The Importance Of The Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The word monster has a variety of meanings to the world. For children the word monster can be some evil creature living under their bed and for parents, a monster can be their child running around causing amuck in the house. Other people view the word monster as a person who is vicious and grisly like the Zodiac killer. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Doctor Victor Frankenstein makes a creature whose description is the definition of monster. He is made of different parts from bodies—giving the creature a horrifying look— runs around the city, terrifying others of leaving their houses, and kills multiple people. All evidence shows that Victor’s creature is a monster, however Victor makes the monster with his own hands, doesn’t that make Victor Frankenstein a monster in the making?

He is the one responsible for all the deaths and destruction that his creature creates. The creature cannot be responsible for the devastation he causes, because he is simply a mutated experiment that was not properly contained. Victor was the provider for this experiment, yet never took responsibility throughout the entire journey. Victor’s obsession to be the one who brings death to life blinds him of what consequences his creation could bring throughout the entire story. Victor Frankenstein is the brilliant mastermind behind all the death and destruction. “The Merriam Webster Dictionary” defines monster as ‘a powerful person or thing that cannot be controlled and that causes many problems’. Victor Frankenstein is the epitome of the word monster. He was the one in charge of the experiment that gave him a sense of power. Even though Victor himself was aware he was harming himself obsessing over the experiment, he couldn’t control himself to stop what he was doing. The uncontrollable impulses Victor portrays proves him to be the true monster of the story, and the creature is merely a reflection of Victor’s true