would be possible for me to restore life to the bodies
destined by death to corruption. [...] I was encouraged by an impulse
frantic. He seemed to have lost the ability to empathize with everything
that which strayed from my goal. […] I came to desecrate the graves in
bone search, I violated with my sacrilegious fingers the deepest secrets
from the constitution of man... In a solitary room —perhaps it would be
better to say a cell—I had my workshop (pp. 83-4)
Every night I felt attacked by a fever that consumed me and my nerves.
they were completely excited (p. 86) with an almost agonizing anxiety
I arranged around me the necessary instruments to infuse life into the being
inert that was resting at my feet. [...] Suddenly, although the light that took me
the light was very dim, I could see how the eyes of that one opened
creature. […] I wish I could describe the emotions that took hold of me.
in the face of such a catastrophe. (p. 87) …And now that he had achieved it, the
sad reality filled my dreams with horror and disgust. (p. 88).

Excerpt from Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, 1818

1. The Frankenstein of Mary Shelley… is a resistance to
Romanticism?
Mary Shelley (1797-1851) is an innovative and controversial figure in the
universal literature. Born on August 30, 1797, to the radical feminist Mary
Wollstonecraft and the philosopher and politician William Godwin. Both parents were figures
prominent in the ideological movements of the 19th century. Both Wollstonecraft,
responsible for the vindication of women's rights (1792) like Godwin, with
Political Justice (1791) faced difficulties. in practicing their ideas
revolutionaries and transmitted much of their way of thinking to their daughter. In 1812,
at the age of 15, she met her later husband, Percy Shelley (who by then,
she was married). At 16, Mary ran away with him to France and Switzerland, and in the summer
In 1815, in the vacation home of Lord Byron, Villa Diodati (Geneva, Switzerland),
the story of Frankenstein. Shelley had written it as a short story of
ghosts, part of many that Byron's guests had written to pass the
mouse
The short story is transformed into a novel, and in 1818 it is published.
the version of Frankenstein that we know. Many believe that this work by Shelley is
a typical example of English Romanticism and Gothic literature, but others
they claim that the author "resisted" and created a genre by writing Frankenstein
completely new: science fiction. The following will analyze both cases.
At the beginning of the 19th century, art was beginning to change. The suffocation that everyone
The fields of culture had suffered during the Enlightenment.2began to
fading away to make way for a new generation of plastic artists and
literary: the romantics. What characteristics distinguished Romanticism from
his rigorous predecessor? According to Roger B. Beck, author of World History: Patterns of
Interaction (History of the world, patterns of interaction, 2006) the main key
Romanticism is emotion, often unrestrained. From here it unfolds
other minor features, which should be mentioned, are not present in
all romantic productions:
• Emphasizes inner feelings, emotions, and imagination
• It focuses on the mysterious and the supernatural; also on the rare, the
exotic, and even the grotesque and horrifying (these last two traits
characteristics, in turn, of the Gothic novel
• But love the beauties of untamed nature.
• Idealizes the past as a simpler and nobler time.
• Glorify heroes and heroic deeds
• Recovers the traditions, music, and local stories
• Value the individual
• Promotes radical change and democracy (p. 619)

