Victor's Insecurities In Frankenstein

Mary Shelley refers to her most famous work, “Frankenstein,” as her “hideous progeny” (Shelley, 169). Her creation—the novel—mirrors Victor’s since they are both considered “hideous.” Shelley’s terming of the novel reveals her insecurities about her creation, much like Victor about his. Shelley calls the novel hideous like a form of self-deprecation. She let this novel “loose” like Victor let his creature “loose” on society, unsure of how it would be perceived. Her insecurities lie in the fact that she is a female author. Female authors were criticized and considered inferior to their male counterparts. This also displays her insecurities about childbirth, due to the death of her own mother through childbirth and having experienced a miscarriage

herself. Therefore, the use of the term “progeny” is quite appropriate here as this novel is her child, which could either be shunned or accepted by society much like Frankenstein’s creature.
What makes Frankenstein hideous and monstrous is mostly his appearance.

Victor Frankenstein and the others who have encountered the creature all recoiled in horror at the mere sight of him. He is described by Victor: “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!—Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion, and straight black lips” (Shelley, 35). Even his creator shuns him based solely on his looks. Another attribute of the creature that makes him monstrous is his thirst for revenge against Victor and the hateful attitude he develops toward humans throughout the book. While he has not developed the emotional intelligence and experience of other human beings, he has learned to differentiate between right and wrong. Therefore, the murders he has committed are taken into consideration when labeling the creature as a monster. If anything, as I will later demonstrate, the creature is an antihero. He is mostly monstrous in appearance but his thoughts, feelings and circumstances create the ingredients of an antihero, who has doubtlessly committed

mistakes.
The reason the creature is a new type of Gothic monster is because he is not as villainous as most.

He has committed a horrific deed—murder—but unlike many monsters in gothic novels, he was not fueled by jealousy, greed, the need to possess someone or any other truly evil characteristic. He was driven to hate and revenge because he was abandoned and awfully treated. Unlike many monsters, the creature wanted to assimilate into society and find his purpose in life. He desired love, family, acceptance just like any human being would.

The creature seeks revenge for the misdeeds committed against him, but also feels immense remorse for the things he has done. This revenge seems monstrous because it is committed by someone “hideous.” If it was committed by any other human in the book, it would be viewed differently. It is a very human thing to seek revenge for being wronged. Often, humans commit acts against their own kind for lesser reasons and with less provocation than the creature. In some instances, like the case of Victor’s brother, William, the creature did not mean to harm him, he did not know his own

strength.
He is a new type of Gothic monster because he develops intelligence, eloquence and emotions. He understands the differences between right and wrong and is one of the only characters who shows compassion in the novel—which is destroyed by all those who are devoid of it. The creature is different because he is a victim of circumstance and suffered at the judgmental and unjustified actions of humans. The creature is the embodiment of the darkest and most profound capabilities of man—our ability to lose sight of what is important, our yearning for acceptance and companionship and our capacity for revenge.