The True Monster in Frankenstein

1764 Words4 Pages

What is a monster, really? Is it really a Creature that has three eyes instead of two, with pus seeping out of every crevice in his face and an abnormally large form? Or is it someone with a mind so corrupt it rivals that of Satan? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a story within a story that centers on the tale of a man with an immense thirst of knowledge and a fetish to imitate the Creator. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a lot like the Greek mythological tale of the Greek God, Prometheus, and his brother, Epimetheus, who were assigned the task of creating man. The story captivates the theme of monstrosity. Mary Shelley wrote the novel in a form so the reader’s opinions never stray far from sympathy for the monster and apathy for Victor Frankenstein. The novel looks at “Monstrosity” and “Humanity” in a deeply analytical way. Victor was born into a happy family and they lived in Geneva. His parents then adopted Elizabeth, whom he immediately felt a strong sense of possession towards. At a young age, Victor was always obsessed with alchemy and constantly divulged in experiments to prove the words of the mad men who wrote the ancient texts. When his mother died after her attempt to care for Elizabeth, Victor was sent to Ingolstadt where his interest swayed from alchemy to modern knowledge. In Ingolstadt, he became fascinated with the human body: “One of the phenomena which had peculiarly attracted [his] attention was the structure of the human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued with life” (36). Learning from his professor M. Krempe, he decided to delve into the discovery of “the secrets of heaven and earth” (23). Before the monster was created, monstrosity was showed through Victor. Although Victor claims he decided to create ... ... middle of paper ... ...as made of different people, so he had different personalities, and therefore could not be expected to act as a normal person. Upon his creation, he was left not receiving the protection and guidance he desperately needed. His feelings were the same as any other humans: grief, and distress, anger. But, instead of calmly diffusing his anger, he chose to destroy that which made his “enemy” happy. There was never a good reason to bring the dead to life, despite all of Victor’s claims. Because of his arrogance, and lack of a functioning human heart, he disregarded everyone’s opinions and advice and sought to do what was right for himself and not even attempting to protect his family, regardless of how he claimed he did. His incompetence cost his entire family’s life, but fortunately, saved that of Walton and his crew mates. So, at least, he did one good.

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