Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Mary Shelley’s Frakenstein are two authoritative pieces of literature that are deserving analyzing. This essay will discourse the thoughts and constructs of parenting in both books. While some features are shared between the two. there are besides differences. The specific subjects to be discussed are what makes a good parent. what parents owe their kids. and what kids owe their parents. The general attack will be to place illustrations of good and bad parents and kids and find what makes them so.
What makes a good parent? Before we can place which parents are good or bad. we must do a differentiation between the two. Good parents are portrayed as being sympathetic to their kids. supplying both material and emotional support. and listening to their kids. Bad parents. nevertheless. are 1s who do non run into these guidelines.
To find what the writers considered makes a good parent. the illustrations of parents in the texts must be examined. There are multiple illustrations of parents in Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein’s parents. Alphonse and Caroline. are the most evident instance of natural parents. Many argue that Victor is the parent of the animal. although the animal was non born of natural agencies. For our intents this paper. Victor will be considered the creature’s parent since he brought the animal into being. and the animal acts human in about all facets. Shelley has other illustrations of parents including Henry Clerval’s male parent and the provincial. De Lacey.
The chief illustrations of rearing in Pride and Prejudice are Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Their presence in the novel allows for extended remarks on their parenting accomplishments. There are besides several illustrations of relationships that are similar to parent-child relationships such as that between Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. It can besides be said that Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were at times like parents to the Bennet girls. However. the focal point will be on Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.
What do parents owe their kids? As portion of being a good parent. there are some things that parents owe their kids. While this issue is non mentioned in the books. civilization demands certain basic. material commissariats from parents such as nutrient and shelter. There are merely two parents that fail to run into these minimum demands. First is Victor Frankenstein. After he brings the animal to life. he abandons it and ne’er provides any nutrient nor lodging for his creative activity. It is really astonishing that the animal survives at all. The other parent who doesn’t provide material aid is De Lacey. While we can presume he used to provide those comfortss. he now relies on his kids to back up the place.
However. the writers seem to set up their ain sentiments about what parents owe their kids. In Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Bennet is non considered to be a good parent because he was excessively inactive. When he could hold offered helpful advice. he buried himself in his survey. He owed it to his girls to play an active function in their lives and supply counsel. Mrs. Bennet was at the opposite terminal of the spectrum. She was excessively involved in her children’s lives and didn’t let them to develop their independency.
Can the outlook of active engagement be applied to Frankenstein? Alphonse was still really interested in maintaining in touch with his boy. even during college. Victor Frankenstein was barely involved the creature’s life at all. Clerval’s father played an active function in his life ; his male parent offered his sentiment on higher instruction but besides allowed Clerval to do his ain determinations. De Lacey is non seen as a supplier of much counsel. per Se. but he does play an active function in the lives of his kids and attempts to hearten them up when necessary. It seems that Shelley agrees with Austen about parents’ engagement with their kids.
What do kids owe their parents? To find what the writers believed kids owe their parents. we can look at the “good” and “bad” kids in the texts and see what they gave their parents. Jane and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice are perceived as good kids. as are Clerval. Elizabeth. De Lacey’s offspring. Felix and Agatha from Frankenstein. Examples of bad kids include Victor Frankenstein and his animal from Frankenstein and Lydia from Pride and Prejudice.
What did the bad kids do that made them meriting of that name? Frankenstein is non a atrocious kid. but he does hold some weaknesss. His chief defect in regard to his parents is that after he leaves place and starts his work. he wholly ignores his household. The animal may be exempt from being considered a bad kid ; he barely has any existent relationship with Frankenstein. He could barely be expected maintain in touch with his Godhead. who would wish to ne’er see him once more. But at a fundamental degree. the creature’s procedure of slaying the people who surround Victor is no manner to handle your male parent.
In Pride and Prejudice. the lone kid who does something significantly bad is Lydia. who elopes with Wickham. While it’s improbable she aimed to ache her parents or her household. she did that every bit good. While Darcy succeeds in unbending it out. Lydia risked conveying shame to her whole household.
Now. let’s expression at the good kids. In Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is a all right illustration. How does she handle her parents? She seeks her male parent for advice and goes along with her mother’s many wants. While she does hold sentiments of her ain. she accommodates her parents wherever sensible.
Elizabeth from Frankenstein is besides an illustration of a good kid. While the Frankensteins adopted her. their relationship is every bit close as that of natural parents. When Elizabeth contracts scarlet febrility. her female parent Caroline takes attention of her. As Elizabeth recovers. her female parent contracts the disease. Elizabeth is noted for how devoted she is in taking attention of her female parent.
Elizabeth is non the merely good kid in Frankenstein ; Felix and Agatha are model kids to their male parent. De Lacey. Unlike the other kids in the texts. these two take attention of their male parent since he is limited in what he can make.
Jane Austen and Mary Shelley decidedly had remarks on rearing. There is grounds in both books. While some features are shared between the two. there are besides several differences. It seems that a good parent-child relationship involves committedness. active engagement. and regard. Parents that do non supply these. such as Victor Frankenstein. are considered bad parents. A similar demand exists for kids. The effects in the novels vary ; while the worst hazard in Pride and Prejudice is societal shame. the hapless parenting in Frankenstein consequences in multiple slayings. Other differences lie in what the novels do non state ; while Shelley introduces the construct of kids taking attention of aging parents. Austen ne’er touches the topic. While Frankenstein and Pride and Prejudice were both published in the early 1800s. most would hold that their commentary on parenting is still rather relevant.
