Ambiguity In Frankenstein

The novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, details the dynamics within a relationship between man and monster. Yet both Victor Frankenstein and his Creation display aspects of each divisive role interchangeably, with neither the “man” nor the “monster” being decidedly more so one than the other. While such moral ambiguity within the two characters does not make for an exultant tale, it does create an effective mode for commentary regarding the imperfections of mankind as a whole. With said mode, Shelley—through the actions of both man and the Monster—depicts the superficiality in which society is often founded upon, and the dangers that are prevalent when powerful knowledge falls into the hands of those ill-fitted to possess it. However

without proper analyzation of the similarities between Frankenstein’s Creature and the progression of mankind as a whole, any revelations into Shelley’s commentary are null. Therefore, a comprehensive examination into such comparisons is also in order.
In order for one to effectively critique a quality of society through use of a fictional character, there must be core features of such character that are undeniably identifiable in the subject of critique. Undoubtedly, Shelley depicts The Creature’s progression in both knowledge and behavior in such a way that it parallels the advancements that mankind has undergone in the past two millennia. Take for example The Creatures first days of being, following his “birth.” Initially, the Monster describes his state of being as a period of profound “confusion and indistinction” (Shelley 70). The Creature, during this strenuous period of existence, is not asking why he is alive, who put him there, or any other philosophically intriguing interrogative. He has but one motivation: survival. In order to stay alive, his days consist of gathering food, searching for water, and finding sanctuary; the basic requisites for survival. This line of thinking should sound fairly familiar, as for hundreds of thousands of years, human lives consisted of such activities and rarely strayed from them. That is, until hunting and gathering was no longer the most efficient way of living. Approximately ten thousand years ago, humans transitioned from nomadic tribes to farming communities. This change in the human lifestyle is referred to as the “Neolithic Revolution.” As the human understanding of the world grew, groups of wandering persons discovered “how to cultivate crops and to domesticate animals,” and began living together in enlarged communities (“Hunter-Gatherers to Farmers”). According to History World, this was the single most important development in the history of human existence. Therefore, it is no coincidence that after “food became scarce” The Creature began contemplating joining a community of humans (Shelley 73). As his hunger grows and the cold climate begins taking its toll, The Creature stumbles upon a shepherds hut, approaches it, and immediately frightens its inhabitant to the point of panic. Alone in the hut, the Creature’s curiosity grows along with a fascination for its inhabitant who appeared nothing like himself. The sight of another intelligent being and his reaction to his presence was something new to the young The Creature. It awakened a sense of solitude in The Creature, only furthered by the senseless beating he received on his next futile attempt at ending his isolation (Shelley 74). The callous end to his short stay in the village exposes The Creature to—in his own words—the “barbarity of man” (Shelley 74). Nonetheless, a need for social interaction is awakened inside him, supported by his telling statement of how he “longed to join them, but dared not” (Shelley 77). This desire of companionship is not foreign to man, in fact it is essential to him. According to Abraham Maslow, “maladjustment and more severe Psychopathology could be traced to an unsatisfied need to belong” (Bassett, Lindley A.). A sense of belongingness is not only essential to the human sanity, but for survival as well. Whether it be the similarities in the evolution of their lifestyle, or physical and mental necessities, it is inarguable that both man and The Creature share an indicative commonality in existence, which allows Shelley to effectively comment on man through the Creature himself.
With an effective mode for commentary established, Shelley begins highlighting serious flaws in society. The first being the tendency of man to judge others solely upon their looks, while completely disregarding any redeeming character traits. The novel in its entirety is an anecdote of such trivial judgement, yet two specific events are particularly moving, and therefore effectual. The first being the abandonment of The Creature by his own creator. Victor Frankenstein dedicates the majority of his adulthood to creating life from death. He deprives himself from “rest and health” constantly in the hopes that he can turn his “dream” into a reality (Shelley 35). Yet upon the realization of his greatest fantasy, he is thrown into the midst of a nightmare—one in which he is unable to wake from. Frankenstein describes his creation of The Creature as a “breathless horror,” one in which he could not bear to cast an eye over (Shelley 35). Without regard for the wellbeing of his abysmal Creation, Victor runs from the room. From this single action based solely upon the uninviting appearance of Victor’s own oeuvre, a series of unforgiving tragedies—culminating in the death of Victor’s bride Elizabeth—are set into motion. Perhaps the most indignant of those effected is The Creature himself. His only transgression being Victor’s ineptness at forming an “attractive” being. The Creature anguishes his origins constantly throughout the novel, reflecting on his lack of a father to “watch [his] infant days” (Shelley 86). He goes further in lamenting his agonies when relating himself to Adam and Satan in the novel Paradise Lost:

But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history. It moved every feeling of wonder and awe that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own. Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature, but I was wretched, helpless, and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me. (Shelley 92)

