A Shintoists View of Frankenstein’s Creation
Jon Cox
Junior English
Mr. Andersen
People view things differently depending on their beliefs. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley is a book that can be interpreted on many levels. As such, the book can be understood differently by people of various nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures. With these diverse viewpoints there are also different outlooks on the creation of Frankenstein’s monster. One such view towards Frankenstein can be observed from that of a Shintoist.
Shinto,
an ancient religion largely based in
A
major belief in Shinto is that the body is as holy as the mind. Thus, the idea
of when to declare a body dead according to Shinto beliefs is tough. Just
because the brain has irreversibly lost its function, by proclaiming a person
dead, it could be viewed as disrespectful toward a future ancestor. This causes
the issue of organ transplant to be a taboo one. Brain death, as it is referred
to when someone dies in
In not respecting the ideal of Shinto, Victor also does not complete his task in an ethical manner. Shintoists have no real dogma, but do have morals and ethics they live by. These morals and ethics are told in the Four Affirmations of Shinto: Tradition and family, Love of Nature, Physical cleanliness, and Matsuri (Celebration) (Buko). Victor Frankenstein in his creation of the monster shuns the monster immediately. While Shinto calls for tradition in family, Victor as a father and creator of the monster abandons it.
“… I beheld the
wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the
bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws
opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his
cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out,
seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in
the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during
the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening
attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the
approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life” (Shelley
52).
With the creation of this monster Victor immediately sees what he has done. He is afraid of the monster, and when he comes back from refuge in the courtyard he is relieved to find his creation gone. Victor is this monsters creator, and as such his father. The monster is left on his own, to find food and shelter unaided. As quoted by Kim Woodbridge, “Instead of reaching out to his child, Victor rushes out of the room disgusted by the abnormality of his creation. When the creature follows after him, Victor runs away in horror completely abandoning his child.” Victor does not show any influence in his relations with the monster, and instead runs away because of its sight. Following the story of Frankenstein, the monster soon learns of his creator shunning of him and vows revenge. This revenge results in numerous murders of Victors loved ones, a terrible act from the monster. In the final conclusion of the book, Victor died in his quest for vengeance of the monsters murders. The monster admits to his appalling life, but confesses he still loves his creator, Frankenstein.
"But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled the innocent as they slept and grasped to death his throat who never injured me or any other living thing. I have devoted my creator, the select specimen of all that is worthy of love and admiration among men, to misery; I have pursued him even to that irremediable ruin. There he lies, white and cold in death. You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself. I look on the hands which executed the deed; I think on the heart in which the imagination of it was conceived and long for the moment when these hands will meet my eyes, when that imagination will haunt my thoughts no more” (Shelley 241).
This
monster, however wretched he may be, merely wanted “love and admiration,” the
love of his creator, and true family tradition. Frankenstein rejects him,
causing him to commit these evil deeds, and further unethical crimes against
innocent beings. Victor does not provide any love or comfort to his creation,
and was very unkind in his reaction towards his own creation. As a father
figure in his life Victor was unethical in his treatment and not following the
ideals of Shinto.
Shintoists believe very
deeply in purification. We have very deep feelings for our ancestors and the
dead. As a part of Shinto it is believed that “outward appearance reflected
one's inner state,” and that “illness indicated a possibly unclean spirit.” As
described throughout the book, Victor’s creation not only has the body parts of
numerous people, but is ugly, large and daunting. When first created the
monster frightens Victor immensely, and Victor realizes what he has created.
“How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 51).
The
monster with his yellow skin, watery eyes and shriveled complexion would be
viewed horribly by anyone. Through an
appearance that no one on earth has, this monster is a new being, but one that
no one would want to meet or be. During his creation Frankenstein found that “…the
minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed, I resolved,
contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature, that
is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionally large” (Shelley 47).
With such height the Frankenstein’s creation could be considered a freak to
society, and thus impure according to Shinto. Victor created a monster not fit
to live, and should not have been allowed to create it.
A Shintoist takes on a very distinctive view as a result of their religion. As a scientist working at the heights of his field at the time, Frankenstein did not take the necessary steps to make his project clean and unthreatening to the dead. He followed his manner in a way most unacceptable and through consolation with no one. The manner and result of Frankenstein’s labors is the main problem. If he were to simply create life from another instead of using the body parts of other human beings, there would be no issue with his work. No problem would be found if he were moral and ethical in his creation. This is not the case though, showing Frankenstein as an inventor of a monstrous creature that possesses parts from the dead to form a hideous concoction of a being. Having not taken the proper precautions according to Shinto beliefs, Victor should not be permitted to assemble any such individual.
Works Cited
Bernard,
Rosemarie. Shinto and Ecology. 1998.
Buko, Stacy. Shintoism.
Haldane, Maeve. Cultural concepts of brain death and transplants.
Miyake,
Yoshinobu. The Japanese View of
Corpses.
Shelley,
Mary. Frankenstein.
Sichina, Ellen S. Japanese Culture.
Woodbridge,
Kim A. The 'Birth' of a Monster.