2
since he was subjected to a series of rules that almost made him stop being art
become an instrument at the service of education. In fact, many experts have called
this is the 'century without a novel'
Under this analysis, the following is shown, with the help of quotes from the book, why
Yes, it can be considered that Frankenstein is a work of the Romantic movement.
• It focuses on the eccentric, the mysterious, and the horrifying.
I came to desecrate the tombs in search of bones, I violated with my sacrilegious
fingers the deepest secrets of the constitution of man... In a
solitary room—perhaps it would be better to say a cell—I had my workshop
Shelley, 1972, pp. 83-4
• Describe landscapes that often reflect feelings and
internal emotions of the narrator. Below are two examples.
The first occurs when Víctor believes he has escaped forever.
from her horrendous creation: "The spring we enjoyed was magnificent."
The flowers were shining in the hedges and summer was already announcing itself. I felt free from
the obsessions that had gripped me the previous autumn, […]” (p. 108).
On the other hand, in the following quote we can confirm the depressed and
gray state in which it was when it must create the creature's pair
and goes to the Orkney Islands in Scotland: "[…] I traveled through the Highlands of
Scotland, and I chose one of the islets of the Orkneys as the setting for my
work. The place was perfectly in line with my plans, for I
it was much more than a rock whose flanks constantly supported the
to beat of the waves. The ground of the island was almost entirely barren and hardly
"I was feeding grass to four miserable cows [...]" (p. 247).
• Eloquent narration, full of emotion. "His face expressed a
bitter anguish, which intertwined with disdain and wickedness, and her ugliness
extraterrestrial, it was too terrifying for human eyes
they could contemplate him.” (p.149)
• Shows a tint of interest in the exotic. To Henry Clerval, better
friend of Victor Frankenstein, he is interested in the cultures and languages of the East,
so he goes to the University of Ingolstadt to learn "Arabic, the
Persian, and Sanskrit.

Now let's review the opposing stance, which argues that Shelley detaches herself from
genre that predominated in its time. PD Fleck argues that in Frankenstein there is a critique
the idealism of much of the romantic literature, and Elsie B. Michie agrees with
this idea, and says that Shelley's novel is more of a "resistance to
"Romanticism" (in Johanna B. Smith, 2000, p. 224). According to these authors, Shelley
Yes, unlike her contemporaries, a visionary, who opposes the idea of the
progress, and delivers a story that foresees the possible fatal consequences of
the blind faith in pure science. This reading of Frankenstein is given under scrutiny
from the magnifying glass of science fiction, and places it as the first novel of this genre, or
as Brian Aldiss wrote in 1973, as the precursor of that category. Judith
Spector gave her idea a feminist twist and called Shelley "the mother of science".
fiction" (p. 242.) Later Reuben Ellis would say that Frankenstein belongs to the
branch of science fiction known as 'speculative fiction'.
According to Anne K. Mellor (1940), professor of English Literature at UCLA, USA,
To call any work a science fiction, it is important to consider the...
next points (the same ones that are perfectly applicable to the novel of
Frankenstein): first, that the story is based on some kind of
serious scientific research (in this case, galvanism, providing life)
inanimate matter3), then, predict what could happen in the future
with that scientific discovery (the creation of monsters with consciousness)
that exist), and finally, that offers a humanistic critique of either the
scientific advance proposed in the history or the nature of scientific thought.
(here appears, although implicit, Shelley's warning about the danger of
positivist thinking of his time.
So, should Shelley's novel be placed within Romanticism or
within Science Fiction? Whatever interpretation one would want to give it,
It must be acknowledged that Frankenstein is an exceptional novel that was born from the
head of a woman ahead of her time.
Evidently, Shelley was soaked in the influence of great minds.
that surrounded her. Christopher Goulding, Master in Literature, from the department of
English Literature at Newcastle University, England says that in his diary,
Mary Shelley describes herself as a silent listener to the very long
philosophical discussions between Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. Goulding says that Shelley
registers that both authors "[…] were talking about Dr. [Erasmus]'s experiments
Darwin [1731-1802, naturalist, physiologist, and British philosopher]... who preserved a
piece of vermicelli [a type of pasta] until by some extraordinary means
began to move of its own will. From this, it could be said that the
life could be given. Perhaps a corpse could be reanimated, galvanism4
I had presented the possibility of doing it […] maybe the components of a
creatures could be manufactured, united, and [finally] endowed with warmth
vital." This is the thesis that drives Shelley to write Frankenstein, to endow with
life to an inanimate object. But she goes a step further; she provides to her
tragic character, not only life, but also gives him reason.

