View Catholic

In my previous post , I discussed the correlations between Sartre’s Atheistic Existentialism and Shakespeare’s Macbeth . In this post, I would like to explore some Sartrean conceits in Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel, Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus . Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley  The novel consists of a frame narrative, whereby one story enfolds another, which enfolds yet another story. The first narrator is Robert Walton who is sailing towards the “northern pole” (Shelley 20).   On his way, he encounters Victor Frankenstein whose sledge is carried to Walton’s ship via an ice fragment.   Frankenstein is carried onto the ship, and after becoming acquainted with the captain of the ship, he begins telling his story in hopes of deterring Walton from his ambitious pursuit of “knowledge” and “dominion,” which he desires to bestow upon humanity (Shelley 24).   Frankenstein comes from a well-to-do family in Geneva. His goal in life is to gain “glory...

Jean-Paul Sartre is an atheist philosopher who has recently been labeled as the “ Apostle of Absurdity ” in a series of articles called  “Pillars of Unbelief” by Peter Kreeft , a professor of Philosophy at Boston College.  In his articles, Kreeft outlines the dangerous impact of six modern thinkers on contemporary culture.  Sartre’s name qualifies to be in this list, and rightly so.    Sartre’s version of atheism is called Existentialism because it sees life as the outcome of choices made by each individual in accordance with his will.  Sartre goes a little further than most 19 th century atheists.  For atheists such as Marx, Nietzsche and Strauss, the concept of God has a looming presence somewhere in the background despite all efforts done to suppress it.  This is clearly manifested in the manner in which they conceptualize humanity.  Throughout their writings, human beings are endowed with a preset nature that leaves the reader p...