To embrace and raise his five children and marry his mistress would be a contradiction of his theory which rejected all social obligations; so, instead of sacrificing his potential for glory, Rousseau sacrificed his own children. Similarly, Frankenstein's monster was a product of his ambitious pursuit for glory. "Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame and render a man invulnerable to any but a violent death!" (p40) .
In placing the prospect of glory above resulting wealth for his discovery, Frankenstein is presented as a product of his society. However, unlike Rousseau's happily lived existence, absent of consequence or judgement of his irresponsible actions, Frankenstein is subsequently punished for ambitious pursuits. Frankenstein's wife, brother, friend, and father die by the hands of his creation. Therefore, because the monster is a product of Frankenstein's pursuit for glory, Frankenstein is seen to be condemned to misery as a consequence of his blind ambitions. Shelly, in presenting Frankenstein as a product of his social and historical context, is able to explore the consequences thereof.
Shelley creates Frankenstein as a product of the pursuit for greatness in order to portray the consequences of a patriarchal society. The lives of both Rousseau and Frankenstein are reflective of the concept that greatness requires self-centredness. Even after the death of his brother William, friend Justine and lifetime companion Clerval, he remains so entirely fixated on himself that he cannot even comprehend the possibility that the monster would not target him when given the threat: "I shall be with you on your wedding-night." (p163). Just as Rousseau remained unmoved by the impact his selfish ambitions had on his mistress and their children, Frankenstein proved knowledgeable only to how his creation would affect himself, not those less deserving of such violent repercussions.
