Faust and Frankenstein Still the miserable fools they were before Goethe in Faust and Shelley in Frankenstein, they wrap their stories around two men whose mental and physical actions are parallel. Both stories deal with characters who strive to be the Bermensch in their world. In Faust, the struggling man, Faust, seeks physical and mental integrity in knowledge and disaster in lust. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein struggles for control over an aspect of nature, and disastrously, through the monster, nature controls him to a much greater extent. Many powers are too powerful for mortal souls, a lesson Frankenstein and Faust learn at the end of their tales. Despite voluntarily excommunicating themselves from society, both characters achieve part of their goal and yet remain unhappy because they are never able to control the "perfect" life they have built for themselves. In Faust, the intelligent gentleman Faust, seeks spiritual completeness in knowledge. Through years of hard study, Faust gains knowledge in mathematics, science, and religion, yet becomes inept and incapable of having romantic or physical relationships with the outside world. As Faust strives to become a "superman" through knowledge, he realizes that books will not satisfy his curiosity and that perhaps sensual pleasures will. Therefore, in the process of creating his new life, Faust becomes distant and indifferent to all reality and humanity around him. Don't imagine anything right, don't imagine that I can teach or affirm what would improve humanity or what could convert it. Furthermore, I have neither money nor treasures, nor worldly honors nor earthly pleasures; no dog would want to live like this! (p. 95) Obviously, Faust has fallen into an inhuman state of life, through the pursuit of the unattainable. He becomes greedy, desperate and feels justified in whatever it takes to achieve a position of superiority. At the time, Christians and society at large viewed his pursuit of lust as immoral, unjust, and irresponsible. When Faust sets his sights on an object, be it knowledge or women, he demands of himself nothing less than what he will get. In many situations dedication to an act is respectable; education, sports, career. It seems then that to become a bermensch and pursue excellence, one must remain devoted to one's goal and reject the world around him. In the process of creating his monster, Victor Frankenstein ignores the outside world; The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a beautiful season; never did the fields yield a more abundant harvest, nor did the vines yield a more luxuriant year: but my eyes were insensitive to the enchantments of nature. And the same feelings that made me neglect the scenes around me also made me forget those friends who were so many miles away... (p.53) Frankenstein is so caught up in his curiosity about creation, that he completely ignores the external world. Therefore, Faust and Frankenstein's desire to create leads them to withdraw from society. Faust desires to create love and possess a woman, so that he can feel all that the world has to offer. Frankenstein desires to create life and become a mother figure that replaces any other emotions or needs. Although the characters have different desires, their actions and thoughts are similar. Even after succeeding in creating what they wanted for themselves, Faust and Frankenstein remain unhappy. This unhappiness causes Faust and Frankenstein to commit far more evil acts than ever before. In this unhappiness, Faust's emotions become irrational and immoral towards Gretchen and Frankenstein ignores