Examples Of Dehumanization In Frankenstein

In the 1818 text of Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, various forms of human exploitation and oppression lead to the dehumanization of two major characters in the novel: the creature which Victor Frankenstein brings to life, and Victor himself. The creature is deemed an outcast just by his very existence. Victor oppresses his creation solely based on the creature’s grotesque features. Although the creature shares qualities, feelings, and emotions that categorize him as a human, Victor’s oppressive behavior and rejection of the his creation immediately lead to the creature’s dehumanization. Victor is driven by human exploitation, and treads on the laws of nature as he successfully attempts to cheat death and create an artificial being.

In the beginning of the novel, Victor shares with Captain Walton that “I have lost everything and cannot begin life anew.” Throughout the novel, Vitor’s work slowly takes over more of his life, so much so that by the end of the novel his only desire is to kill the being which he created. Victor’s oppression of himself begins with the rejection of creation, which he is immediately rejects due to the creature’s inhuman appearance. Victor states: “I was seized by remorse… to a hell of intense tortures…deep, dark, deathlike solitude. I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer.” The use of words like “tortured” and “seized”, only further suggest that Victor’s own creation completely took over over his life, to the point that he began to hide himself away from the world for fear of humiliation and shame. Harsh words like “deep, dark” and “deathlike” also serve as evidence for Victor’s mental collapse. In reality, there is no true purpose to Victor’s creation, other than to achieve glory and status in the scientific world. Therefore, the unnatural being which he constructs can be deemed unnecessary and danger to society. Victor has blatantly defied the natural order of the world, and in the end his creation also serves as a danger to society when to creature

Although the immediate rejection of the creature serves as the basis for his dehumanization process, the creature’s alienation from society is confirmed when it is constantly referred to by the pronoun “it”, and called “monster” and “wretch” by his creator. These words immediately marks the creature as inhuman. In truth, the creature is rejected by his creator for no other reason that his unnatural features, which causes the creature to become void of any real human emotions from another human being. Because of this, the creature begins to learn on his own, and like Victor finds solace in nature. For the monster, nature is his only place of acceptance. Because of his grotesque outward appearance, he is shunned by towns and villages and must escape to the mountains for protection. Nature serves to humanize him. While the cold temperatures of the Alps serve Victor as solace, the monster finds comfort in the forest during spring. The creature states: “Half surprised by the novelty of these sensations, I allowed myself to be borne away by them; and, forgetting my solitude and deformity, dared to be happy.” In nature, the creature begins to educate himself; one crucial turning point for the monster’s pursuit of new knowledge is when he finds the book “Paradise Lost” while in the forest. The monster compares himself to that of Adam and Eve and