Essay Comparing Frankenstein And The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Serial killers are violent sociopaths with very dark, twisted views on human emotion and morals, but do they become monsters because of this lack of inhibitions and moral guidelines that they have or do they become monsters after committing heinous crimes such as a multitude of murders. In the 1818 horror novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Shelley illustrates that Victor Frankenstein's creation is a horribly grotesque abomination of nature with a corrupted mind due to the lack of parental figures and the act of being labeled an outcast of society and a monster, while in Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the protagonist Dorian Gray is a very suave, refined gentleman even though he is a pleasure seeking hedonist with a

lack of morals and conscience. Being that a monster like the one in Frankenstein cannot exist in our world a true monster would be someone that lacks empathy for fellow humans and acts upon their emotions by committing terrible sins such as a premeditated murder.

Oscar Wilde's idea of what makes a man a monster differs from Mary Shelley's because he focuses on a Dorian Gray’s actions and inner emotions compared to Shelley's focus on the outward appearances and the natural constitution of being inherently evil with Frankenstein’s monster. The idea of a monstrous being exists in many writings like The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein stems from the fact that it is not always a fantasy creature that is what is a monster but it is a human, an average citizen that finally snaps or hits a breaking point. It is the idea that anyone could have a monster contained in their emotions that makes this a terrifyingly interesting concept to

read.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, both Victor Frankenstein and his creation are presented as monsters in a way like foils to each other, while Victor creates the monster and decides not to nurture it, letting it go down a path of sin, the monster is responsible for the actions of murder that he has committed, in turn making him the true monster in Shelley’s eyes.

Frankenstein’s creation questions “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?”(Shelly 155). The creation is blaming his creator for making him into the monster that he is and turning away from him when he needed help, yet Victor did not create the monster for the express reason to commit sins, the monster was created with free will, just like every other human, yet the monster chose his path of murder and revenge. The creation’s reason for these sins is a societal rejection due to his horrific looks. The creation believes that if he is loved by a female so “The Monster’s proposed solution is for Frankenstein to create a bride for him who would reciprocate his love and thus render him benign”(Britton 7). The monster holds on to the idea that he is not inherently evil, but that he has just not received affection or care from someone. Frankenstein believes this to be untrue and that creating another monster would just release more chaos into the world. The monster continues to blame his evil deeds on his sadness saying “I am malicious because I am miserable”(Shelley 174). The monster

is trying to express that it is not his fault for his misbehavior, and that the responsibility for his actions lies at the fault of others. His thinking is much like a young child's in that nothing is ever his fault. It is this naivety that shows that Shelley believes that a monster is stemmed from the natural character of a person rather than the actions that they commit.
In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray becomes a monster due to the actions he committed and the inner emotions he had. Dorian believes that Lord Henry and his teachings of hedonism are what led him astray. Dorian believes that behind all of the evil was a book lent to him by Lord Henry saying “you poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to anyone. It does harm”(Wilde 242). The book was about hedonism, or the act of living solely for pleasure and nothing else, and is what Dorian thinks made him get wrapped up in his sin. Lord Henry thinks that this statement is ridiculous saying “as for being poisoned by a book, there is no such thing as that. Art has no influence upon action. It annihilates the desire to act. It is superbly sterile”(Wilde 241). Wilde is expressing his ideas through Lord Henry in this quote. He is saying that no book makes a man evil, and that evil does not stem from the influences of others but that it comes from one's own perspective on the things that happen to said person. No man is created inherently evil, but it is the actions that hey take that turns them from a man into a monster. After Dorian effectively throws his morals out the window, “Dorian's corruption is presented through material excess and his manipulation of Sybil”(Scholing 21). Scholing is saying that Dorian’s lust for monetary wealth and his search for great pleasure through manipulating Sybil Vane result in a corruption of Dorian’s soul leading to the painting turning into a truly evil being, representing his inside. Dorian thinks that if he destroys the painting that all will be well, and that he will destroy his past deeds essentially wiping the slate clean. Dorian stabs a dagger through the painting and ends up switching places with the painting and stabbing himself turning “withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage”(Wilde 249). Dorian’s life ended as a wretched, monstrous being because of his actions and sins committed, which in turn formed him into a monster.
Mary Shelley's idea of a monster focuses on the outward appearances and the natural constitution of being inherently evil with Frankenstein’s monster. Frankenstein’s creation was born evil and led a life of evil without feeling remorse for the horrific crimes he committed. On the other hand Oscar Wilde's idea of what makes a man a monster differs from Shelley's because he focuses on a Dorian Gray’s actions and inner emotions. Dorian Gray was not set upon a path of evil from birth, but he he was led down one by his own actions and his choosing to go down it. Dorian still holds on to a fraction of his humanity because of his feelings of remorse at the end which is unlike Frankenstein’s monster who dies with no remorse about his sins. Frankenstein’s monster acts as a catalyst for the story by listening to his evil nature and committing murder after murder as revenge for Victor leaving him after his creation. The creation acts as a representation for what humans have inside of them. He acts as a representation of emotions that haven’t been controlled. Dorian Gray is the protagonist and tries to just get pure enjoyment out of life, but ends up falling down a path of sin. He acts as show of what people could become if they let go of their inhibitors and morals. These ideas of monsters not only give us an entertaining story to read, but also act as a warning to people and how easily it is to become a monster. The monsters in both Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray are not too far off from being humans, whether it be their looks or lack of morals. These monsters show us the dark side of humanity and a monster may not be all that different from an average person. True monstrosity is not having morals to follow and not treating your fellow man as your neighbor.