Once upon a time there was a creator and his abominable creature…
Below is a brief review of the plot of Frankenstein.
The story begins with a series of letters that Robert Walton sends to his
sister, Margaret, in which she narrates her journey to the North Pole. In the
the road encounters a strange event; first, he spots a man of
abnormal proportions slide on a sled through the snow, and then your
crew finds another individual, at the foot of their boat, frozen and on the verge of
death. This man identifies himself as Doctor Victor Frankenstein and the reason
from his journey to the frigid regions of the Arctic is to find the giant that the captain
Walton had seen what he refers to as a monster. Walton then decides to bring
the doctor on board and take care of him. Convalescing, Victor Frankenstein begins his
Story: his father was the syndic of the city of Geneva, the city where Victor lives a
childhood full of happiness and good memories. I had two brothers, Ernst and William, and

3Although, curiously, Shelley never specifies that Dr. Frankenstein gives life to his monster.
through electric currents, it simply says that although the light that illuminated me was very
weak, I could see how the eyes of that creature opened. [...] (Shelley, 1985, p. 87)
4theory of the Italian doctor and physiologist Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) which establishes that the brain of the

animals produce electricity that is transmitted by the nerves

an adoptive sister, Elizabeth Lavenza, whom I called cousin, who later
would become the love of his life.
Frankenstein was always interested in nature and his dream was to stand out.
in some field of knowledge. When he turns 17, he goes to study at the University.
from Ingolstadt, in Germany. Here he becomes a prodigy, and shortly after
discover the secret of the creation of existence. After months of hard work
achieves to bring to life a humanoid being with its own consciousness. Terrified by what
he had just created, refuses to see his creature and sinks into a deep fever
delirious.
When he finally recovers, he tries to return to his daily life, but that...
the monster it has created will not leave it in peace. The creature claims that the lack of love and
the rejection of all has turned him into a cruel and vengeful being, and he asks for
Frankenstein who provides him with a companion to alleviate his loneliness.
Frankenstein agrees to the principle but then regrets it and destroys the progress.
from his project, as he is horrified by the idea of creating a new race of monsters.
The creature, filled with rage, decides to take revenge and starts to murder its closest ones.
dear ones. The tragic outcome leads both to the North Pole: the monster flees from its
creator, who chases him to annihilate him. Here we return to the moment where
he had started the novel. Here Dr. Frankenstein, frozen and weak, does
the latest reflections on his existence and shares them, along with the story of
his life, to Captain Walton. Days later he dies. The creature then appears in his
he mourns when he sees the deceased, then retreats to the furthest corner from the sun
to burn himself and end his miserable existence.

In a fit of madness, I created a rational being.

And they will be like gods5
When I started to conceive the main thesis of this essay, I thought about the
danger of 'playing God', and taking advantage of the fact that my sister and my cousin
They were with me in Tapalpa, I asked them what they thought about it.
I consider it important to mention them, since between the two of them, both
philosophy students, my sister María José Gómez Ruiz from the
Panamerican University (UP) Mexico campus, and Diego Ruiz Toscano, of
Technological Institute of Higher Studies of the West (ITESO),
they helped to solidify my initial idea. All afternoon that Saturday, I found myself,
as Mary Shelley had done in that holiday home in Switzerland,
immersed in a long interesting philosophical discussion from which I took
some essential ideas. When I told my sister that I wanted to do a
essay on how Dr. Frankenstein challenged God, assuming the role of
creator, she told me that I was getting tangled in a theological mess of the
that could only be resolved with religious arguments, which clearly could not.
I wanted to do. I then decided to leave the figure of God as something literary,
an abstract concept to represent that which transcends understanding
of the man.
Then I said, 'Wow, give me names of characters that speak about danger.
of pride, of wanting to know too much" Jo burst into laughter, and me

