Mary Shelley links her own life of being alone with the creature and Frankenstein. For example Mary Shelley’s own mum died 10 day after giving birth and victor’s mum died during childbirth this is what sparked victor’s interest in life vs. death. During Mary Shelley’s life, all the people she loved died very early during her life. She had four children but only one survived. Mary Shelley is telling her own story through the creature narration because she had to grow-up fast and learn everything what people around do like the creature. She also tells how she felt alone in the world by saying how the creature is an outsider of society and has been disowned.
Frankenstein starts with an epistolary which a narration written in the form of letters, its Walton’s narrations which starts with the epistolary. After Walton’s narration, Frankenstein starts to tell his narration which is then followed by the creature narration which then goes back to the Frankenstein’s narration – this is called embedded narrative. An embedded narrative is a story enclosed within a frame narrative (a tale within a tale). Mary Shelley uses embedded narrative to change the point of view of some character from a victim to an evil creature. It also changes the view on what is happening and the situation the characters are in. This addresses the view of responsibility in both narration to show who both the creature and Frankenstein belief is responsible. Frankenstein is also a liner narrative which is a story which moves chronologically from beginning to end.
Frankenstein’s narration implies that the creature was this evil monster and completely responsible for his actions, but also that Frankenstein himself was blameless, just a victim of his own creation. Frankenstein doesn’t take any responsibility for his own creation and thinks that the creature is responsible for everything. Even from the first time he saw the creature come to life, he ran from the creature which he seemed to run from his responsibility to be a parent to the creature that he has created.
When Frankenstein first sees the creature coming alive, he uses a bunch of words and phrases to describe how he is feeling and how the creature looked. He describes how he felt of seeing his creature coming to alive e.g. ‘horror’, ‘agony’, ‘anxiety’, ‘disgust’, ‘ breathless horror’ and ‘bitterness of disappointment’. Frankenstein’s reaction shows how he didn’t` actually realise this was going to happen for real. He describes how the creature looked when coming alive; ‘catastrophe’. ‘Horrid contrast’, ‘dun-white sockets’, ‘shrivelled complexion’, ‘dull yellow eye’ whereas Frankenstein wanted to make a ‘Beautiful Great God’. This effect of description of the creature makes the reader feel as if Frankenstein has made an evil monster. This makes readers scared and wondering what the creature is capable of.
Frankenstein instantly disconnects himself from the creature, by running away from his creation and he doesn’t even tell his best friend, called Henry Clerval, what he has just done. This suggests that Frankenstein has realised that making a new form of life was bad and he should have left it alone. When Frankenstein wakes up the next morning, he sees the Creature by his bed. All Frankenstein saw was that ‘one hand was stretched out’. Frankenstein sees this as the creature is trying to kill him. I think this is like a young child asking for their mummy or daddy and the creature is just scared and wanted a hug. This could symbolize how Mary Shelley felt all alone and just wanted someone. The creature is like a baby which is lost and wondering where he is. Some critics could interpret this as he is an aggressive monster. This could also prove how the creature is a victim in Frankenstein’s curiosity in natural philosophy.
As Frankenstein’s narration goes on, he starts to see himself the true murder as Justin goes on trial for Williams’s murder. He starts to say things like; ‘the result of my curiosity’, ‘I the cause’ and ‘myself guilty of the crime ‘. This suggests that Frankenstein is finally taking responsibility for his creation. This shows that Frankenstein feels guilty because he made the creature, but if he was so guilty why didn’t he say anything to stop Justine being hung? Some readers would think that Frankenstein is scared that the creature will come after him and kill him. Whereas other would think that he is too scared to say anything just in case he becomes an outcast of society like the creature.
The creatures narrative starts with the creature explaining how society where aggressive towards him. So he decided to go into the woods, where he found some huts. When the creature entered the hut a shepherded was sat their eating. The moment the shepherded saw the creature he ‘shrieked loudly’ and ran away with ‘a speed of which is debilitated form hardly capable’. The shepherded just saw the creatures face and thought it was monster or some sort of animal. The creature walked on and found some cottages, when he entered the cottages ‘children shrieked … one woman fainted’. The woman and children did the same as the shepherded and saw the creature as a monster. Some of village fled and ‘some attacked … bruised by stones’. The creature escapes from being attacked by society and finds a hut to stay the night. This is when the creature starts to question himself about what kind of person he is. ‘Was I, then, a monster?’ this show that how society reacts to him is affecting him.
The creature is hurt and upset and finds a family called the De Laceys. The creature starts to learn stuff from ‘The Wonderful Narrations’. The creature discovers that men have vicious and evil principles; also men have powerful, magnificent side. The creature also discovers ‘one man could go forth to murder his fellow’. This makes the creature turn away in ‘disgust and loathing’. This shows that the creature has got a good heart and hates the thought of murder. This shows that the creature never attends to hurt but just what someone to love him.
When he finally pucks up courage to show himself to the De laceys which suggest that he wants to be part of a family. He meets the old man who is blind and cannot see the creature ‘shrivelled complexion’. The old man shows the creature kindness and treated him with ‘brotherly love and charity’. This shows that the creature is good at heart and isn’t just an evil monster from what everyone sees when their see the creature. This show how society reacts on how people look and don’t give people a chance to talk before judging them. When the rest of the De laceys come in that’s what they do, they best him up until to creature runs away for safety.
The creature runaways into the forest where he saves a little girl from drowning, but for his reward he gets shot which gives him ‘miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone’. This final bit of being pushed out of society make him angry and say ‘I vow eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind’. Some critics might see this as the creature is showing that he is a monster. Others see it as the creature is angry and upset of being an outcast of society.
Finally, the creature snaps and kills William, Frankenstein’s brother, which he calls his ‘first victim’. It all starts after the creature gets shot and sees William wondering about. When he first sees William, he hopes befriend him because the creature believes that William is young so wont be horrified by the creature looks and actually talk to the creature. He hopes that William will help him be not ‘desolate in this peopled earth’. So the creature seizes him and hopes to ‘educate him’, but William sees the creature as a ‘Monster! Ugly wretch’. The creature tries to explain he isn’t a monster but William just blurts out that Frankenstein is his papa. This makes the creature angry and strangler William. He doses it by mistake but then realise what he has done and knows it will hurt Frankenstein so is glad to have its ‘first victim’.
I think that Frankenstein should have taken responsibility for his creation and teach him right from wrong. If after that the creature still went and killed people then he is an evil monster. I think that the creature is a victim of Frankenstein’s curiosity. I think that society turned him into who he is. Society reacted angry towards him so that’s how he reacts to people. He learned from how people reacted to him. I think that Frankenstein and society is to blame. I think that Frankenstein is the real ‘hideous monster’ because he is trying to play god and has a fantasy of life vs. death. The creature is just a victim of Frankenstein’s mission to be the best and make life.
