As a modern reader I do not see the world differently to Shelley. I too consider that the world is full of people who are so materialistic you can not envisage it.
The text is about a man whose mother dies while he is studying and so he vows that people need not die. So he tried to create a being that is so powerful and eternal that it wouldn’t. By doing this the monster is made and is rejected by all mankind except for this one man who is blind and tries to connect with him. After the way others treat him he develops into an evil villain who tries to take revenge on everyone. He asks his creator for a friend, a mate, so that he can not be alone, so he is not the only one. So Victor Frankenstein tries but then abandons the plans. The monster vows to return on his wedding night. So he does. And as a result of coming back he murders Frankenstein’s wife Elizabeth. So at this point Frankenstein vows to find and get revenge to the monster and so follows him up north. There he is met by Robert Walton and the text is basically started with Frankenstein speaking to Walton about who he is and what he was and so on and so forth.
At the start of the novel the monster is seen as “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic structure (p.25)”, by which you get the suggestion that it is a man but a super natural sort of being judging by his bulky stature. Frankenstein then speaks about the monster saying “I beheld the wretch-the monster whom I had created (p.59)”. You go from this idea that it is a normal being to an idea that it is a despicable thing and one that you do not want to see. So at this point you do not feel sympathy towards it because you find that based on looks that it is evil. However, if we as readers were to get to know the monster much more we might not feel in this way to it. We feel it is evil as it is told from Frankenstein’s perspective and therefore if he doesn’t like what he is created neither are we.
Our feelings towards the monster change as the story progresses because of the different viewpoints. So when Victor Frankenstein describes the monster as a “wretch” (p.59) we feel no sympathy for the monster as it is evil from the start. However when the monster talks about himself and his feelings and such things we are to feel sympathy towards the monster. An example of this is when he says “But it is true that I am a wretch… I have murdered the lovely and the helpless” (p.224). So at this point you feel sympathy because you feel as if he is beginning to understand what he is and thus it is self evaluation and so u feel as if he I knowing what he is. Right at the end u feel the most sympathy for the monster as he says “I have devoted my creator, the select specimen of all that is worthy of love and admiration among men to misery (p.224)”. He feels that he has treated his creator, Frankenstein, really badly, as badly as his victims and therefore he is feeling self pity towards himself.
The description of the setting is used to show the monsters character. At many parts of the novel pathetic fallacy is used to describe the mood. For example “it was a dreary night (p.58)”. This creates a bad omen and it sets us up for what may happen so in this case the monster will be born in a way. So this way you are expecting something to happen during this scene. So when the weather is seasonable the monsters character is good and harmless in a way. For example, “the weather became fine and the skies cloudless… My senses were gratified and refreshed by a thousand scents of delight, and a thousand sights of beauty (p. 119)”.So it is a good setting which represents a good character at the time.
A theme of ambition runs through the novel. Both Frankenstein and Walton try to accomplish things that will help mankind but end up missing the point in a way. Frankenstein’s ambition is to create man and to make it almost invincible so it doesn’t get hurt or die but once it is alive he realises the terrible thing he has done. So he disowns it. This causes more troubles not only for him but for all of mankind too.
The theme of discovery and desire comes up too. An example is Frankenstein when he discovers how to create man and what is needed for this. The desire is when his mother dies which is where he gets the ambition from. Again this desire and discovery takes him over and therefore he becomes a bit obsessed with the idea.
The symbolism used is imprisonment. The monster is basically imprisoned because of his fear of interaction with the ‘outside world’. However this imprisonment is of his own discretion. So when you see him ‘imprisoned’ he is just scared of mankind. Thus bringing up the point of materialism because if others were to see the monster they would get angry and feel hatred toward it, and he doesn’t want that.
The monster symbolises our own inner ugliness. The way this is that that is what some may feel like and treat others. So you could be good on the outside but absolutely horrible and terrible on the inside, and this way you feel ugly. It’s just that it may be the opposite in the monsters case. This is because he looks ugly but he could be good on the inside.
The novel is written in parts in a way. Three people tell the story these are the monster, Frankenstein and Walton. At each point the attitudes are different so that you see all the points of view. So When Frankenstein speaks he offers no sympathy for the monster but when the monster speaks you do feel sympathy for it. This is so that the theme of sympathy can come in many different ways.
In conclusion, I think the monster develops a great deal as he speaks more and feels more of his emotions. I also find that you feel even more sympathy for it at the end as he loses his creator and may blame himself for his death.