5Genesis 3:5
 he said that wanting to know things is not bad. He was right, but evidently in
The 19th century had a blind faith in science, the so hopeful
"progress" had caused two world wars, repressive dictatorships, and }
other things, all of this that led to postmodern disillusionment
actual.
He admitted that yes, progress had brought disenchantment, but not
I was just finishing understanding well what I wanted to do with that. I didn't even have my own
such clear ideas. 'You fight against the reductionism of knowledge to knowing
"scientist" he told me. Well, I didn't think the idea was all that bad.
Since I wanted to show both sides of the coin, I also asked for it.
names of postmodern thinkers who also talked about how the
"progress" had rather been a setback. He laughed again: he told me that it was
very naive, that indeed, the postmodernists were
disappointed, but they did not propose any solution to the problem that
had brought about modern thought, but had fallen into the
relativism.
"Fight against reductionism, I'm telling you," he repeated to me again. He told me.
Indeed, there were thinkers who argued that it was necessary to integrate
all fields of knowledge. But there were very few. With those few
I started to investigate and found that this small group of
People thought that science should be regulated by ethics.
Finally, Diego, my cousin, complemented with the idea that the
science should be an "instrument of humanization and not the opposite". For
that the main thesis of this analysis of Frankenstein is broken down into
the following three concepts; the danger of reducing reality to
what can be seen and touched, the need for healthcare to regulate development
of science, and its role as an "instrument of humanization."
But first I would like to reflect a bit on the characters of the doctor.
Frankenstein, the monster, and the role of the creator's responsibility to
with her creature.

3.2 "He looked more like a slave condemned to hard labor than
an artist devoted to his favorite experiments6
The figure of Doctor Frankenstein is fascinating. Throughout the book, his
the mind oscillates between the insatiable thirst for knowledge and self-justification, and the
repentance and torment.
Let us start with the reason that motivated the Doctor to act in that way.
in which he did it, which led him to create a rational being. Since he was a child, he had the
anxiety about knowing the reasons for everything around him. He himself recounts:
both my temperament, sometimes violent, and my vehement passions,
instead of leading me towards vain ends, they were guiding me towards a greater need
to learn everything that was possible for me […] I was trying to discover by
above all the secrets of heaven and earth, the visible substance of the
things, the hidden spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that
I was so obsessed.

6Mary Shelley, 1975 Frankenstein, p. 86

 This passion born in childhood carried her into her youth, where
at first he was annoyed by the current methods of scientists, as
he had always been more interested in the field of knowledge of the ancients
alchemists. "How different it would be if scientists devoted themselves to the search
of immortality and power!” (p. 71) he thinks of his early days in the
university. Then he meets the chemistry professor, Mr. Waldman. He
shows, in his opening class, how all his childhood dreams are
achievable through current science, which he had so little faith in. It is
So when does he decide to dive into knowing more about the
modern methods of experimentation and knowledge:
[...] Hearing him [Mr. Waldman in his introductory speech] I
it seemed that my soul was fighting against a tangible enemy. [...] My
spirit did not take long to feel possessed by a single thought, a
purpose, a goal. [then I thought] I will achieve more, much more.
Taking advantage of the paths already laid out, I will explore new ones, I will study.
unknown forces and I will astonish the world by revealing the deepest
mysteries of creation.” (p.73) It is here where he finally decides on his project of
life, and therefore charts its destiny. After two years of study, he/she achieves
discover the secret of the creation of life, the same one used to create
a being of flesh and bone. The consequences of this act are both
immediate and long term. Once he realizes what he has done, he plunges
in a deep fever and feelings of regret, which he does not
they will be left in peace for the rest of their short life. Even when trying to escape from them,
he finds that the monster he created feels lonely, and demands that he
correspond as a creator (element that will be seen in another section). By not
access their proposals, the creature takes revenge by killing their closest ones
close. Among the sad and melancholic reflections of Víctor
In Frankenstein, we encounter statements such as the following:
A goal filled with selfishness had desensitized and diminished me.
...” (p 107), but probably, the phrase that impacts the most from his story is
one who pronounces on their deathbed: "When I meditated on what
I had just achieved, that is to say, the creation of a being capable of feeling and
reasoning for myself, it was no longer possible for me to align myself in the ranks of the
other researchers. Precisely this idea encouraged me in the
beginnings of my work, now it only serves to sink me deeper and deeper into the
mud. All my speculations have been reduced to nothing, and like the
angel who foolishly aspired to omnipotence, I have been cast into the
hell.” (pp. 317-18)

3.3 So horrible that "not even Dante himself would have been able to
imagine.7
Let's move on to the figure of the monster, whom its creator doesn't even bother with.
in providing a name. While reading this novel, we find ourselves face to
face to one of the most miserable and lonely characters in literature
universal.

