Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein makes readers' blood run cold not only with sad nights and gruesome murders, but through the story of man's most morbid exploits. While the monster itself constitutes the most concretely catastrophic effect of Frankenstein's undertaking, the real horror lies in the scientist's sinister unveiling of the mysteries of nature. With knowledge of Shelley's personal loss of two children during the birth and death of her lover, the reader can more fully understand the overall themes of her novel; his frustration and confusion over the deaths of his loved ones and his apparent inability to raise children parallel Frankenstein's fascinated devotion to defying the natural passage of life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Mary Shelley speaks to the reader's scariest feelings primarily through Frankenstein's effort to evade the existing rules of science and nature. In describing his ultimate fall to Walton, Frankenstein's explanation reveals Shelley's own sense of desperation in the merciless jaws of chance: "Fate was too powerful, and its immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction." Through the scientist's words the reader can recognize the writer's understandable anger in her battles with human capabilities and creative power. Thus, Shelley's personal obstacles and suspected emotional qualms clarify the key feature of his horror story: Frankenstein's dangerous choice to act on a distorted sense of power. Frankenstein fills minds with disturbingly altered concepts of life and death. Shelley's creation of an ultimately self-punishing character proves as fatal as the "living corpse" itself. During his efforts, Frankenstein goes astray with his own life as well as that of the monster. In his laboratory, his cheeks become "pale from study" and his body "emaciated from confinement." When he finally bestows human ability on lifeless matter, his dreams immediately become "bruises the color of death." Frankenstein's personal belief that he has failed to be good renders him incapable of living in any healthy form, once again reminding the reader of the self-sacrifice that traditionally accompanies failed childbirth. As a young woman shocked by the birth of two stillborn children, her work Frankenstein undeniably reflects the lost innocence and hope of recognizing the overwhelming delicacy of life. Frankenstein's psychological deterioration following his disillusionment with the monster's devastation ultimately overshadows his youthful state of unattended ambition and wonder. Likewise, victims of the monster's damage leave with the same despondent outlook; after Justine's death, Elizabeth refers to Frankenstein, "now misery has come home, and men appear to me like monsters thirsting for each other's blood." Mary Shelley writes in her introduction the question she is constantly asked: "How did I, then a little girl, come to think and dwell on so horrible an idea?" As for Shelley's deeper motivation in writing Frankenstein, the novel becomes profoundly truthful and discerns human law versus natural law. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Ironically, Mary Shelley's traumatic story grappling with life allowed her, in fact, to create it on paper. While admitting that his.