Victor is so fascinated by his work, he takes it upon himself to talk to the man, and confer the troubles that he was coming across with his studies of the human body. In another sense, Cornelius became a father that Victor never had, someone who shared an interest in him, and someone who would inspire him to fulfill his potential. This potential was unleashed when Victor one dreary night in November shaped a monster, which he named Frankenstein.
Victor did not act in a way a creator of life ought to act, when he see’s his ‘creation’ for the opening time. Victor was disgusted and terrified at what he had done, creating something so hideous, yet so impossible. So he himself was split between ecstasy of the creation of an extra being, and fear that this being could potentially eradicate him. With the birth of the monster, Victor realises the scale of his actions. He has assumed the powers of construction, and his creation is entirely unnatural. Although he took great care to choose handsome features for his creature, the being is now nauseating to him. “Abhorred! That it was the wretch whom I had created”
Victor now has the realization that creating the monster brought a vast amount of responsibility he hadn’t prepare himself for.
Shelley some what shows the struggle and will power needed to raise one of your own, even if it was utterly abnormal and very precarious. She raises the issue that you cannot choose what your baby looks like, and how you should never be sickened with your making, as it will have serious affects on the child itself in later life.
The creature as you have seen him was brought up in a life where he was automatically dismissed at birth (if you may call it birth) and without the love and affection the new born needed, he was doomed to fight back against the disapproval.
“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”.
Here the creature is expressing his views on the situation that he entwined in, and how Victor’s response only exacerbated things.
“Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind” Shelley has put this in to show the comparison of the monsters upbringing, and that of Victors. She implies that Victor is not doing the duties a creator, or parent should do for one’s offspring.
The creature’s first experiences were of his designer, cowering away from him, shouting abuse as if he was a spawn of the devil, and cursing his very existence.
The monster flees from Victors abode, and tries to get as far away from the public eye as possible. The monster’s early days are unclear to him as he tries to gain control over the knowledge of his body and senses, as according to Victor he is a "poor, helpless, miserable wretch",
All the monster desired from Victor was a decent upbringing, and an explanation for his creation. Shelley was trying to put this point forward as it’s a question all children would ask and expect of their parents, as it’s the responsibility that they take on when they commit to having children. Shelley emphasises the point again, that Victor was not ready to commit to this responsibility.
The creature begins life isolated from mankind. His isolation is amplified by humans' reactions to him; he means them no harm, yet they flee from him or force him away as they are not used to such an ‘abnormal presence’.
The creature flees a group of bewildered individuals and escapes to a secluded cottage in the woods, where he shelters himself away from the cold weather and rain.. The creature is fascinated by the cottagers' behavior and immediately attracted to their beauty and tenderness. He observes their lifestyle through an opening in his shelter and a crack in the cottage wall. Through this all the creature is thinking about is how he desires such a childhood, such a lifestyle and upbringing, yet he was brought into this world as a neglected baby. He started out feeling isolated and an outcast from society, but see’s a family with such warmth and welcoming in this world. His observations of the family connect him with other people and reduce his unnaturalness by allowing him to study about and imitate normal people.
The creature then learns that there is more to life than what he has seen, and wants to get to know the De Lacey’s better, and as a possibility become a part of their family. Bear in mind the creature has been alive in the hovel for over a year now, and has been hiding in it for the majority of the time.
After much planning and effort, the creature attempts to speak to the eldest De Lacey. While the old man is home alone, the monster enters the cottage and begins conversing. Sympathetically acknowledged by the old man, the creature decides to share his story just as the other De Lacey’s return. Disgusted at the sight of the deformed figure, Felix attacks the creature, who flees to his hovel to hide, his fondest hopes crushed.
The creature, enraged by his dismissal, experiences hatred for the first time: "I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery" This shows how the family interpreted the monsters presence as disturbing, when all the monster wanted to do was to find a family who would love and care for him, unlike Victor.
The monster realises the tie that binds himself and his creator: "from you only could I hope for succor . . . on you only had I any claim for pity and redress"
This shows us that from the way Victor dismissed him, it was the cause of so much hatred and anger when rejection happens all over again to the creature. The creature has learned aggression and deception through his exposure to society and his education.
Shelley has included this to give us an image of what is would have been like to have not been brought up with love and affection from our parents, and to not have had the memories and experiences we do now. Without these the creature could not comprehend his existence, and makes the need to be with his father more apparent.
To conclude Mary Shelley has captured the essence of why family and domestic affection are so important during our lives, as without it she has given us a fictitious example of what we might turn out like. The use of the creature gives us a clear understanding that he was not brought up in the way we all take for granted, and how such small things we don’t blink an eyelid to, make such a significant effect on our lives. Victor’s denial and rejection of the creature shows me how hard it would be to bring up something you weren’t entirely convinced you wanted, and you could cope with.
