“…how was I terrified…” “….I was in reality the monster that I am…”
He is filled with sensations of despondence and mortification. This shows that even the creature sees himself as ugly. This is very significant because if we didn’t have this then we would be reliant on other peoples view of the creature, and after all who are they to judge. But if the creature calls himself a monster, then maybe it is true.
From the creatures narrative we learn a totally different side to him from the way that Frankenstein describes him. When the creature first goes into the forest he learns in a similar way to which a baby learns, albeit he had no parental influences. He learns about his senses.
“…a strange multiplicity of sensations seized me…”
He also learns about fire and wood. One night when he is awoken from his sleep in the middle of the night and feels “half frightened”, and “desolate”. He calls himself a “poor, helpless, miserable wretch”, he feels pain and “sat down and wept”. Then he saw the moon which gave him “a sensation of pleasure”. The only thing that comforted him during this desperate time for him was the moon. This is important because not only does a he show emotion just like humans but also that he longs for a mother. We can tell this because the moon represents feminine qualities. This is significant because if he was a monster he wouldn’t be able to show or feel emotions, he also wouldn’t search for a mother or female companion to guide and look after him.
When the creature sees the De- Lacy family he loves them and when they are sad he empathises with them.
“…I was deeply affected by it …”
Also he used to “steal a part of their store” but he realised that he “inflicted pain on the cottagers”. This shows that he understands what is going on and realises the consequences of his actions. Animals are unable to do this, and this gives another indicator of the creature’s humane qualities. The creature also learns about language and calls it a “Godlike science” and he “desired to become acquainted with it”. This shows that even though he was not created by God he can still learn the language that He gifted humans with. This is very significant because apart from humans there is no species in the world that can speak with a language and for a creature that is not human to learn this language he must have human qualities.
When the creature sees humans in relationships and friendships he desperately wants one.
“…You and your family are the friends whom I seek…”
He asks for a friend or companion on different occasions and each time his requests are rejected. This shows that he is like a lot of humans who desire and need friendship and company, he desperately wants someone to look after him and care for him. This is a human trait because animals do not have these desires.
As I have shown in the previous paragraph the creature has good and kind sides to him, but this all changes and he turns into a destructive, evil, monster.
Before he turns evil the creature possessed qualities that made him seem good, kind and human, however he performs acts of kindness when he clears the snow, saves a drowning girl, and moves logs. These are acts of pure love and kindness. He is unmercenary in his motives and seeks no reward. A monster would not do these things and this shows his humane side. The way he reacts after he is rejected by the delacy family appears to be quite monsterous, but to be quite fair to the monster after the build up of so much tension and then to have your final hope so cruelly dashed, perhaps his reactions are not so surprising , maybe they may even be considered a natural human reaction.
However, what is significant is Mary shelly’s language, and her words that will eventually lead you to the impression as to what the creature is reallylike. When the creature burns the house down Mary shelly writes
“…1 lighted the dry branch of a tree, and danced, with fury around the devoted cottage”.
This conjures up a very frightening image of the creature and he appears almost demonical it’s as if he is carrying out a satanic ritual as he dances around the burning house, screaming.
At the start of the creatures narrative, Mary uses language that makes us empathise with the creature and it would appear that he seems more human, then a deamon, she writes
“……a strange multiplicity of sensations seize me”
We are shown the creature’s humane qualities.
She also writes
“…A poor, helpless, miserable wretch/, I sat down and wept”
Your reaction is to quite shocked because you do not expect “monsters” to feel this emotion of being scared. This is quite different to how Frankenstein describes him.
Mary Shelly’s language is also apparent in the way she calls the creature’s creator “Victor” which means victorious and fails to give the creature a name, thus creating a higher status for Victor then the creature. But there was one thing missing in the creature’s life and that was human companionship and someone to love him.
“…but where were my friends and relations…”?
A French philosopher whom Mary Shelley studied whose ideas inspired the French Revolution, called Jean-Jacques Rousseau, once stated
“…a man abandoned to himself by all other men from birth would be the most disfigured of all…”
This is exactly what happens to the creature.
