Similarities and Differences of Paradise Lost and Frankenstein

Between the two novels, Paradise Lost and Frankenstein, there are many striking similarities. What makes these two books so wonderful to read is the author’s ability to write about the ultimate struggle; the struggle between God and Satan, or Good and Evil. The characters in Paradise Lost and in Frankenstein seem to be very similar to one another. God and Victor Frankenstein have many similarities. One of their similarities is that they are both creators of new life. The monster, Victor’s creation, also shows remarkable similarities, but not with God. The monster shows similarities with Satan and Adam. At first these characters seem very plain and tasteless, but as the stories go on and the characters become deeper beings, the interest in them quickly picks up.

As creators of another creature, God and Victor Frankenstein are very similar to one another, but at the same time, they also have their differences. In Frankenstein, Victor’s childhood appears to be the ultimate reality. Victor’s family is one of the most distinguished families in his birth town of Genevese. Victor’s parents are kind, and Victor has many friends that surround him. The pleasantness of Victor’s childhood is much like how Milton portrays the Garden of Eden before Satan enters. Both settings are pure, happy, and filled with love. While the beginning settings of both of these novels are similar, the characters themselves are also a lot alike. Paradise Lost and Frankenstein are both stories of creators, and their creations. In Frankenstein, Victor is the creator of what is known as “the monster”. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, God is the

all-mighty creator of Satan, Adam, and Eve.

Unlike God though, Victor has a choice to become God-like. Victor holds the power to create just as God does, but Victor’s power is only present through science. By choosing science, Victor Frankenstein seems to become God. Victor gives existence to something that was once inexistent, which gives him a God complex. Even though Victor is considered a creator just like God, Victor almost seems to be a grim God or a “fallen God”. Victor can be considered a fallen God because he does not care for or watch over his creation like the God in Paradise Lost does. The relationship between creator and creation differ between the two novels as well. In Mary Shelly’s novel, Victor and the monster have physical interactions with each other, while no matter what kind of exchanges Milton’s God and Satan have; God will always win in the end.

“Devil” is the initial word Victor speaks to his creation. By calling his creation “devil”, it seems as if Victor permanently assigns his creation an identity with no chance to change it. This word does indeed seem to portray the monster’s fate. The monster sickens every person who meets him. In revenge to their rejection of him, the monster destructs characters around him. This causes people to see him as a devilish being. In Frankenstein, the monster is forced into evil by man’s unkindness toward him. It is different in Paradise Lost though. Satan is ruined by his rejection to worship God. The monster had no choice but to become evil, where Satan did. In the end though they are both deemed horrible creatures.

Many times the story of Paradise Lost is referred to in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. By bringing both stories together it seems to help intermix the characters. What makes Satan and the monster so much alike though is when the monster says, “Evil thenceforth will be my good.” Satan said something incredibly similar to this in Paradise Lost!

A slight difference in these two amazing novels is that in Paradise Lost, Adam and Satan were two very separate characters, but in Frankenstein they seem to be one in the same within the monster. In Milton’s poem Satan was purely evil and Adam was quite sinless. Mary Shelly seems to have the monster mutate from one to the other. She does this by having the monster start out pure and sinless, but because of such rejection from other characters he turns to evil. By turning evil, the monster is mutating into a Satan-like character. Just as Satan and Adam both fall from God’s grace, the monster appears to fall from the grace of his God and his creator as well, Victor. Because the stories are so similar, it’s almost as if the monster is living the epic poem Paradise Lost!

In both novels the reader is able to feel sorrow for the evil beings. The reader almost feels compassion for the beings suffering. Is this because we, as people, better relate to sin? It seems that the reader wants to side with evil because even when our key examples, Adam and Eve, seem faultless, they can’t refuse to into a life of sin. Through this, the reader feels sympathy for someone or something that is an outcast. Outcasts of these two stories are Adam and Eve to God, Satan to God, and the monster to Victor. We, as readers, also begin to see the unfairness of our society today.

While most of Frankenstein resembles God and Satan or Gad and Adam, Eve is not forgotten. Eve is just less noticeable. Mary Shelly did this on purpose. All of Mary Shelly’s “good verses bad” relationships seem superficially masculinized. By making Frankenstein more masculine, Mary Shelly is pulling away from Milton’s idea of Eve and his female illustration that the fall was due to a woman.

Whenever Paradise Lost is mentioned in Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein, Eve is always left out. Eve is never mentioned. The absence of the “Eve” character is seen when the monster asks Victor for a female companion. The monster speaks of Adam and the “fallen angel”, but he never seems to refer to Eve. Even though Eve isn’t mentioned in Mary Shelly’s novel, there is a feminine aspect present. The females just aren’t “bold” characters. This is because they aren’t the cause of any of Victor’s problems, unlike in Paradise Lost where Eve was the main cause of the problems. In Paradise Lost Adam Fell because of Eve’s wrong doings. The total opposite is the cause the fall in Frankenstein. The monster was lonely and without a female companion, and that’s why he did wrongful things. Not having a companion is what caused the monster’s fall.

Looking deep within the character Victor, he seems to possess Eve-like characteristics just as he possesses God-like characteristics. The characteristics of Eve within Victor just are as powerful. Victor’s problems begin to occur when he starts pondering about the root of life. This is much like when Eve begins to wonder about the tree she is not supposed to eat from. The root of life can practically be considered the tree of knowledge. They are one in the same. It is off limits and is not supposed to be known. They both go after the untouchable with leads them toward their fall.

The two novels, Paradise Lost and Frankenstein are very different in time periods, but are very much alike in personalities of characters. Besides the obvious points in Frankenstein when Mary Shelly refers to Paradise Lost, many of her characters seem to reflect Milton’s. God and Frankenstein are very much alike because they are both creators of unfit beings. The monster and Satan are similar on the relation that both beings are rejected creations. By having both novels entwined with one another, this shows society that if you look deep enough, you can see similarities between many things you wouldn’t expect. Mary Shelly has done a fascinating job on modifying Paradise Lost and fitting it into a lasting narrative of fallen men who play profane roles.