In Frankenstein, the moral identity of the Creature is ambiguous to the reader because of the contrast between how Victor portrays him and he views himself. The Creature’s voice is absent in the first volume, leaving his moral character to be described by Victor as evil and monstrous (Shelley, 83-84). In the second Volume, the Creature becomes the narrator of the text and portrays himself as a curious and friendly being (Shelley, 119). It is the presence of the Creature’s voice that allows him to be seen as a new born full of benevolence who is longing for companionship (Shelley, 157). The Creature’s transition from benevolent to heinous occurs through a series of failed attempts at assimilating into human society. The characters …show more content…
in the story prejudged the Creature by his appearance and never allowed him to show his good intentions.
The reader is given the opportunity to see the Creature’s moral nature transition from benevolent to revenge-seeking which makes the Creature’s moral identity neither man nor monster. The Creature’s voice is absent in the first volume of the story, he is introduced to the reader through Victor’s narration. Victor’s obsession with natural philosophy led him to dedicate two years of his life to create a living being (Shelley, 77-79). This leads the reader to believe he would be welcoming to his creation taking him in as a companion. Instead of celebrating the birth of a new born and naming him as a parent would, Victor was so disgusted and horrified with the Creature’s appearance that he abandoned it out of fear and declared it a wretch (Shelley, 83, Mellor, 41). Victor’s choice to not name the Creature at birth sets the tone for the rest of the story through how he saw the …show more content…
Creature as a monster and considered it less than human (Joshua, 51). This initial reaction of disgust leaves the reader confused as to why Victor would disown and abandon something he worked so hard to create (Shelley, 84, Joshua, 51-52). Victor was more concerned with his ego, and what his colleagues would think of him for creating this enormous wretch, than taking care of his moral responsibility and mentoring his creation (Shelley, 100). The feelings of malice that Victor had towards the Creature were escalated when he blamed the Creature for murdering his younger brother William (Shelley, 99). With the Creature’s voice being absent in this volume it is obvious that “He fits the parameters of ‘monster’ in his not truly human status, his murderous crimes, and his size, and particularly in the terror and dread he evokes in those he meets” (Cohen, 30). The reader has a clear perception of the Creature’s character being identified as a monster, but is left wondering how the Creature transitioned from a new born into a murderer. The Creature is introduced as the narrator in the second volume of Frankenstein and portrays himself much differently than how Victor described him.
The Creature describes himself as benevolent and curious (Shelley, 119). The presence of the Creature’s voice is very important to the story because it not only fills the void left by Victor concerning how the Creature became a horrid monster; but it also evokes sympathy towards him and allows the reader to view him as a misunderstood man who was never given an opportunity to find companionship (Mellor, 41-42). From the Creature’s infancy he desperately wanted a relationship with Victor stating “I ought to be thy Adam” (Shelley, 118-119) showing the reader he looked up to Victor as a child looks up to their parent (Mellor, 42). The Creature shows many acts of benevolence towards others in this volume including anonymously shovelling snow and gathering firewood in hopes of befriending the Cottagers (Shelley, 127), and attempting to take William under his wing and mentor him (Shelley, 154). Unfortunately, he was never shown the same respect and kindness that he gave others and the constant rejection drastically took its toll on his emotional well-being (Shelley, 149). It was this undeserved rejection and torment that turned him into a miserable wretch (Shelley, 151). Throughout this narrative the reader is able to see the Creature as a young child with no self-esteem who lashed out in rage because of Victor’s negligent parenting
and lack of empathy (Shelley, 156-157, Mellor, 45). Once a friendly and compassionate being, the Creature enters the body of the text with revenge for Victor on his mind and malice in his heart (Shelley, 156). The Creature’s moral transition from benevolent to evil was a gradual build up due to constant rejection and torment from those he reached out to in friendship. The root of this issue was the fact that the Creature’s compassion was always overshadowed by his monstrous appearance. An example of this was when the Creature was trying to save a drowning girl but was shot in the arm by a farmer who thought the Creature was killing her (Shelley, 153). His emotional breaking point came after being attacked by Felix and learning that the Cottagers fled their home in horror in order to avoid him after he poured out his emotions to De Lacey (Shelley, 148-149). Since the Creature was constantly disheartened by these reactions to his appearance, he began to view himself as a monster when meeting his own reflection in a pond (Shelley, 175). Although the Creature was full of sadness and anger regarding his inability to find companionship among mankind, he pleaded with Victor to make him a female companion in his form as he still longed for companionship (Shelley, 157). Victor’s initial sympathetic tone and agreement to create a companion for him gave the Creature feelings of joy and excitement and a new-found hope that he could find companionship after all (Shelley, 157). Victor felt some remorse and sympathy towards the Creature, but it was not enough for him to keep his promise, which led to the Creature’s rage (Shelley, 175-176). It was the Creature’s final realization that he was destined to be miserable and alone that led him to seek revenge on Victor (Shelley, 150). When the Creature crossed paths with William in the woods, he viewed him as an abandoned child and