To what extent do you agree with the view that Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a total condemnation of transgression?

The novel was proclaimed to be a 'cautionary tale' against Enlightenment desires for knowledge, including the scientific pursuit of new technologies. Frankenstein's scientific endeavours transgress the boundaries of the human. In creating the Monster, Frankenstein subsumes the role of the woman in creating human life. In doing so, Frankenstein transgresses the boundaries of nature and the role of humanity's place in it. This transgression is reflected in the gruesome outcomes of Frankenstein's creation, both in the murder of his family and his demise into insanity- a psychological disintegration which Shelley contrasts with the pastoral life of his family, and idyllic and innocent psyche of Elizabeth- such a disintegration of the psyche reflects the enormity of his transgression, and peculiar nature of his scientific discovery. This is further evidenced throughout the novel through analogous descriptions of nature which foreshadow his fate. In this way, Frankenstein can be said to warn against the hubristic inclinations of man, with man's desire to penetrate nature and discover new technologies being presented as disrespectful, hubristic, and dangerous- an ignorant lack of understanding of the true nature of the world. However, through Frankenstein's transgression, the reader is humbled by the experience, learning of the true nature of man and creation. Through the Creature's introspective monologues, we rediscover some of the most intimate, vulnerable aspects of mankind. Although the transgression has gruesome results- the disintegration of his mental state, and the disruption of his idyllic family life- the novel explores the truth of what it is to be man and what it means to exist in nature through the eyes of the Creature. The Creature, rather than being purely 'evil', as would be expected in a purely cautionary tale, is eloquent, vulnerable, sensitive and deep thinking. It would appear that the result of Frankenstein's transgression, rather than creating something completely inhuman and extraterrestrial, has the effect of exposing to the reader the deep intricacies of human existence and nature itself. The Creature muses over what the nature of humanity is, what the essence of existence is, and the relationship between humanity and God. In this way, the Creature is a distorted version of the original Adam in Genesis story, an uncanny parallel to the creation myth. In this way, rather than totally condemning transgression, Shelley uses transgression to expose the realities of human existence, in its vulnerable, brutal, and unsettling nature. Indeed, this narrative has a parallel intertextually with 'Paradise Lost', a novel examining the nature of man as a result of original sin arising from Eve's transgression in the Garden of Eden. Shelley explores similar themes, and as a result, it may be suggested that transgression is inherent in the nature of man and is a resulting factor in the undeniable human suffering that permeates the novel. Indeed, although it may be argued that the novel is purely a cautionary tale, with gruesome images of transgression being contrasted with pastoral imagery, it is more likely that the pastoral lifestyle is not as idyllic as it appears on the surface, with the Creature being continuously treated unjustly by regular people, and injustice and unfairness permeating the lives of individual characters in the novel such as Justine. In this sense, transgression resulting in sin is a characteristic of all humankind and one which can't be avoided. Shelley warns against the hubristic tendencies of man in pursuing transgressive acts. However, it is not a total condemnation. Shelley understands that man is inherently transgressive, and explores this nature in the novel. Such a transgressive nature, like in the story of Eve's transgression, paradoxically produces both suffering and enlightenment in humanity.