The appearance of the monster is the key reason that he becomes isolated and removed from society, receiving prejudice from human society. Again the monster's appearance is the key to the subjects' relationship, it is the Monster's appearance that made Frankenstein abandon him, "Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room".
Unlike the monster's, Frankenstein's appearance deteriorates because of his ambition pushing him to the extremes; "I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation"
He becomes a weak, useless shell of despair and futility. Towards the end of the story, their appearance's are almost the same, this is a dire warning from the author about man's ambition and the damage it can cause.
Both characters are subject to isolation from society, but for different reasons. The monster is rejected from society and, though desperate to be accepted by society, gradually comes to terms with the fact that no human could ever accept, let alone love, him; "I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind."
The monster is forced into this frame of mind, Frankenstein or no other human in the book attempts to connect to the monster.
Unlike the monster, Frankenstein had a choice to isolate himself from the world, he abandoned his loving family and pursued his ambition; "...I was now alone."
This seems unfair, that the monster, who is at a disadvantage, has no options, while Frankenstein is free to enter or leave society. It is likely that the monster realises this, thus causing him to further resent Frankenstein.
Both characters are, in many ways, the same. An example of this is the fact that they are both comforted by nature. Frankenstein, after creating the monster 'wanders like an evil spirit'. But, upon his return to Sweden, he is comforted by natures beauty; "Magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving."
The monster is comforted after a depressing spell by nature as well; "My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature."
There is an irony here; both characters are similar in many ways, but despise and loathe one another.
As with the isolation from society, Frankenstein had a choice to receive love, while the monster did not. Frankenstein is introduced in the book as a member of a perfect and loving family, the Mary Shelley has deliberately given Frankenstein's family an 'over-the-top' image in order to emphasise the fact the monster does not have a family and that, in not nurturing the monster and therefore causing it to destroy his family, Frankenstein has made a major mistake.
Frankenstein is comforted on occasion by love from his family; after creating the monster, Frankenstein suffered from extreme mental anguish, but, after reading a letter from Elizabeth, he is restored; "In another fortnight I was able to leave my chamber."
The relationship between creator and created is greatly affected by this; Frankenstein has something extremely precious which the monster desires more than anything else, yet Frankenstein does not appreciate it.
Frankenstein's original intentions were for the good of mankind, but it is apparent that ambition consumed him. The monster, though, like any other human, was born with moral capacity, was changed into an evil, revenge driven creature. Both starting well, but still became the opposite of their former selves.
In many ways they both caused each other change; Frankenstein abandons the monster, the monster becomes overcome with rage and murders Frankenstein's brother and frame Justine, Frankenstein sees the monster as a devil and abandons him again, the monster proceeds to murder Clerval and Elizabeth, causing Frankenstein to pursue the monster across the globe. In each section the hatred in their relationship increasing.
Ultimately, the only thing left for Frankenstein and the monster is death, in there final speeches, one aspect is clear, the both regret their past actions and how they both harshened the conflict between them. They both die in the same mind, they become identical.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is most defiantly a gothic novel, a style popular in the 19th century. Gothic novels typically explore regions of knowledge and life that, in many ways, is considered to be controversial and taboo and are basically horror novels, a style that today lives in cinema (Jurassic park (cloning), The sum of all fears (nuclear weapons)), and in some occasions, video games (Resident evil (biological weapons)).
Frankenstein explores ambition and the possibility of creating life, a subject regularly debated about today in the form of cloning and genetic engineering. Frankenstein tells us that playing god is a dangerous game and that ambition can ruin us, it also shows how we treat those different from us, such as those with disabilities today. Frankenstein teaches an important lesson to those willing to listen, which not enough people do.
