What if? This simple phrase, used so commonly, carries a large meaning. This question implies choice. We have the power to choose which path we travel down, and this path is determined by the choices we make; we are the authors of our lives. As individuals we have the power to write our lives anyway we choose. The chapters of our lives are constructed by the choices we make, and more importantly, our reactions to those choices. For example, if we make a mistake do we attempt to fix it, or do we ignore it in hopes of acting as if it never happened? No matter who or what influences our personal story, we must realize that we are the sole author of our story. As a result, we must take full responsibility for our actions and the consequences that ensue.
Sometimes when reading novels in high school or college, students find themselves struggling to find and understand hidden meanings scattered throughout these novels. However, throughout Frankenstein Mary Shelley clearly refers to other texts and allusions; she hides nothing. Shelley integrates various quotations from Paradise Lost, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” and many more. Each of these texts helps illustrate Shelly’s emphasis on choices and their consequences. Paradise Lost, in particular, directly correlates to the assertion that we are the author of our lives, because although we can be influenced by outside sources, we ultimately make our own decisions, and we must live with the consequences.
“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me? –”- Paradise Lost
The beginning portion of this quotation from Paradise Lost illustrates the choice Victor is faced with. The creature does not “request” that Victor create him; rather, Victor takes the initiative to craft this creature. Although Victor understands that “a human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind, and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility,” Victor strays from this belief (Shelley 59). Victor allows the creation of the monster to consume him; his passion for construction engulfs him completely. Had Victor remained level-headed, he would have recognized the magnitude of the decision he was making. The choice Victor makes to create this monster, despite his better knowledge, parallels Adam and Eve’s decision to take a bite out of the apple that God had forbidden them to touch. Adam and Eve failed to keep their composure, and like Victor, allowed their passion and desires to get the best of them. Because Victor, Adam, and Eve are the authors of their lives, they are forced to live with the outcome of their decisions. For Victor, he must deal with his conscience constantly reminding him that Justine, who is completely innocent, is accused and punished for something she did not do. Victor’s choices not only created grief for his family due to the death of his brother, but they also created turmoil in Justine’s life, illustrating to Victor the harmful consequences of his actions. Adam and Eve, on the other hand, realized that although they are the authors of their own personal lives, their choices affect those around them. Because of their prior actions, humanity will never be the same. Like Victor affected himself and his family, Adam and Eve affected all of us; they transformed the human race.
The second part of the quotation from Paradise Lost once again illustrates the power we have to write the story of our lives any way we please. Victor is not “solicited” to make this creature; rather, he personally decides to create the creature. Knowing it was the decision he made that caused the death of his brother, Victor realizes he is “the true murderer” (Shelley 84). Disturbed by this knowledge, Victor is extremely upset. Through his sorrows, he comes to the realization that he “had been the author of unalterable evils;” the decision he had previously made could not be undone (Shelley 87). This feeling directly relates to those of Adam and Eve. After committing the sin, Adam and Eve realized they did not have the ability to undo what they had previously done. As Shelley words it, “the apple was already eaten” (Shelley 162). This metaphor used in Frankenstein alludes to the sin Adam and Eve committed. The allusion combines the assertion that just as Adam and Eve cannot retrace their steps and erase their mistakes, so Victor cannot take back what he has done either. As seen in both Adam and Eve’s lives as well as Victor’s, we each have control over our own lives; we have the final say when it comes to making choices. Furthermore, whatever choice we decide to ultimately make we must live with, because it cannot be undone.
Faced with the decision of whether or not to create a female companion, Victor feels the intensity of the power of choice. Influenced by the monster as well as thinking about his own well-being and the well-being of others, Victor feels obligated. He feels as if he should create a partner for the creature so that as the creature promised, he would steer clear of humanity. However, Victor is torn. He “thought of the promise of virtues which he [the creature] had displayed on the opening of his existence.” Victor also contemplated the creature’s “power and threats” (Shelley 130-1). After much deliberation, Victor consents to the creature’s desire and begins crafting a female. After constructing all of the pieces of the female character, Victor reflects on what he is doing. Recognizing what could go wrong, Victor destroys each of the pieces of the creature before assembling them. Although Victor was influenced by the creature, Victor made a personal decision to destroy the female creature before instilling her with life in suspicion of what could have happened had he given her the ability to roam the world with her companion. Although this decision may seem rash, Victor’s avoidance of the choice to bring the female to life, was a choice in itself. This choice, like the others, came with its own consequences. In the end, Victor’s decision caused the death of his good friend, Henry, as well as the demise of his fiancée. Not knowing the extent of what two creatures could accomplish together, Victor eliminated the possibility of them working together. Victor’s decision reflects what he learned from previous mistakes and the power of choice. Realizing he is the only author of his life, Victor uses this knowledge and contemplates his decision in an effort to make a sane decision that will benefit not only him but those around him as well.
The power of choice is very evident throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but it is even more prominent in everyday real-life situations. For example, as our society has modernized so have the ways in which we gather information. As a society, we have strayed from reading published novels and find ourselves more dependent upon hypertext. The choice to move towards hypertext rather than reading books reflects the power of choice presented in hypertext. Stated in The Gutenberg Elegies, Sven Birkets references Robert Coover’s beliefs on hypertext. Coover asserts, “with its web of linked lexias, its networks of alternate routes hypertext presents a radically divergent technology, interactive and polyvocal…freeing the reader from domination by the author” (Birkets 153). Coover’s belief illustrates the tables turning. Rather than reading a one-dimensional book where the author dictates how the story will progress, we are faced with hypertext’s numerous pathways all leading to different directions. Being the author of our lives, we have the power to choose what to explore in depth and what to quickly pass over; we have the power at our fingertips. However, we must continuously remind ourselves that with control comes accountability. The interactive nature of hypertext clearly illustrates the control being placed in an individual’s lap rather than the author dominating the reader.
Shelley Jackson also reflects upon choices in her essay entitled, Stitch Bitch. Referencing her novel, Patchwork Girl, Shelley illustrates her beliefs on hypertext. Jackson asserts that when reading hypertext it is difficult to “figure out what matters and what doesn’t” (Jackson). As a result, the reader must take responsibility to grasp concepts completely in an effort to understand what is important and what is not. Jackson goes on to compare hypertext to that of being in a foreign country, because “you have to pay attention to everything, which is exhausting” (Jackson). This is another example of how we are the author of our lives. With the power to explore numerous links of hypertext, we can write various chapters of our lives by researching as we please. With the freedom granted by hypertext, the reader has control of what direction he will take his research. Furthermore, with this power at our fingertips, we must recognize that we must live with the consequences that ensue whether good or bad.
Some people may believe that it is impossible to be the sole author of your life due to the number of people that influence you on a daily basis. These people may believe that these interactions socialize the way we make choices. While I agree that we are influenced by other people as well as outside sources, I do not believe that they can be characterized as other authors of our lives. I believe that while we are influenced by others, we ultimately make our own choices; we are the sole author of our lives.
Several people marvel at the thought of having lots of power. They believe that with this power they can do anything. This is true. However, many of these people fail to recognize that with so much power comes lots of responsibility. As human beings, we are granted the right to do as we please, yet we must recognize that our actions can have severe consequences and we must deal with them accordingly. Being the author of our lives is no mere task; it can even be very frightening at times. However, being the sole author of our lives is very exciting as well. We know that if we are successful it was because we worked hard and deserved it. Being the sole author of our lives has its ups and downs; however, I believe that if we use this to our advantage we can be extremely successful human beings.