7op.cit., p. 89
 That sad person, with 'yellowish skin', 'glassy eyes whose'
the color was approaching dirty white" and "fine and black lips" (pp. 87-8), so
horrible that "not even Dante himself would have been able to imagine" (p 89) is seen.
wrapped in a process in which circumstances turn him into a
terrifying villain. More than the circumstances, the absence of love, that
it turns his good feelings into pure hate
The other day a friend commented that there are dogs better than
Hitler. Upon hearing it, I left uncovered from the kitchen to the living room, where she was.
little inspired by her statement, I wanted to know what made her think this. I
said that of course, there were dogs "with better feelings" than people
as perverse and soulless as Hitler. I don't remember if I responded to the
moment, or I thought about it later, but the only thing occupying my mind for hours
later it was: of course, the dog has feelings in the sense that it has a
a certain degree of affection, and many times they show it and are 'good dogs'
for with his masters. But the capacity for a fierce hatred in Hitler resided
in the same capacity, on the other side of the spectrum; of love. A dog never
it will experience love or the absence of it. A dog will never be able to give love or
deprive someone of it. The man yes. And I think that being on that blacklist
The wickedness of people resides in two factors.
First, not receiving the necessary amount of love causes
a quantum void in the person, which the person will seek to satisfy.
cost, and who better to explain this feeling than the unfortunate one.
monster created by Frankenstein: "When you created me I was sweet and good,
but suffering has made me what I am: an enemy. (p.151) My
Evil is the consequence of my misfortune, of my unhappiness. (p. 220)
Another reason, and perhaps the most important. A person is bad because
decide at every moment of its existence to be so. How much thought has been given to this?
decision, I wouldn't dare to say, but I think a person is not born good.
neither bad, nor is it destined to be either of the two. In its decisions of the
In everyday life, a person can define and redefine who they are. And always one
will have, at least one moment of clarity, to reflect on their
acts. As seen in the following quote where, at the end of the novel, the creature
He bursts into lamentations of regret, realizing all the evil.
what he had done: "<<Here is one of my victims! […] Frankenstein,
generous and devoted spirit! Would it do me any good to ask you for forgiveness? I,
that without consideration for anything or anyone I destroyed your loved ones...>>” (p.
329
Percy Shelley, the author's husband, wrote On Frankenstein, a
criticism and analysis of Shelley's book, which raises the question: Who is
responsible for the monstrosity of the monster? For Percy, the message
The direct result of history is that you, we, society, created the monster.
Divide a a social being from society, and you will impose on it the irresistible
"obligations [of] malevolence and selfishness" or more simply "treat someone
a bad person, and they will become evil" (Johanna M. Smith, p. 238)
 3.4 "Cursed, cursed creator! What for, with what purpose did I live?
yo?8
Stepping away a bit from the figure of the creation of Frankenstein, and returning
to its creator, it is evident that he never treated his creature fairly.
He always referred to her with expressions full of hate and repulsion like the
"spawn of the demon" or "the infernal creature", and it never gave it dignity.
what he deserved as a creature, which as he himself says at the end of his life, was
able to feel and reason for itself.
reflection I think that Doctor Frankenstein always saw the creature as
an extension of himself, a reflection of all his bad traits, and he did not see that
I had created a completely independent consciousness from his.
who deserved respect and love from their creator. They did not know that creating a
a new being implied responsibility towards it. Responsibility, another
a theme to which I could dedicate an entire essay to analyze within this
novel. Victor Frankenstein experiences this sense of responsibility
for just a moment, when he thoughtfully expresses: 'Part of me was moved
curiosity, but it is also true that I felt a high degree of compassion.
[…] For the first time I realized the responsibility that one must have.
creator for with his creature.” (p. 153). But this reflection, so volatile, does not
I take time to fade away, and although at times I would return, as he would express it better:
But my good intentions dissolved as I contemplated how he spoke and
moved that repugnant mass
The monster never tires of demanding his duty. "You, my creator," he says.
"you reject your own work [...] How can you dispose of a life like this?"
Fulfill the duty you have towards me first [...] You owe me justice,
"clemency and affection" (p 149-50). It is quite sad to see how the prayers of
the creature's attention never fully penetrates the soul of the Dr.
Frankenstein, within this same speech, the monster cries out
desperate: “Don't you see that I am hopelessly alone? Even you, my
creator, you bore me." (p. 151) Having said this, he asks the doctor for the creation of
on Eva, of her companion. But this idea frightens the Doctor: he had already
having made the mistake of creating him, I wouldn't do it again. And although at first
He agrees, then regrets it and destroys what he had of the female monster.
Very late, he learned the price of giving life and not taking responsibility for it.
the creature would never forgive it.
Isabel Burdiel, from the Department of Contemporary History of the
University of Valencia declares in its article 'The Science of Monsters:'
about Frankenstein" that "[...] it is not the creation of the monster in
how much what turns Frankenstein's scientific operations into
questionable: it is their inability to take responsibility for what they have created and
to feel their creation as a legitimate Other” (2002).

