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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Limits of Life and Death:
In Chapter 4, Victor uses a metaphor of light to describe his reaction after discovering the secret to life:
Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.
Victor’s scientific ambitions have become so extreme that he now sees himself as a God, all-powerful and able to manipulate life and death. Victor, believing he has conquered nature, even envisions going on to create a new version of man. Dreaming of this possibility, Victor imagines pouring a "torrent of light" into the “dark world,” a metaphor that represents the infusion of knowledge into a world characterized by the "darkness" of ignorance. Victor assumes his discoveries will be a gift to human society, and more importantly he is concerned about what they will do for his status among those creatures indebted to him for his role in creating them. Through the events of the novel, Shelley offers a cautionary tale, a moral warning on the dangers of heedless ambition.
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