The Good Life According to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

What were you doing when you were 18 years old? Considered by many to be the first science fiction novel, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is an impressive literary achievement she wrote at 18. Though she was a young writer, Shelley’s book contains profound philosophical ideas and depth. For example, Shelley’s depiction of the creature’s development in “Frankenstein” is filled with thought-provoking themes of happiness, virtue, community, and the cost of scientific ambitions. Even today, news outlets and websites devote a considerable number of articles to the achievement of happiness. In the past month alone, Forbes released four articles about the subject! However, we are not the only ones concerned with being happy. Writers throughout history have discussed happiness, virtue, community, and ambition. A classic text like Shelley’s “Frankenstein” provides a helpful starting point for considering these issues because the book prompts us to reflect on common human needs. We should critically engage these themes from this classic tale because these ideas shape how we live and function in the world as Christians.

The Desire for Happiness and Virtue 

The human quest for happiness and virtue is one of the most important themes of Shelley’s Gothic novel. Upon reflecting on his origin and purpose, the creature recognizes that he “was formed for peaceful happiness.” He says, “During my youthful days discontent never visited my mind, and if I was ever overcome by ennui, the sight of what is beautiful in nature or the study of what is excellent and sublime in the productions of man could always interest my heart and communicate elasticity to my spirit.” If you ask anyone if they desire to be happy, they will likely respond with a resounding “yes.” The medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas pointed out that “man naturally desires happiness,” but what exactly does it mean to be happy? Shelley does not provide a clear definition of happiness in “Frankenstein,” but she does associate happiness with peace, contentment, and the sense of delight.

Philosopher Jennifer Frey clarifies what happiness is, and how it relates to virtue: “I think of virtues as those stable dispositions of character—of thought, action, and feeling—that enable us to live well, and I think of living well as living a good or happy life… Happiness is the goal that virtues help us to attain.” Happiness is more than just a pleasant feeling or outlook on life. To be happy means to live well, and to live well requires virtuous character. Frey’s view of happiness and virtue aligns well with Shelley’s view in her story. Shelley, through the words of the creature, connects virtue to the desire to do good to others and benefit those around us. Believers can wholeheartedly agree with this understanding and add that virtuous living involves growing in Christlikeness and living for God’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31–11:1).

The Need for Community 

When the creature requests that Victor create a companion for him, the creature exclaims, “Oh! My creator, make me happy; let me feel gratitude towards you for one benefit! Let me see that I excite the sympathy of some existing thing; do not deny me my request!” Living in community makes us happier and more virtuous. God himself teaches us about the goodness and necessity of community in the creation account of Genesis (Genesis 2:18). Shelley even makes a connection between the creature’s origin and the Genesis account at certain points in the story. Instead of a creator who looks at his creatures, calls them “very good” (Genesis 1:31), and desires to dwell and commune with them (Genesis 3:8–9), The creature disgusts Victor, leading him to abandon the creature to fend for himself. Had Victor remained with his creature and helped to develop his creation, Frankenstein would be a much more cheerful tale about human development and growth than the tragedy that the story is.

The Cost of Ambition 

Victor’s youthful scientific goals give way to a newfound wisdom after the devastating events of the story unfold. Victor has lost his wife and many other loved ones at the hands of his creation, so Victor tells Robert Walton, “Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed.” Victor’s crazed ambition and scientific achievement do not result in greater happiness, but in devastation and unhappiness. The creature’s revenge on Victor and his family leads Victor to long for a peaceful life—a life the Apostle Paul urges believers to live at multiple points in the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 4:11; 1 Timothy 2:2).
During times of sadness, loneliness, or despair, we may wonder what true happiness is and how to pursue it. Christians who read “Frankenstein” should remember that ultimate happiness is not found in any community, person, or accomplishment but is found in God alone. Shelley was not a Christian, so she does not allude to God as the aim of our desire for happiness. Yet, her writing about the creature’s growth illustrates man’s natural desire for happiness, as well as the need for virtue and relationships to be truly happy.