Examples Of Compassion In Frankenstein

Compassion and empathy are often described as human-kind's greatest quality. Yet, many things can distract or overpower our compassion to allow room for things like cruelty, selfishness, and the need for vengeance. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein has no compassion for his creation; however, his creation is born with large amounts of compassion, but Frankenstein ignores and abuses his monster. Victor’s lack of compassion towards the monster, makes the monster lose his own compassion in a need for vengeance to make his abuser feel the same pain he does.

The monster is the only character who has compassion even though compassion is never shown to him. Even before he knew had any role models to teach him, the monster shows

His time watching the cottagers taught him what true kindness is. His benevolent actions of helping the cottagers without them knowing proves that he did not need to learn compassion from a creator. The monster is horrified to learn that his good nature does not show on his physical appearance, and he was “...unable to believe that it was indeed [the monster] who was reflected in the mirror; and when [he] became fully convinced that [he] was in reality the monster [he] was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.”(Shelley 417). He is kind to the blind cottager in hopes of getting the compassion back that he always craved; however when he is rejected by even his ‘cottage friends’ he realizes how unjust it is that “no entreaties cause [them] to turn a favorable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion,” (Shelley 360). Though the monster, who is

This is why he needs vengeance toward the monster so desperately. The monster is one of the first people or things that does not do as he says. He makes the monster to prove to the people who doubted his alchemy, and abilities. The monster running wild proves that he is incapable of getting his revenge on the teachers who doubted him. The monster also kills his family so that Victor is alone like the monster. Victor’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death.”(Shelley 731). Victor knows that his monster will never leave him to live peacefully, so he thinks that the only way to stop him is to kill him when the monster could easily be calmed if Victor showed him so kindness instead of