In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, the parent-child relationships introduced are surprisingly central to the way the novel unfolds. Through each literal and metaphorical pair, the path the child takes is directly related to the quality of parenting. Elizabeth and Victor have very virtuous parents and, as a result, live very positive and fulfilling lives. Likewise, Henry acts as a caring parent to Victor and takes care of him, keeping him away from death. However, Frankenstein's monster receives no basic parenting from his creator, which leads to tension and unrest. Justine bridges the gap between kind, loving parenting and cruel, neglectful parenting by being under the care of the Frankensteins and her biological mother. Through her and the other characters in the novel, it becomes clear that the love and care of the parental role is so important to the well-being of their children that the lack of it can have deleterious consequences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Elizabeth receives excellent care from Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein and lives well throughout her young life. When Caroline first notices Elizabeth in the home of a peasant family, she feels an obligation to take her under her tutelage and raise her like a Frankenstein. Elizabeth is soon adopted and starts her life again. Everyone is very “fond of the sweet orphan” (17) as her place in the family is solidified. She constantly receives the utmost care from those around her. This becomes extremely clear when Elizabeth contracts scarlet fever. Although warned, Carolina “attends her bedside… Elizabeth was saved, but the consequences of this imprudence were fatal” (23). Every action the Frankensteins take improves Elizabeth's quality of life. They take her out of “poverty and want” (17) and offer her a prosperous future. Caroline even sacrifices her own safety and ultimately her life to ensure Elizabeth's well-being for the duration of her illness. Thanks to the love and care of her adoptive parents, Elizabeth achieves a life that would normally be out of reach. Likewise, Alphonse and Caroline raise Victor extremely well. Being the first son of Frankenstein, Victor receives generous warmth from his parents. They "seem to draw inexhaustible reserves of affection from a mine of love to give them to [him]" (16). Furthermore, “[his] mother's tender caresses and [his] father's smile of benevolent pleasure as she looked at him” (16) are his first memories of them, meaning that their affection was continually present. As he grew older, his parents noticed his enthusiasm for science and encouraged him to become a student at Ingolstadt University to pursue his interests. His parents care about his well-being and guide him towards his passions. They always want what's best for him. Recounting his childhood as an adult, he boasts that “no human being could have had a happier childhood than I did” (19). As a result of the positive parenting that Alphonse and Caroline establish towards their son, Victor is able to live a happy childhood and grow up to study a subject that is truly fascinating to him. He doesn't live a controlled life, but rather the life he wants. Additionally, Henry Clerval acts as a parental figure when he nurses Victor back to health after creating the monster. Soon after realizing the horrible atrocity he commits by building the monster, Victor becomes ill with stress and nervousness. The mere thought of the monster disgusts him. Victor is bedridden for several months during which Henry remainsby his side and takes care of him. Henry sacrifices a lot of time to ensure Victor's health. “Instead of being spent in study… [it is] consumed in [Victor's] sick room” (39). Even after Victor recovers, Henry continues to act as a parental figure guiding Victor in his subsequent actions; He encourages Victor to write to his family and assure them of his health. This shows that Henry truly cares about Victor's well-being and that of his family. Henry's actions, through loving and caring for Victor as a friend, potentially save Victor's life and set him in the right direction towards normalizing his situation and connecting with his family. Without Henry, Victor is defenseless. Justine, on the other hand, lives under both positive and negative parenting, with antithetical feelings. Justine originally resides with her mother and three siblings before Caroline decides to take her in due to her poor treatment. Living with the Frankensteins, Justine receives a much better home environment and is cared for by those around her. Although she is a servant of the Frankensteins, Justine is educated because Caroline "conceives a great attachment to her" (41). She is loved and comes to appreciate this new life much more than the one she lived with her biological mother. Later, Justine's three brothers die and she is called home by her mother. The very idea of ​​returning to the woman who treats her so badly makes her cry as she leaves the Frankenstein residence. She comes to prefer the care the Frankensteins give her much more than that of her mother. Although her mother tries to gain forgiveness, she begins to blame Justine for her brothers' deaths and continues to treat her poorly. Living under her birth mother, Justine seems completely devoid of love or compassion. Eventually, her mother dies and she returns to her position as a servant. The Frankensteins offer her an optimistic and fulfilling life while her mother opposes her. Although no extreme negative consequences arise from her mother's parenting quality, Justine lives in an oppressive and unhealthy environment, hindered from her full potential. Living with positive parenting proves to be more beneficial to his well-being. Victor's relationship with his monster acts as the epitome of bad parenting that leads to serious negative consequences. While at university, Victor embarks on his quest to reanimate a human corpse. It builds the body by combining parts of the deceased and breathes life into it. Although Victor is the creature's creator and metaphorical parent, he is disgusted by his work. Just the sight of the monster makes him sick, forcing him to simply run away. Once Victor returns to his apartment, the monster is gone and he feels relieved that his problems are gone. Unfortunately, his mistakes as a creator lead to imminent consequences. At the metaphorical birth of the monster, he is abandoned. Victor fails to positively recognize his creation and leaves him to fend for himself. The monster later explains that he was very confused and scared at the time due to his lack of understanding of his body and environment. As the monster's creator, it is Victor's responsibility to take care of him. Failing to do so, the monster acts solely on what it knows about the world, which isn't much at all. As a result, the monster learns from his negative experiences and is instilled with anger. He doesn't face the feelings of pain, he fights them. The poor parenting shown by Victor at the beginning of the creature leads to future consequences as basic ideas such as love and compassion are not taught. Later, the monster learns language and begins to understand its environment. He realizes that people are disgusted by his appearance and swears.