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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Frankenstein's Creation:
Highly ambitious, Victor Frankenstein channels his extensive scientific knowledge in order to create a “new and improved” version of man. However, the exact opposite occurs, as he creates a degraded version of man instead. In a twist of fate, Victor ends up repelled by his creation. In Chapter 5, he states:
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?
Through this instance of situational irony, the novel offers a lesson on the limits of scientific discovery and human fallibility. Though nineteenth-century readers might be primed to expect that the pursuit of scientific knowledge would lead to beneficial outcomes for humanity, in this case the pursuit leads instead to "catastrophe" and the creation of a "wretch." Victor, believing himself to be all-powerful, abandons his responsibilities and relationships in the pursuit of achievement. This backfires, both for him and for everyone he loves. In the end, Victor’s work is a failure. Due to his actions, the Monster becomes a danger to society, not a benefit. Frankenstein, as an allegory, warns that actions have consequences and that humans cannot always predict the future or outcome of even well-intended actions.
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Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Justine:
Through Justine’s arrest, trial, and execution, the novel presents an instance of dramatic irony. This is exemplified in the following passage from Chapter 8, in which Victor describes witnessing Justine’s reaction before she succumbs to her tragic fate:
She was dressed in mourning, and her countenance, always engaging, was rendered, by the solemnity of her feelings, exquisitely beautiful. Yet she appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble, although gazed on and execrated by thousands, for all the kindness which her beauty might otherwise have excited was obliterated in the minds of the spectators by the imagination of the enormity she was supposed to have committed.
Because she confessed to the crime, the spectators believe Justine is guilty. However, Victor, as well as the reader, is aware of her innocence. This difference in understanding is an example of dramatic irony. The novel emphasizes this contradiction further by highlighting Victor’s vs. the spectators’ opposite perceptions of Justine. For the spectators who believe she is guilty, Justine’s calm appearance ironically seems to confirm her guilt, and the watching crowd accordingly lacks any sympathy for her. Victor, on the other hand, looks at Justine and sees her innocence in her solemnly beautiful expression.
Related Themes:
