Finding Virtue in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Finding Virtue in Frankenstein

Virtue is found at the margins of society more often than at its center. In Frankenstein, the novel by Mary Shelley, the monster exemplifies virtue to a greater extent than his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Shelley's creature is an isolate of great sensitivity, kindness, and insight. Contrary to James Whale's 1931 film, Frankenstein, which portrays the creature as a lumbering dolt, Shelley's monster was modeled on Rousseau's notion of humanity as the "noble savage". The nobility of the creature is evident as encounters a simple French family and observes and draws form the quirks of humanity.

A naturalist, the Monster responded to nature with appreciation and joy. With the eye of a scientist, he gradually differentiated one object from another. He observed, experimented and made use of the benefits of the created order. This contemplative naturalist distinguished the call of each bird species and attempted to imitate their song, despite his rough voice. Similar to a newborn adapting to the jolt of being, he painfully adjusted to harsh light and sound, quickly learning the lesson that perception and consciousness hurt. Shying away from the glare of sunlight, the Monster was cradled by the moon's subtle radiance. The moon provided an omnipresent companion, and a source of spiritual awe. Loneliness insisted that he personify the moon as a special sponsor, but the moon's accompaniment was too subtle for the nurturing of the Creature. His craving for relationship was heartfelt and intense.

While his creator, Victor Frankenstein, shrouded himself in secrecy to avoid his fellow scientists, family and friends, the Monster drifted toward civilization to find comfort and fellow feeling. However much he wanted to have and to be a friend, community was unimaginable. His hideous disfigurement obliged the Monster to live as a clandestine observer of humanity. The De Laceys, a family in exile, became his model of human culture. The family unsuspectingly mentors the Monster. They had withdrawn from the heart of urban Paris to a rustic German village for political and legal reasons. Their suffering and isolation evoked their sensitivity and humaneness. Their virtue was found at the margin, in extremity. In them the Creature had the model and the location to grow toward maturity.

The Monster's emotions stirred while scrutinizing family life. He admired his human exemplars for their deep love of one another and their sacrifice in times of poverty.