Question

what is mary shelley casting blame on for victor’s negative choices (or for victor’s neutral choices that have bad consequences)? or is he just making bad choices all on his own? write a paragraph that answers this question. include at least 2 specific quotes from the text to support your answer (cite the page number of the quote). use your own paper if needed.

• gets sick at seeing chemistry instruments (chap 7)
• letter from dad about brother’s murder (chap 7)

~ sees monster by brother death site (chap 7)

• finds out justine is blamed for murder (chap 7)
• justine confesses but tells victor she is innocent (chap 8)
• justine is executed (chap 8)

+ “i’ll go home immediately” and goes sort of slowly

• suspects monster, but doesn’t tell anyone
• doesn’t tell anyone because what people might think
• victor doesn’t speak up for justine in court
• victor feels guilty of her and william’s deaths

Explanation:

Mary Shelley frames Victor as primarily responsible for his own negative outcomes, though external factors amplify the harm. His refusal to take accountability directly enables tragedy: when Justine is accused of William's murder, he stays silent out of fear of being seen as "mad" (p. 60, 1818 text) rather than defending her, letting an innocent die. Earlier, he admits his reckless creation was driven by arrogant ambition: "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (p. 35, 1818 text), showing his choices stemmed from personal glory, not accident. While the monster's actions are violent, they are a direct result of Victor's abandonment of his creation, making Victor's selfish, unethical choices the root cause of the suffering.

Answer:

Victor is primarily responsible for his own negative outcomes due to his selfish, unethical choices, rather than being a victim of circumstance. Two key quotes support this:

1. His arrogant ambition driving the creation: "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (p. 35, 1818 edition). This reveals his choice to pursue the experiment for personal glory, not altruism.
2. His cowardly silence during Justine's trial: "I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged" (p. 60, 1818 edition) – his fear of exposure, not inability to act, leads him to let an innocent woman be executed, directly worsening the tragedy.

While the monster's actions are harmful, they are a consequence of Victor's choice to abandon his creation, making Victor's bad decisions the core cause of the suffering.