The Trial of Dr. Frankenstein & His 'Monster'

Cover of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or originally The Modern Prometheus, republished by Dover Thrift

The Prosecution of Dr. Frankenstein

Good morning , Your Honor , ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, the remaining family of the victims of these brutish crimes of Mr Frankenstein, and all those other parties that are in some way involved in this case. In this statement, I intend to lay before you the reasoning the state has in prosecuting Dr. Frankenstein for Manslaughter through negligence, I intend to explain how Dr. Frankenstein knowingly and with malicious intent set lose a creature that would have no way of establishing a moral compass, thus leading to the deaths of Dr. Frankenstein’s Wife Elizabeth, his Father’s death, his youngest Brother’s murder, the murder of Henry Clerval, and the illegal excavation of graves in order to feed his narcissistic and obsessive pursuits. By Dr. Frankenstein’s complete disregard of any moral and ethical compass he has directly led to the murder of his closest friends and family. 

His obsession was not only a menace to the whole of humanity but in fact turned to be something that would later come to menace himself and people who he held dear. Be wary to not be swayed by the eloquence and education of Mr. Frankenstein and his defense, while it is clear that he is a fiercely intelligent man, it is even clearer that he is a morally depraved person who does not deserve to be a part of society. Dr. Frankenstein has previously stated of his creation that "Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”, showing us as fair minded justice loving people that this man was well aware of the consequences of releasing such a beast as he did onto the general populace. Frankenstein also showed great malice in his creation and the obsessive efforts to play god and surpass what any human should morally and ethically do. 

Regardless as to whether his creation would have led to the murders of the innocent, as we are well aware that it has, his creation would be enough to sequester this deeply depraved man from society. Another example of the malice that we see in the creation of his creature Frankenstein states to “"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.". Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, the simple fact is, if this man believes him to be the murderer of his brother, his wife, and his best friend, who are we to say that he isn’t?

This man, according to his own machinations, is a guilty man, who completely deserves the treatment of a criminal. Despite never plunging a knife or snapping a neck, Victor Frankenstein has demonstrated through his actions criminal intent and criminal neglect of a deadly thing, and is fully responsible for the deaths of all of the victims of his creature. Any other argument that attempts to persuade you in another direction is apologia for his crimes and cannot be trusted. Dr. Frankenstein has clearly been demonstrated to be a dangerous and unstable man, his unusual obsession with playing god, was one that resulted in a breach of the ethical code of Natural Philosophers alongside the breaking of the social contract that all good citizens of our country adhere to. I plead with you, members of the jury, to convict this man and show him no mercy. 

The Defence of Frankenstein’s Unnamed ‘Monster’

Good morning your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, and parties involved in this case. Today, I am here to bring forward a case that is unlike any other in the history of criminal law, in this country and all others. The victim of a cruel and unusual scientific experiment of a narcissistic mad scientist is now standing trial for actions that he took in a vain attempt to understand his existence. An action, that while resulting from his deformities and lack of clear ties to humanity, inextricably links him closer to the heart of humanity. 

Firstly, I would like to say that the defense in no way contradicts the fact that my client did commit acts, that if a normal human being had committed them, would be heinous, and would be clearly demonstrative of the fact that this is a person that should not be included in society. However, it is clear to the defense, as it should be to any logical person, that my client has already been excluded from society, even isolated by his own creator, and was thrown into the world deformed, and without any moral compass. 

As of course, all of us are. Instead of being taught the morality and guiding principles of humanity that most of us good people are at a young age, which my client still is of course, an incredibly young thing, only having reached no more then ten years of age by the date of this trial. It is my duty, to justice, and to what is morally correct, to demonstrate to you, the jury, that my client cannot be defined guilty in the same way that an adult, who was educated in the ways of humanity, can be, this is because my client was abandoned by all of society, even those who if my client wasn’t deformed, would be considered his parents. 

In fact, I will argue that despite my client having all the reasons to hate humanity, his beginning life in a morally virtuous state demonstrates a great fortitude of what is morally righteous character. My client has demonstrated this morally correct attitude in many ways, whether it be protecting those cottagers that he stumbled upon during his younger years, or many other examples, he is clearly not a morally corrupt person. 

In fact, we can see this demonstrated by my client’s words himself to his unloving creator “I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine”, here, we see someone who is deeply isolated from all that can be considered morally right still attempting to reach out and make peace with the world. This not only demonstrates a great amount of moral complexity it also demonstrates that my client is clearly greatly more mature then a human counterpart of his age, him only having attained the age of a small child by the utterance of this quote. This despite the fact that he was left stranded in a cold, cruel world, one which could not accept his deformities in any way, and a world where all would either attempt to kill him or shriek and run away in terror from his form.

I ask you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what would you do, if when born, when you knew absolutely nothing of the world, everything living and human seemed to be inexorably against you and attempted to attack you? 

I know for certain that I wouldn’t have a favorable view of humans, yet, my client did. My client continued to sympathize with and help the lives of people who he thought were his protectors, and yearned for nothing more but the acceptance of his deformities by some loving people. 

But even these people, seemingly kind and loving, rejected him. What was he supposed to think? How was he supposed to feel? I would argue that this man deserves our sympathy and condolences, not our condemnation. 

I argue that this man deserves to be a respected member of our community, not a shunned monster. My client, a good man, demonstrates his attitude to life and everything in this quote “Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.". As all men would, and all men should. I sincerely hope that you consider his words and circumstances when judging your fellow man, and thank you in advance for your verdicts, whatever it may be.