sympathized with his situation comparing it to his own (Mellor, 43). His original intentions were to adopt and mentor William in order to break the cycle of bad parenting to which he was a victim (Mellor 43-44). The feelings of compassion and empathy quickly boiled over into anger once he discovered that William was a part of the Frankenstein family. He murdered William out of anger to get revenge Victor (Shelley, 154). The creature stated “If I cannot inspire love, then I will inspire fear” (Shelley, 156) making it clear that since he was deprived from having the loving family and nurturing environment that he always craved, then he will return the favour by murdering Victor’s closest friend Henry Clerval (183). The reader sees how the Creature’s monstrous behaviour was his reaction to human emotions that he was never taught to deal with rationally (Mellor, 51). Victor and the Creature provide the reader with contrasting portrayals of the Creature’s morality in the first two volumes of the text, leaving the Creature’s moral identity as ambiguous throughout the body of the text. The Creature’s physical appearance had great impact on how characters viewed his moral nature as they judged him solely on a superficial level and labelled him as a monster never giving him a chance to show his good intentions. Since the reader was given the opportunity to hear the Creature’s story and his perception of how society treated him without holding his appearance against him, the portrayal of the Creature’s morality as monstrous is not fitting. The Creature committed several counts of murder and induced fear in the hearts of those he interacted with as well as declaring himself a monster which fits Jeffrey Cohen’s description of him (Cohen, 30). However, through the Creature’s voice, the reader has a clear understanding that the Creature initially had good intentions towards Victor and all of mankind. He did everything in his power to gain their love and companionship. The Creature’s downward spiral into monstrosity stemmed from a negligent and abusive upbringing allowing the reader to feel sympathy and understand the Creature’s hardships on a human level (Mellor, 42). When trying to label the Creature’s morality as man or monster, his heinous crimes and fear evoking monstrous appearance certainly cannot be ignored (Cohen, 30), but neither can his benevolent nature and unbearable life experiences that led him down his path of darkness.
First, Before the monster is created Victor says that he hopes this creation would bless him as his creator, and that the creature would be excellent nature and would be beautiful. After the creature is created Shelley creates sympathy for him by Victor’s description of him in a unique yet horrific way, “he’s ‘gigantic,” “deformed,” “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath” this makes the creature abhorrent to typical humans. When thinking of the descriptions together, Shelley has created a vivid, unnatural image of the monster in the mind’s eyes. The language Shelley uses is powerful and emotive “shall I create another like yourself, whose joints wickedness
‘Frankenstein’ or ‘The Modern Prometheus‘ is a 19th century gothic novel written by Mary Shelley. Shelley’s interest in the physical sciences had led her to writing a novel that is based on creating human life in an unnatural way. Victor is one if the narrators who has an unnatural obsession with the sciences led him to discover the secret of life; creating the abomination that is his monster. Walton serves as the neutral narrator that has no personal impact on Victor’s and the monster’s tales. It is through Walton that the monster was able to express his feelings at the death of his creator.
The creature seek acceptance from humans, but when he tries to sympathize with one they aren't able to look past his appearance and are incapable of seeing his qualities. When the creature tells Victor his tale we learn how Victor's irresponsibility affects the creature. The first human to reject the creature is Victor, his own creator. Victor first states that the creature horrifies him, and left the creature to fend for himself. The creature seems like a kid because he has to learn how to survive, talk, write, read etc. When the creature continues telling Victor his tale he describes how he saves a girl from drowning, and the man that is
Like a mother, Victor brings new life into the world, technically making him the father of the creature. The fact that Victor describes the creature as,
The creature’s moral ambiguity characteristic was a vile ingredient to the construction of this novel Frankenstein because it made the reader 's sympathies with him even after the audience knows he had committed murder because the readers had seen the truth this creature had to face. That he had tried everything within his power to peacefully live with them, to interact, communicate, and befriend them “these thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language”, that even though he was seen as a monster because of the looks he was created with, something he had no control over, he still had hope to be seen as equals, ”My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the ass and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration;” this hope of his was utterly crushed, and can only set him up for utter disappointment(12.18). Because in the end he only received hates, scorns, violence, and prejudice from his good will. So in the end of the story, Mary Shelley’s forces the readers to see within the creature’s heart and for
We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human than we think. It is in the complex structure of the novel that Mary Shelley creates sympathy. We shift from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to the monster and finally back to Walton. With each shift of perspective, the reader gains new information about both the facts of the story and the reliability of the narrator. Each perspective adds pieces of information that only they knows: Walton explains the circumstances of Victor’s last days, Victor explains his creation of the monster, the monster explains his turn to evil.
