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?

Frankenstein, the novel, was authored by a 19 year old mistress, Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley wrote her renowned gothic novel during the era where romance was at its peak and science and maths started to make its way into the world. Supposedly the inspiration of her novel came to her in her dream. After having this dream she decided to make her dream come true in the form of a book, so she wrote the novel, Frankenstein, when she was relaxing at Lake Geneva on holiday with her husband, the famous poet Percy Shelley . The gothic novel Frankenstein is about a doctor who was manipulated by his obsessions and ambitions into creating life. When the obsessions and ambitions were overcome he realised the being he had created would cause his downfall. Chapters 11-16 are significant to the story because these chapters express the creature’s point of view showing his side of the story.  

As the reader progresses through the novel, prior to chapter 11 the reader merely gets the opinions of Dr Frankenstein. These judgments are mad to be very negative and biased towards the creature. When Dr Frankenstein had finally achieved his life long ambition and after straining and putting countless time and effort into creating the being he wished, he presented his ‘being’ as being revolting and foul. There are many quotes from the novel where Frankenstein portrays the creature as being revolting and foul.

One quote is when Frankenstein says, ‘breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’. Here Frankenstein shows his emotive side of the monster. Where obsessions and ambitions were filled is now replaced by horror and disgust. This exposes the creature as a being that would fill anyone’s heart with horror and disgust. This brings a very negative view of the monster.

Another quote is when Frankenstein says, ‘unable to compose my mind to sleep’. Here the doctor presents the creature as a nightmare. This is because Frankenstein was not able to go to sleep after looking at the monster. This thought of Frankenstein realising what he had done haunted his mind making it dysfunctional and unable to go to sleep.  

A further quote where the creature is illustrated negatively is when Frankenstein compares it to the work of Dante. ‘A thing such as even Dante could not have conceived’. Dante during the 1800’s was known for his images of Satan and his home...Hell! So therefore Frankenstein was comparing the creature to one of Dante’s work. He wasn’t just comparing the work, he compared it in such a way where the famous artist could not able to compose a thing like Frankenstein’s monster.

More quotes to indulge the reader’s thoughts of negative views for the monster are said by the doctor. ‘I turned loose into world a depraved wretch, whose delight was in carnage and misery ’. Here Frankenstein says that the monster enjoys evil and gains pleasure from it. This gives a very negative appearance of the creature to the reader as they will think every act which is bad the monster loves it.

From all the negative comments which were said by Frankenstein, seems to change the reader’s thoughts at the start of chapter 11. From the beginning of this chapter it clearly shows that the monster is not one to be judged at first sight. He says, ‘I saw, felt, heard, and smelt, at the same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish between the operations of my various senses’. This speech which the monster says expresses a different light to the novel. He explains how the sense of sight, touch, hearing and smell were a new thing to him and how long it took for him to differentiate between the various senses he possesses. All these qualities fit for another being as well as the monster. A baby will also have these qualities when he/she enters the world for the first time. So this quotation shows how Mary Shelley compares the monster to a new born baby. She has done this because it’s another way to convey that the comments which were made by Frankenstein are just opinions not facts. She also gives the monster a chance to speak for him and tell his side of the story.

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Another way Mary Shelley presents the monster as a new born baby is when the monster describes his development. ‘I now found that I could wander on at liberty, with no obstacles which I could not either surmount or avoid’. Now the monster describes how freely he can roam around places and how he is able to make his way through solid obstacles showing his improvement of eyesight. Mary Shelley presents the monster like this because she still compares the monster to a new born baby. Like the monster a new born baby would gradually learn how to walk and ...

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