After he creates the monster Frankenstein becomes ill. He doesn’t meet the monster again until chapter 6 when he is out on his travels just after he had recovered from his long-term illness and on his journey he receives a letter telling him that his brother had been killed.
The way that the scene is set for the meeting between Frankenstein and the monster was the atmosphere was “completely dark”. I think that the scene was set like this to reveal the emotions that are running through Frankenstein as he presumes that it was the monster that killed his brother. He would be feeling that the death of his brother all started because of what he had created, the monster. So the main emotion that he would be going through would be guilt, as none of this would have ever taken place if he hadn’t wanted to create life. As it says that the “darkness and storm increased” which suggests that something terrible is going to happen.
As the story carries on and Frankenstein still presumes that the creature killed his brother, Frankenstein gets more emotional. “No one can conceive the anguish I suffered during the remainder of the night, which I spent, cold and wet, in the open air”. Here he describes how much he went through that night waiting for the monster. “But I did not feel the inconvenience of the weather; my imagination was busy in scenes of evil and despair” in this text it shows us that even though he was going through hell waiting for the monster due to the weather he didn’t get effected by it as he was too busy thinking of getting his revenge on the monster. This shows how much pain he must have been going through as he could withstand the weather, no matter what was thrown at him, and all this due to his thoughts of revenge.
He does not tell his family about creating the monster as the thoughts he had that they would have thought of him as irresponsible. Also they would have thought he was a coward as he could not stand up to what he had created and just took the easy way out and disregarded it, disposed of something he could not handle.
Justine is the maid who works for the family and she ended up getting hanged for Williams murder as she was caught with his locket which was recovered and due to this she was taken straight and hanged without any evidence or hearing.
The next time Frankenstein and the creature meet it is in the cold and icy mountains. In chapter 10 the setting for their meeting is very different as in the other meetings the atmosphere is always dark and gloomy and ends up getting worse but in this scene the weather starts of cloudy and ends up clearing up letting the sunshine out. This made Frankenstein change moods before his heart was “sorrowful” and now his heart had now “swelled with something like joy”. This shows that he did have a bit of happiness in him instead of just thoughts of evil and revenge.
But as the monster is gradually introduced into the scene coming towards Frankenstein, then all the emotions run high and the scene again gets angry and tense as Frankenstein starts to express his feelings in an aggressive way and this starts or the whole scene with Frankenstein and the creature.
The way the scene is set up makes nature look powerful and Frankenstein look insignificant.
When Frankenstein sees the monster he quotes “ I was troubled: a mist came over my eyes, and I felt faintness seize me”. This shows how Frankenstein feels the urge to faint after seeing the monster maybe shown to show the fear that Frankenstein has when he sees the monster. This also shows how incapable he is of facing up to what he has done.
“ I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach, and then close with him in mortal combat” This shows how unrealistic he is as he plans to have a fight to the death with a creature he cannot face.
He then goes to a degree of rampaging with his rage for the monster “Devil” “Do you approach me? And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Be gone, vile insect!” This shows the enragement that was in him.
“All men hate the wretched: how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us” The language that the monster uses shows how the creature is more human and has more control over his feelings.
The monster says “ Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and rest of mankind” This shows how the monster is asking for a father like figure from Frankenstein.
Through out the story it is shown that the creature is actually more human than Frankenstein. “Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! The tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched devil! You reproach me with your creation; come on then, that I may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed.” Shows how Frankenstein is uncontrolled when he is in a state of rage this shows that he is incapable of controlling himself unlike the creature is more calm and collected.
The way that the creature had turned out, the feelings that it felt, the way it acted and the way it looked towards life is mainly the fault of Frankenstein. “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend”.
Mary Shelly suggests that Frankenstein is as bad as the creature, in fact maybe even more bad. Frankenstein seems to believe that he is in the right as he accuses the creature of murder but does not realise the if he were to kill the creature then he would be put down to the same level as the creature. “You accuse me of murder; and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature” This shows that the creature is actually really intellectual and states that Frankenstein is standing there accusing him of killing his sibling but Frankenstein is willing to kill one of his own creations. Mary Shelly tries to emphasise the point about the creature being Frankenstein’s creation much like a new baby.
In chapter the talk starts about the creature and his desires. “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being”. Here the creature tells of what he requires from Frankenstein and what he wants. “ This you alone can do; and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede”. This shows that now the creature is being forceful and that he demands this of Frankenstein and is not just asking him.
But Frankenstein’s response isn’t what the creature was expecting as the creature demanded Frankenstein to do this deed for him. “Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint wickedness might desolate the world!” this shows the sarcastic questioning that Frankenstein outs forward. “Be gone!” shows that he is no state to be thinking of doing what the monster requires of him. “ I have answered you; you may torture me, but I will never consent”. Shows that Frankenstein is in no state of mind to ever consider doing this deed. This shows that Frankenstein does not consider making another mistake by creating another of the same creature to please the creature.
By chapter 20 there has been a change in the relationship between Frankenstein and the creature. The feelings that are between them vary and change.
The chapter starts off with Frankenstein making the female creature but then he has a sudden change of heart. He starts to think of the side effects and consequences that could happen. “They might even hate each other; the creature who already lived loathed his own deformity, and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form?” Shows that he is considering the things that could go wrong if he were to create another creature.
As a result of his thoughts and second doubts he unleashes his rage and destroys the female creature that he had created. “I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged”
For what Frankenstein had done, the creature became enraged. “Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you.” This shows that the creature that was acting humanly and calm before has had a sudden switch and now was more enraged due to Frankenstein’s actions.
“You are my creator, but I am your master;-obey!” This shows the sudden power shift and that the creature is now taking control back to his side.
Due to his rage he makes a treat. “ I shall be with you on your wedding night” This will make Frankenstein think about what the creature has got planned and what kind of act he will follow up with.
Chapter 23 is the setting for Frankenstein and Elizabeth’s wedding night. Frankenstein is hesitant about the threat that was made by the creature that the creature will be with Frankenstein on his wedding night.
The scene has an idyllic setting described as “Lovely scene of water, woods and mountains obscured the darkness” but still there is the doubts that Frankenstein was having “ yet still displaying their black outlines”
There is a change in the weather “the clouds swept across it swifter than the flight of a vulture”, “restless waves”, suddenly a heavy storm of rain descended” and this all shows that there was a change to suggest something bad was going to happen.
Frankenstein leaves Elizabeth alone in the room and wonders for a walk. This shows that maybe Frankenstein was scared of the monster and maybe in the back of his mind was thinking the creature was going to do something to Elizabeth and so was trying to avoid getting himself killed. Maybe it shows that he was a coward and didn’t want to stay and maybe try and protect Elizabeth from the monster.
Near the end Walton seems to see the creature as indescribable, he struggles to find words to describe him but manages to state that the creature is “gigantic in structure, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions.”
Mary Shelly makes us think of different viewpoints of the creature and the reason that she included this scene was to maybe give us another viewpoint of the creature. She perhaps includes the scene with Walton and the monster to validate the story.
In conclusion I think that Mary Shelly in this novel is trying to emphasise the point that no person should mess with nature as the consequences could be dear and that also we shouldn’t try and play God by creating life or making something that we have no idea about and what the consequences there could be in actually creating it.
I think that for a modern audience the text would not be frightening but it could actually make people believe not to mess with nature or ever try and create anything as to play God however an audience at the time it was written, time that scientific discoveries were being made, would be greatly affected by the novel.
By Ahilan Shandrakopal ☺