How is the creature presented in chapters 11-16 of Frankenstein?

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How is the creature presented in chapters 11-16 of ‘Frankenstein’?

The novel ‘Frankenstein’ was written in early the 1800s by Mary Shelley. The idea to write ‘Frankenstein’ came to Shelley in a dream but she wrote the story when she was challenged by her comrade Lord Byron whilst relaxing an Lake Geneva to write a gothic story.

The novel ‘Frankenstein’ is a story about a young scientist who wanted to create life and a perfect creature. In fact, he creates a supernatural monster looking very little like a human. The plot of the story starts with a group of sailors travelling to the North Pole who then they came across Victor Frankenstein chasing after what he wanted to call the ‘perfect living-being’. A while later the creature is out of reach and cannot be seen. That is when Frankenstein comes aboard the ship and tells his story from chapters 2-10 about creating life with electric shocks and his god-like ambitions. Then, he continues telling the sailors how everything went wrong as putting life in a creature resulted in many dead. After creating it he abandoned the creature. Then from chapters 11-16, the creature narrates his side of the story, which seems very different to Frankenstein’s. Finally, the story ends with Frankenstein talking to the sailors about how he came to find them. Just as he finishes his story he is overtaken by death.

The book is considered to be gothic and at the same time romantic as it contains gothic elements such as women in distress which is seen when Frankenstein’s fiancée is threatened by the monster. It also has a mysterious atmosphere as the creature is unknown to people which brings tension, along with fear. Later, the indication of romance is shown by powerful love between Elizabeth and Victor Frankenstein and as Safie’s father insists on her getting married to a man other than the one she loves.  To a further extent, uncertainty of reciprocation is also present as Elizabeth is doubtful whether Frankenstein loves her and wants to get married. Tension and uncertainly are elements of romantic novels; this is why ‘Frankenstein’ is also known as a romantic tale.

Shelley referred to ‘Frankenstein’ as the ‘Modern Prometheus’. This is because both stories have similarities and parallel ideas which they emphasise. Prometheus stole the embers of fire which destroyed him. This  suggests fire burns as he had no right to have ownership of the fire. Similarly, Frankenstein steals god’s right to create life. As a result, the creature he creates causes misery in society and kills Frankenstein’s family members due to the deserting treatment by society. This also suggests people who play around with others’ rights will suffer. Therefore, there are similarities in this way as they convey the same message.

Chapters 11-16 are very significant parts of the book as the creature narrates his story. This section is important because previously the creature is presented cynically through Frankenstein’s eyes. Revealing the creature’s side of the story enables the audience to decide for themselves who is responsible for the misery and the killings: Frankenstein or the creature.  

Prior to chapter 11, Frankenstein narrates with regards to the efforts he put into creating the creature. However, when it comes to life, the creature is described as disgusting and evil as Frankenstein judges him by his appearance. Frankenstein calls the being a “Wretch, ‘hideous monster a ... devil”. His word choices suggest that the being is monstrous as highlighted by the word ‘monster’ instead of being or a creature. Next to this, the creature is illustrated like a horrendous object or a thing which is not worthy of respect. This is implied through the use of the words ‘wretch’ and ‘devil’.

Besides this, he also states “A thing such as even Dante could not have conceived”. The phrase emphasises that no-one could have the imagination to visualize anything as dreadful and hideous as the creature. Additionally, he mentions that Dante, who used to write about hell and the creatures that lived within, couldn’t even think of anything like it. This exemplifies Frankenstein’s negative views about the creature and suggests the creature that does not belong on earth.  

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He also presents the creature as disgusting and horrifying, which is exhibited by his statement “breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”. Significantly, it shows that Frankenstein’s god-like ambition to create life was a complete disappointment as his ‘perfect living-being’ should have been good looking  but had a shocking countenance, which filled him with horror.

In another chapter, he refers to the creature as an animal and shows his hatred by saying that the creature is “my enemy” and “vile insect”. The quotation ‘vile insect’ suggests that the creature is like a beetle and other insects, which emphasises it is ...

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