The creature is good throughout the story until the point where he is rejected by the De Lacy family. The creature has built his hopes so high about finally making friends out of people that he has grown to love. His hopes are shattered after he is beaten by Felix and rejected by the family. This point makes an abrupt change in the hopes, feelings, and natural goodness of the creature, and he
“…declared everlasting war against the species…”
This is the turning point for the creature’s descent into a monster. It is important because we know and understand why he has made this transition. The creature also says
“…I did not strive to control them; but allowing myself to be borne away by the stream. I bent myself towards injury and death…”
This shows that he does not want to control his anger allows himself to become evil. This is significant because of the fact that he does not want to control himself. This seems very strange and shows the monstrous qualities in him. Or maybe it is just a natural reaction, after all he has tried so hard, done nothing but good, has been rewarded with pain and rejection.
The creature is once again punished for his good deeds when he saves a girl from drowning , and a man shoots him. This is the last kind act he performs towards humans and once again he says “I’ve vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind”. It confirms our belief that he has become evil, but we also know the reasoning behind this,
For no matter what he does he will always be shunned by mankind because of his appearance, and therefore why should he show them kindness if it is not reciprocated.
The murder of William, Clerval and Elizabeth are all ruthless acts, they are also acts of vengeance towards Frankenstein. Some would however, argue that if Frankenstein had indeed made him a female partner then the torment would have ceased and Elizabeth’s life would have been spared. Frankenstein declares him a “monster” for these actions, but after all Frankenstein destroyed the creatures hopes for a female companion. However, the murders of William and Clerval can also, in some ways, be justified as acts of retribution although they can be seen as vengeful and foul. This shows the creature’s monstrous side. He is also capable of evil wickedness in the way that he coldly and calculatingly frames Justine of a murder she did not commit
Mary Shelly had many themes running throughout her story bases on what she felt and what was going on around her at the time. One of the main themes is radical reform. Mary Shelly once described the French Revolution by saying
“…the giant now awoke. The mind…received the spark which lit it into an inextinguishable flame…”.
This could equally be her describing the creature. During “The French Revolution” never before were seen acts that were carried out by the common people, the poor were now daring to overthrow the rich. Mary Shelly witnessed the destruction of her Mother and Father’s reputation caused by their revolutionary fervour and managed to distance herself from it. Perhaps Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is an allegory of the French revolution. The creature could be seen as a demonstration of the consequences of unleashing an uncontrollable force, Frankenstein could be seen as the initiators of the French Revolution who fail to control their followers.
Frankenstein is very irresponsible of his creation and shuns it from the moment it comes to life, he also fails to keep the creature under control. The creature is then rejected, cursed and unloved by everyone, no matter what he does, he deals with his hurt and his anger by destroying everything he comes across and eventually he destroys his creator, Victor. Victor’s lack of responsibility towards the monster has resulted in his own downfall. This is what happens to the people who lead the way in French Revolution. They too created a monster who grew out of control and eventually the leaders were executed.
Frankenstein’s creature begs to be treated with kindness and respect, but he is spurned and rejected. His moral monstrosity of the terror is also a creation of the French Aristocracy. If the Aristrocracy had acknowledged and paid gratitude and respect to the common people, they would of reciprocated in kind and the need for a revolution would be unnecessary.
.
Both the creature and his creator are warnings/demonstrations to the world: the powerful must esteem and respect the powerless, or revolution will ensue.
Now I come to answer the question “does Shelly intend us to respond to the creature as a monster”. What Mary Shelly is saying is that monsters aren’t born they are made. This is evident in the way that the creature is treated. When he is first introduced to the world he is a kind, loving being, perhaps even an example of goodness. But when in the face of people he is rejected, cursed upon and unloved, this in effect turns the creature into a monster. Mary is also saying that reform, when it is controlled and in the right hands is not a bas thing, but when we fail to control it will grow uncontrollable and become evil.
By Joshua Gray