3.5 In the face of scientific positivism and progress, does ethics become
obsolete?

8op. cit., p. 105

 The progress of humanity is exclusively indebted to the sciences.
natural and not based on morality, religion, or philosophy.” This phrase, pronounced
by the German chemist Justus von Liebig, (1803-73) reflects fully
that blind faith in science as the gateway to the advancement of humanity, and the
relegation of “less evident” sciences such as ethics, philosophy, even
the theology. It stopped being believed in to base all knowledge of the
reality in the improbable, thus falling into a reductionism that diminished
the reality in the tangible, and forgot about other realities, non-material,
also present in the life and in the nature of man.
This decrease in the field of knowledge began to occur starting from the
Illustration and it still has not fully recovered. It is true that after the
devastation of the world wars, in the middle of the 20th century humanity
lost faith in pure science, causing a turn in history
contemporary and moving into postmodernism. But, as it was explained
previously, this did not imply a return to the integration of the 'non-sciences
"provable" but rather fell into relativism. Man has lost faith.
in man. This is postmodernism.
But let's go back to the 19th century, where this did not yet happen, and the
man lived with the hope that science would solve everything
problems of humanity. Humphry Davy, another chemist of origin
British, declares in A Discourse, Introductory to a Course of Lectures in
Chemistry (1802) that "Science has done much for man, but it is
capable of doing even more; its sources of improvement have not been exhausted;
the benefits that it has conferred must feed our hope in its
ability to provide new benefits, and when considering the capacity of
progress of our human nature, we can reasonably expect a
state of greater culture and happiness than we enjoy now" (Johanna B.
Smith, 2000, p. 217.
Although the overwhelming majority did, not all of his contemporaries shared his optimism.
Shelley, for example, saw the potential danger of this way of thinking and it
they denounced in their literary works. And it was not the only one:

Fran Collyer, from the Department of Administration at the University of Canberra,