Shelley 94). Victor’s various thoughts of rage and hatred that had at first deprive him of utterance, but he recovers only to overwhelm the creature with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt, as he recalled creature’s misdoings to his loved ones. However, Victor pauses to “conceive,” to “feel,” and to “reason” with monster (M. Shelley 94). As Victor follows his creation, he notices the “air [to be full] of exultation” and “the rain” beginning “to descend,” showcasing Victor’s consent to change his view. (M. Shelley 98). Chapter 10 is exemplary of the Romantic Period where story becomes an allegory for real emotions and struggles. Victor’s
Victor had created the creature with the vision from his dreams of a strong, tall perfect being with no flaws. His years of study with the unnatural and science had come to this final conclusion and masterful idea that he was determined to finish. To his surprise, he had created the opposite, “For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 35) Victor is saddened by what he thinks of as a failure. He leaves his own apartment to go sleep in his court yard outside following his creation. He begins to isolate himself from the creature because of his fear of the creature’s outward appearance. He loses all hope for the creature without even learning anything about him. The fact that Shelley begins to refer to the being that Victor created as a “creature” shows Victor’s ignorance and lack of acceptance. It is Victor’s prejudice that blinds him of the creature’s true potential due to the unwanted preconception that follows the creature as he finds meaning in
Tragedy shows no discrimination and often strikes down on those undeserving of such turmoil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature more repulsive than one can imagine is brought to life by a young scientist. Although this creature is horrifying in sight, he is gentle by nature. Unfortunately, the softer side of the creature is repeatedly overlooked and the so called “monster” is driven to a breaking point. Even though the Creature committed many crimes, Mary Shelley’s Creature was the tragic hero of this story because of his efforts rescue the life of a young girl and helping destitute cottagers.
Rather, it is others who alienate it because of its grotesque appearance. The monster is quite literally ‘born’ into perpetual isolation beginning with Victor’s abandonment of it. He denies it domestic safety when he flees to his bedchamber. Victor disregards the monster’s utterance of “inarticulate sounds while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” then escapes its outstretched hand “seemingly to detain [him]” [Shelley 49]. Examining the monster’s body language as though an impressionable infant, its actions can be read as a child-like plea for its father though the absence of speech not yet learned. Instead, its unattractive appearance causes Victor to run, leaving the creature alone with no information about himself or his surroundings. Therefore, Victor’s abandonment is a crucial justification of the monster’s negative experiences with society and nature and actions in desiring community. The monster’s alienation from family is the missing first school of human nature, and the first lesson where he learns he does not belong. The creature leaves into the wilderness to learn about the world and himself on it own, only to understand his interactions are
If Victor had nurtured the creature, the creature would have been gentle and kind. The creature’s environment, experiences, as well as actions changed his personality. Mary Shelley does a great job of showing what the creature endured, and how everything he went through led him to his
Victor’s life was made miserable after creature killed every person he loved. Creature was also seen as an outsider with a lack of self-identity, which can explain many of his actions. This archetype is shown through the monster because every person rejected him. The monster was excluded because of his appearance and was banished from every place. For instance, at the Delaney’s home, Felix attacked the m...
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, many similarities can be seen between the creature and his creator, Victor Frankenstein. While Victor and the creature are similar, there are a few binary oppositions throughout the book that make them different. The binary oppositions in the novel serve as thematic contrast; and some of the most illustrative oppositions between the two characters are on the focus of family, parenthood, isolation and association with others.
The naturalistic setting serves a multi-functional purpose in this novel. Primarily, it mirrors the simplistic workings, yet the astonishing stature of the Creature and contrasts his undeniable ignorance that first accompanies him. Since he is assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, the Creature is similar to nature because he too is divinely constructed and with so much detail “when [he] look[s] around [he] s[ees] and hear[s] none like him”; furthermore, not even his creator can gracefully bestow him. Moreover, the eight foot tall, enormously strong being with yellow skin and straight black lips is unfathomable as the serene images of nature are in Shelley’s novel. The setting also magnifies the vast world that the Creature has been thrown into without any regard, for his mind was originally that of a newborn. The setting is symbolic of knowledge and experience; however, the Creature lacks in all aspects. Victor, his creator, priding himself in schooling, education and exploration still fails to provide his “offspring” with such valuable traits. Nature brings him to lif...
The vivid similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their isolation from the secluded world, which refuses to accept those who are different into society, by hatred, and most importantly by the absence of motherly figures in both Victor’s and the Creature’s lives. As Victor had stated, “I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.” (Shelley 40) as he described that he lost all touch with the world due to his work. Both figures seem to strongly despise one another yet strangely enough, they both also despise themselves for their wrong and disastrous actions. Family ties and vengefulness are truly one of the most significant aspects affecting the resemblance of both Victor and the Creature. At a young age, Victor was left without his mother after her death and as a result, he never got to experience the true feelings of a mother’s warm touch and love. “She died calmly...it is so long before the mind can persuade itself that she whom we saw every day and whose every existence appeared a part of our own can have departed forever and the sound of a voice so familiar and dear to the ear can be hushed, never more to be heard.” (Shelley, 29) Just like Victor, in his own time, the Creature never got to experience not only the love of a mother but the love of a father as well. These driven characters thrive for the same goals, feed of similar pain, and feel the same