Mary Shelley is warning of the dangers of hettenistic scientific discovery. She does so by:
- Portraying the disasters that befall Victor Frankenstein for his actions, having all his family members murdered and dying a slow, miserable death from pneumonia in the Arctic. Victor says,' Like the archangel which aspired for omnipotence, I am chained to an eternal hell', the archangel he is referring to is Promethus, and Frankenstein is also called 'The Modern Promethus'. All Victor wanted to do was to,' Pour a torrent of light onto our dark world,' but by seeking to create life he was aspiring for omnipotence (by playing God) and he meets such a sticky end.
- Protraying all of these events as beyond Victor's control. He creates life and although he thinks,' A new creature would bless me...I would deserve [their gratitude]', in the same way people should respect their parents, as was the Christian belief of the time, the creature doesn't. He goes as far as to say,' You are my creator but I am your master. Obey!' to Victor. And only once he kills his wife Elizabeth is he happy. He says,' I am satisfied'.