By conveying the sorrows of such causeless alienation through The Creature—a seemingly un-relatable character—Shelley accomplishes a number of objectives. Firstly, it forces the reader to take a step back from the situation and view it without bias. If such a devastation happened to say, Victor, the reader would respond by belittling the situation through comparing it to a tragedy in their own life. However the use of The Monster does not allow for such comparisons. The core of the issue (scorn as a result of appearance to the point of hatred) is not unique to The Creature. However the severity of it is entirely so, as he is the only one of his kind, and does not have anyone to share his grief with. While this troubles The Creature greatly, the worst is yet to come. After months of secretly helping, observing, and studying his “protectors,” The Creature plans to make contact with them. He strategizes to do so by making first contact with the elderly De Lacey, as his blindness would allow The Creature to “gain the goodwill and mediation” of the aged man (Shelley 94). Simply the thought of anyone having to plan an introduction around a vision impairment (out of the fear that the response to one’s appearance could collapse a relationship entirely) is sickening. Yet The Creature elects to follow through with his plan. He manages a conversation with the elder De Lacey, and is assured of the redeeming qualities of men when the judgement of man is not blinded by “any obvious self-interest” (Shelley 95). Yet the first glance of a non-blind De Lacey towards The Monster dashes any hopes of companionship. The Creature is beaten repeatedly before he flees the cottage, drenched in sorrow and pain once more. However this act of cruelty is something entirely new to The Creature, and serves as a turning point in the novel. In the past, he had been beaten by strangers he bore no connection to. Yet in this case, The Creature had devoted himself entirely to the family, even helping with chores unbeknown to the De Lacey’s. This social rejection hurt entirely more than any pain previously experienced. He no longer seeks companionship among men, but the destruction of them. He vows to torture his creator on account of the hell Victor has placed him in. At this point, the prejudice towards The Creature’s appearance has destroyed all of the many redeeming qualities within himself. His intelligence, compassion, and usefulness are all ruled null on account of features he has no control over. While The Creatures situation is entirely unique to himself, the judgment of people based on looks is anything but unique. According to No Bullying, an organization dedicated to ending the act, “over 30,000 children stay home every day due to the fear of being bullied,” with the majority being afraid of attacks on their own appearance (“Video: Bullying Suicide Statistics”). Thousands of people on a daily basis avoid socializing out of fear of facing the same alienation that The Creature endured. And while the unfounded judgment of others is the most prominent critique of society found in Frankenstein, it is far from the only.
The next critique Shelley levels on society concerns the possession of unheralded knowledge.

With knowledge comes power, and those who possess it are not always capable of holding such influence. In order to delineate this, Shelley provides two characters with more knowledge than both would prefer to have. The first and most obvious case pertains to Victor Frankenstein and his creation of The Monster. Since the death of Victor’s mother, Victor’s focus is entirely centered upon the ability to bring life from death. While his reasoning to do so differs throughout the piece, it is clear that the power such an achievement would procure him is the main source of ambition: “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.” (Shelley 39). Such a statement coming from Victor—who until this point—claimed to be working for the betterment of man, is a serious red flag. By claiming at first to be working for the betterment of mankind, Victor is preempting his story with an excuse for his actions, leading one to assume that Victor knew what he was doing was wrong. Nonetheless, Victor succeeds in his quest for “…a new species…” (Shelley 39). However the ability to create life is something Victor is willfully unprepared for, as even he will attest: “When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time…” (Shelley 32). Victor should have listened to his own instinct, however he allows his hubris to dictate his forthcoming actions. He abandons his “new species,” and attempts to cleanse his mind from any thought of the horror he has created (Shelley 39). As previously stated, this lack of action towards his success proves disastrous for Victor, his family and loved ones, and above all, The Creature himself. The knowledge that Victor attains in itself is not dangerous, however the manner in which he proceeds upon is. Such an idea of “dangerous knowledge” is not new to man, and has been

recycled throughout literature countless times, warning man of the dangers power comes with. Take for example the story of Prometheus; the mythological Titan who gifted man with fire. Upon providing the humans with fire, Prometheus “incurred the wrath of the god Zeus,” who subsequently chained Prometheus to a rock, and allowed an eagle to feast upon him every day (“Prometheus”). This torture lasted until Hercules freed Prometheus and slayed the eagle, freeing him from constant suffering. It is no coincidence that the original title of Shelley’s classic novel was The Modern Prometheus. Man has long overstepped his bounds when concerning science, and have paid the price for doing so. By presenting Victor with an abundance of dangerous knowledge, and allowing his fall from grace, Shelley comments on the dangers of acting as a god. Victor’s entire life falls apart in front of his eyes due to his actions, yet he chooses to believe that he has been “cursed by destiny” rather than accept any responsibility (Shelley 49). Such ignorance of the gravity of his situation delineates once more Victors ineptitude and unpreparedness for such an ability. The next example of Shelley’s commentary comes from The Creatures knowledge of his existence, and the origins of it. The Creature verifies this, when he states “I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me: I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge.” (Shelley 85). Referring to his lack of “knowledge of my creation and creator….money, friends, property…” the ability to understand his situation is what ultimately dooms The Creatures life to depression and alienation. He constantly reflects on his utter isolation, which he understands is incompatible with happiness. One must ask, if The Creature lacked the consciousness and understanding of humans, and existed similarly to the way an animal does, would his reality be as torturous? While this commentary is philosophically perplexing, viewing it in its simplest form may be best; ignorance is bliss. Shelley argues that instead of innovating recklessly, and obtaining knowledge we are not fully prepared for, it is best for man to live in a state of blissful unknowingness. This may seem to go against human instinct, but which option is more benevolent? To understand the true unimportance and insignificance of a single life? Or to go on believing we are all special in our own way, and part of something much bigger than ourselves?
Through Shelley’s collation of both man and The Monster, she is able to effectively critique crucial flaws in society. While the novel was written in the early 1800’s, qualities of man which Shelley comments on are prevalent in both of the following centuries. Perhaps if society heeded the warnings Shelley cautioned of, the avoidance of reprehensible acts could have been avoided. The commonality in which humans inflict unnecessary pain on one another is sickening, and Shelley’s critiques of such actions preempt even the Declaration of Human Rights. And while unspeakable atrocities have already been committed, man as a species must work together to prevent the furthering of already unnecessary suffering. God cannot save society from itself, only man can. Society must not only take on the role of Prometheus, but Hercules as well and slay our own eagle of consequence.