Australia analyzes the figure of the inventor, the scientist sometimes a
a little deranged, and his appearance in the romantic novel of the 19th century. Collyer
mention Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) as another narrator who warns against blind faith
in the progress of science. Poe envisions the story of an alchemist named Von
Kempelen discovers the way to turn lead into gold. The police began to
suspicions about Von Kempelen when he begins to acquire properties despite
It was known that he had always lived in poverty. As a consequence of his
A catastrophe and an economic imbalance occur around all of the US,
as the price of gold falls, the price of lead increases disproportionately, and
the 'Gold Rush' in California disappears. Poe explicitly poses the question to
its readers whether the discovery "will or will not be at the service of humanity
long term
Collyer says that although it is not as drastic as Poe's example in his story of
Von Kempelen and his discovery (1849) like Shelley in Frankenstein,
the story of the alchemist also serves as a warning about value and direction
of modern science. Collyer suggests that in the 19th century, there were several scientists,
like the German Ludwig Becker (1808-1861) who said that creative individuals
they had a kind of 'license' to defy established rules and conventions
if this gave them the power to guide the 'course of civilization', which was a concern
to authors like Shelley and Poe, who wrote to warn of the danger of a
science without rules.
Who defines the rules? Ethics. Yes, that dusty science, which is considered
obsolete or doctrinaire, is in fact what should govern all branches of action
Human, science is no exception. Not everyone agrees with this: Arthur
Keith, Scottish anatomist. (1866-1955) argues that. "My personal conviction is that the
science concerns only the truth, and not ethics" One would have to ask him
Mr. Keith, what is your concept of truth? Apparently, it is very limited if it does not include...
ethics.
Figures like the Australian Peter Singer (1946) argue that people
We see things like reciprocity which is central to our vision of ethics. But if
you are talking about a set of rules made up of what one is supposed to
"to do, then, yes, that is a human product." In other words, ethics is not
something intrinsically present in each of the human beings, but rather it is something
manufactured by humanity. How can we regain faith in humanity if
there is nothing that regulates what can and cannot be done, what benefits and what
What harms humanity?
While science is not an evil in itself, it is also not an absolute good, but
that, as my cousin used to say, must act as an "instrument of humanization".
This is in accordance with the ethical principles, present in every human heart. It is not
a invention of man, ethics resides, as says German humanist doctor, Albert
Schweitzer (1875-1965) respect for life. Or as the best put it: 'Ethics does not
It is nothing more than reverence for life, it is what provides the principle.
fundamental of morality. [Under this premise] the good consists of maintaining,
to promote and nurture life, and to destroy, hurt, or limit life is evil.
It is not necessary to have a religion, nor to belong to a specific one to believe.
the respect for life should be promoted and this is the basic concept of everything
human ethics. It is a quite simple concept sometimes clouded by criticism of
those who believe that "everyone has their own ethics."

4. "Relativity applies to physics, not to ethics"9”

Throughout this writing, we have analyzed the novel of Frankenstein, we have
talked a little about its author, Mary Shelley, and the era in which it was developed
history, the role of this narrative as a 'typical' example of gothic novel of
19th century and even as a precursor of science fiction. We have analyzed the role
of Dr. Frankenstein, of the monster he created, and of the responsibility of the former
for the second one. We have also analyzed a possible reading of the book of
Frankenstein, that of Doctor Frankenstein playing God, or rather of the
figure of the scientists of the 19th century and their blind faith in progress and its consequences
what has brought this about.

9Albert Einstein
In the midst of the postmodern era, I would like to conclude with a phrase from another.
19th century visionary, the Swiss writer Anne-Louise Germaine Necker, better known
known as Baroness De Staël-Holstein (1766-1807): "Scientific progress
does moral progress make it a necessity, since if man's power grows, that
What restricts him from abusing must be strengthened.
5. Bibliografía

BECK, Roger B., Linda Black, and Larry S. Krieger. (2006). “Revolution in the
Arts in World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston: McDougal
Littell Incorporated, pp. 619.
BURDIEL, Isabel. "The science of monsters: about Frankenstein."
(2002) inInvalid URL. No translatable text available.
(Consulted on March 15, 2010)
COLLYER, Fran. "Frankenstein Meets The Invisible Man: Science, Medicine, and a
Theory of Invention. (1996) in Electronic Journal of Sociology
http://sociology.org/content/vol002.002/collyer.html (Consulted on the 15th of
March 2010
GOULDING, Christopher. "The Real Doctor Frankenstein" (s/f) in
http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/cgi/content/full/95/5/257 (Consulted) the 13
March 2010
IMDB. 'Memorable quotes for The Island. (2005) in
Invalid request. Please provide text to translate.(Consulted on March 17
2010
Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Edition. USA. Bedford/St. Martin's. 469 pp.

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Special thanks to my sister, María José Gómez, and my cousin, Diego.

E. Ruiz