Let's Get Locke'ed on Frankenstein!

           Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein displays how experiences rather than innate knowledge shape one’s daily life, even if you are a monster. John Locke would approach the novel as an accurate representation of the birth of life. One of Locke’s main points is explained in Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaardner, “Locke's claim is that all our thoughts and ideas issue from that which we have taken in through the senses. Before we perceive anything, the mind is a 'tabula rasa'--or an empty slate," (Gaardner 242). He thought that our knowledge is developed through experiences of the world, as the mind does not just receive sensation, it processes them.
            Frankenstein’s monster is the perfect example of how someone develops knowledge once born, for the creature is not a baby so in Shelley’s world, he learns quick. The monster seems to be born a complete ‘blank slate’ for it is not until the doctor screams in horror and leaves him alone, that the creature develops a personality. The monster’s main source of knowledge is from Paradise Lost, which teaches him about Satan and how he should speak and act. His other source of learning is from watching a family in their house and hearing them discuss their hardships; it is from his experiences, that he learns what revenge is and how wrongly he was treated.

Frankenstein creates life from nothing, which is a controversial topic in and of itself. However, Locke would view this sensation as a representation of the fact that God does exist, for someone has to do the creating. He was very focused on rationality, “Locke believed that it was inherent in human reason to be able to know that God exists,” (Gaardner 244). Locke would view Frankenstein as the God of the novel; a way to allude to God in a more approachable and relatable character. Shelley of course takes this a step even further, dealing with Frankenstein’s inner struggles and mental instability. He still, however, is a creator of life. Life cannot exist from nothing; the only rational explanation is that God exists.

In general, Locke’s views on life are shown throughout the novel in the ways the monster learns and the fact he had his own creator. In fact, the monster is always set on Frankenstein either wanting to connect or disconnect with him. People treat God the same way, either always praying to him for help or comfort or cursing him for their hardships. Nobody really knows if God does exist, or if we have knowledge before we are born, yet according to John Locke and Frankenstein, both of those questions can be answered.

Work Cited:

Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World. New York: Berkely Books, 1994. Print.