Irony

Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein"

 One of the main tools Shelley uses to bring  this story to life is irony.  She utilizes irony in a way to relate her characters who do not openly indicate their similarities.  In a general manner, Shelley begins the instituting of irony in the letters from Robert Walton to his sister.  She points the irony between the situations of Walton and the then unnamed Frankenstein and how their desire for knowledge has lead/is leading them down similar paths.  Though most of Shelley's irony is on a larger scale that continues to develop throughout the novel, she also uses it in small, but significant moments as well.  One such instance is when Victor Frankenstein is in the beginning stages of his creation process gathering materials.  The irony stems from the fact that he intends to create "life" from these dead materials.  "The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials" (Shelley, 33).  One example of the larger scale irony Shelley establishes is presented when the creation is sharing his story.  He describes his first experience with seeing fire (and subsequently burning himself) saying, "How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects" (Shelley, 72).  From this, the reader sees a sort of similarity between Frankenstein and his creation.  Frankenstein had good intentions when he created the "wretch," and he thought it strange when his creation turned out so terrifying.  Shelley's utilization of irony helps bind the characters' stories together in a way that points out the similarities of man/creation.