What is most significant in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein poses
existential questions about the identity of man, his relationship with God, his role in
the natural world, and the roles of language and
morality.

Identity: Who are
we?  What makes us human, God-like, and monstrous?  Who are our allegiances to: our
parents, God, or ourselves?

Relationship to
God: Are we born into sin?  Has God abandoned us?  Can we ever really
know our Heavenly Father?  Should doctors and scientists play
God?

Nature: Is nature
knowable, insensate, or evil?  Can we use it for the betterment of mankind?  Should
doctors and scientists tamper with nature?  Is nature at our disposal, or should we
protect it for the
future?

Language: Is language
acquisition the key to separating us from monsters?  Does it lead us to knowledge or
destruction?  Is it better to express our pain with words or suffer
silently?

Morality: Is
personal revenge wrong?  What mistakes lead to tragedy?  Are we bound to extending life
by any means necessary, or should we let nature run its course?