Sample Paper #2 Passion versus Obsession Throughout Frankenstein, we see many different psychological changes within Victor Frankenstein. Determination to succeed is what initiates the talents of both, passion is what keeps them going, however it is the extreme obsession that ends up hindering the both of them. Passion and obsession come hand in hand. One cannot have passion without obsession to be successful seeing as both are needed. However, madness is the ultimate determination of being obsessed and no longer passionate, which ruins the both of them in the end. Mania is a reoccurring theme within Frankenstein and the Black Swan, for both characters express extreme enthusiasm for their subjects in which they partake in. The madness of both characters starts from the very beginning, from being passionate about their subjects. Determination to create a monster is where the madness is founded for Victor, he wants to create life. Victor then becomes obsessed, spending months with his creation, isolating himself, and ultimately making himself ill with guilt and shame. Nina, the swan queen, is very similar in this aspect. She is a perfectionist and is determined to become the black swan. Frustrated by the need to shed her image of being perfect, but not being able to do so then becomes obsessed, creating a schizophrenic disorder, and hallucinating ideas and events which did not happen. Ultimately, the madness that both characters experience is what leads them to become failures, unable to become successful and in turn not longer passionate, but become endowed with obsession. The insanity begins with eagerness of the two characters. The more fully I entered into science, the more I pursued it for its own sake.... That application, which at first had been
a matter of duty and resolution, now became so ardent and eager that the stars often disappeared in the light of the morning while I was yet engaged in my laboratory. (Ch. 5) While Victor was so enticed to improve and create his work, no longer for just the fact of creating, but more for the impulsive need he felt to sustain his life, he started to lost track of who he really was. Victor absorbed the knowledge of anatomy with an obsession. Eagerness to learn more and more about anatomy to finally give life to an inanimate object was his goal in life. The same can be said about Nina as far as her eagerness to perform. Nina is a skillful ballerina who is always put on the backburner and is not a featured dancer as she would like to be. Her eagerness to be the Swan Queen drives her to great lengths to acquire her goal as the center piece, including ignoring her prude ways and seducing her instructor, drawing her into obsession as well. Obsessing over her injuries, she essentially tosses the pain aside to do what she needs to in order to successfully perform. The eagerness of the characters begins to differentiate their passion to their obsession, creating chaos within their lives. As their madness progresses, both characters become more absorbed in their passions, no longer being passionate, but now turning to obsession. Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours, but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves... so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation. (Ch. 6) Previously, Victor expressed that he was spending days on his creation. As those nights turn into days, and those days turn into changing seasons, all is ignored to pursue his monster, his creation of life. Victor ignores the illness that is progressing, and essentially isolates himself from friends and family to create his living being. As he took two years to accomplish his goal, I had deprived myself of rest and health. (Ch. 7) Victor had dedicated all of his time, consuming himself in his obsession to creating what he
thought was a human and ignoring all other needs. Isolation and deprivation leads Nina into her further obsession as well. As she pushes her family away from her, she practices for hours on end, enduring physical pain from practicing so hard to prove her worth. Not letting her former dancer of a mother help, and disregarding anyone that wants to be her friend, she has officially lost herself in her own mind. Her self- mutilation is her way of coping and her way of driving herself into insanity. Nina copes by scratching herself, hallucinating more injuries in the name of her ballet. Both characters have officially put themselves at a down fall, no longer being passionate, but now proving themselves to be insane. Obsession comes into full force at this point, where both characters start destroying themselves in their work. I had been the author of unalterable evil, and I lived in daily fear lest the monster whom I had created might perpetrate some new wickedness. I had an obscure feeling that all was not over... (Ch. 14) At this point, Victor has absorbed himself in the fear of the monster, in the utter guilt he created it, and the fear that it might hurt him. The obsession is no longer directed towards building the monster, but in utter fear that the monster might destroy him. Victor begins revolving his life around the monster, avoiding his home, keeping secrets about the monster, and feeling the guilt of leaving the monster to fend for himself. On the other hand, Nina starts to hallucinate due to her obsession with the play. She obsesses over a fellow performer taking her leading role, needing what the other performer has to offer. Along with her infatuation with her colleague, she mutilates her body and becomes paranoid that her position will be taken. Like Victor, Nina also lives in constant fear of her subject. Their strives for perfection have lead them into madness where either of them can no longer be successful.
Overall, the characters end up in the worst possible state due to their insanities. Victor Frankenstein has accepted his fate, death, and has accepted that the obsession towards his monster drove him to his insanity. Victor states, When I reflected on the work that I had completed, no less a one than the creation of a sensitive and rational animal, I could not rank myself with the herd of common projectors. But this feeling which supported me now serves only to plunge me lower in the dust. (Vol. II Ch. 18) Victor reflects upon his decision to create his monster and ultimately accepts that it has made him ill, he accepts that he is not this great creator which he thought he was. Insanity over his creation has added to his death, the passion for his creation was no longer, although his obsession still remained. Unlike Victor, Nina Sayers did not die from her obsession, in fact she ended up succeeding to get what she wanted. Although, one may argue that even though Nina succeeded to deliver a spectacular performance of the dark swan, the events that led up to her ultimate performance were not so sane. Nina experienced extreme hallucinations, which included stabbing and killing her colleague performer. Although her performance was perfect, her mental state is severely questionable since she did not entirely hallucinate this stabbing, but ended up stabbing herself, thus proving insanity is what lead her to her demise. Analyzing both characters psychological changes, we find that both of them were unstable, concluding that their obsession is what made them mad. Although Nina s outcome was severely different from Victor s, the both of them ended their passion for their subjects early within their careers. Passion and obsession are both needed to be successful, ultimately it is the madness that separates successfulness from failure. In order for one to succeed, the obsession must not overrule the passion, and there must be a balance between the both of the
characteristics. Without the obsessive drive, there would be no progression in successfulness, however too much obsession will lead one to fall into failure. Victor succeeded in creating a life and Nina succeeded in being the black swan, both of them drove themselves insane by trying to reach their goals, infatuating themselves with their subjects, they both failed and proved themselves to be insane in the end. Passion and obsession are both great qualities, in moderation, however, too much of the obsession will lead one to failure.