First and foremost, we must look at the creation of the monster. Victor’s intentions were always pure and never did he mean to cause harm to the world. His aim was to “pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” and in most people’s eyes this was his biggest crime; trying to replace God’s role as creator. Victor’s other monstrous act was the way in which he decided to pursue his ambition “I collected bones from charnel houses” shows that Victor’s passion for science was so extreme that even the idea of death couldn’t tear him away from reaching his target. To a nineteenth century reader this was perhaps the most horrifying crime of all as they were very religious and would have considered toying with dead human parts as a terrible sin. Also, Victor’s attitude towards examining dead body parts, “-a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life” makes the reader feel disgusted by the fact that he could be comfortable with doing something so ‘evil’. The word “merely” suggests that Victor doesn’t seem to feel discomforted by gathering dead body parts as he seems to dismiss the idea of dead bodies being frightening.
However, when the actual monster is created the reader is led to believe that he truly is a fiend. Even before the reader meet the monster, Mary Shelley builds up tension before its entrance. For example, “my candle was nearly burnt out” reinforces the nail-biting atmosphere and also comes back to the use of traditional Gothic. The readers’ first impression of the monster is given from Victor’s point of view and is therefore, slightly biased. Mary Shelley describes the monster as having a “shrivelled complexion and straight black lips” which automatically makes the reader pre-judge the monster because of his ghastly appearance and create a fear of him. The use of the modifier “shrivelled” to define the monster’s complexion emphasises the fact that the monster is constructed from dead body parts. Mary Shelley also goes on to describe the monster having “black lips” which links to the Gothic genre and the fear of the unknown. This could today be considered as a racist comment as Mary Shelley is making the reader judge the monster by the colour of his lips and “yellow skin”. At that point in the nineteenth century, people were just beginning to become aware of other cultures owing to immigration. However, a nineteenth century reader would still have felt an uncertainty towards different races as they were thought of as something “out there”, and this point is reflected through Victor’s opinion of the monster which is based on the colour of the monster’s skin. At this point in the novel, only the monster’s appearance expresses monstrosity and we cannot judge him solely upon his exterior.
On the other hand, Victor Frankenstein’s first impression upon the reader causes them to emphasise with the protagonist and feel compassion for him. Robert Walton is the first character to meet Victor when “his limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering” which makes the reader feel sympathetic towards him. As Victor is in a dreadful state, the reader feels concern and apprehension towards his condition. Mary Shelley’s use of the word “emaciating” suggests that Victor is gradually wasting away and the word “suffering” suggests that Victor is in a lot of pain and makes the reader feel he is a humble person who has come across harsh circumstances.
It is evident from the start of the novel that appearance is an important theme in the story as many of the character’s personalities and conditions revolve around the idea of appearance. Elizabeth’s character reflects this theme strongly, as she along with the monster, is alienated due to her appearance. She is an incredibly attractive woman and is therefore “initially singled out for her beauty” (York Notes Advanced). The characters of the novel treat her as though she is of a different species and Victor sees her as “a pretty present” and something to play with rather than an actual human being. Due to her divine beauty Elizabeth is regarded as a spiritual and superior being, as she is described as having “celestial eyes” and a “saintly soul” which suggest that she is less of a real person and more of a heavenly angel. Mary Shelley wanted to show her reader how much one’s appearance can affect society’s opinion of them and therefore used Elizabeth to show how even the stunningly beautiful can be isolated because of their beauty.
The main cause of both Victor and the monster’s sufferings is alienation. However, the reasons for their isolation from the rest of the world differ. The source of monster’s alienation is society as the monster longs for love and affection, “My heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures.”. The word “yearned “suggests that the monster has feelings and emotions and wants nothing more than acceptance into society.
In contrast, Victor’s alienation from society is self-imposed as he allows his passion for science to overcome the love he has for his friends and family. Frankenstein becomes so obsessed with discovering the secret to life that he becomes insensible towards his surroundings, “and the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent”. Victor pushes his loved ones away from him and suffers later in life because of this.
The consequences of alienation in both of these character’s lives is that it unleashes the monster in both of them. The monster only wants to be appreciated and understood but in return all he receives is rejection and hurt which results in his misery and monstrosity. Most people would see the cost of the monster’s alienation as Victor’s fault because Victor was the first person to reject the monster. When Victor first sees the monster he says “cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed” which makes the reader feel sympathetic towards the monster. The monster is Victor’s creation and fruit of his gruelling labour and he should love it for what it is like a mother would love her baby. On the contrary, Mary Shelley uses the phrase “every limb became convulsed” to describe the disgust and hatred Victor felt towards what he had created. Frankenstein is so horrified that he begins to shake uncontrollably.
The monster’s rejection by Victor then drives him to seek revenge on him by taking away from him the ones who are most dear to him and this is where the reader sees the gruesome side of the monster. Firstly, he meets William, Victor’s younger brother and assumes that the innocent child is unprejudiced and won’t judge him by his appearance, but upon seeing the monster’s exterior, William becomes frightened and thinks that the monster will eat him. This then causes the monster to kill William and because of the response the monster receives from society, he goes on to kill Justine, Henry Clerval and Elizabeth.
However, the monster cannot be held responsible for all these murders, as society conditions him to behave badly. Every time, he tries to commit a good act, he is punished for his efforts and therefore chooses not to be good. When the monster tries to help the drowning girl, her father shoots him simply because of his appearance and when the monster assists the De Lacey’s by chopping firewood etc, they beat him and run away. In this instance, society could be seen as the monster which the monster is also aware of as he says to Victor “You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing” which suggests that he is aware of how shallow society is.
In conclusion, I think that to an extent Victor is the real monster because his treatment of the monster causes the deaths of his loved ones and he also does devilish things such as examining dead body parts and trying to ‘play God’. He also falls in love with his ‘sister’ and marries and this suggestion of incest is quite unsettling especially to a nineteenth century reader. Victor does not believe that he is in any way to blame for the deaths of his friends and even says “the tortures of the accused did not equal mine-“which suggests that he is very selfish and doesn’t care for others. Victor does not fully regret what he has done, even though he does advise Robert Walton not to become too over-ambitious. He does try to amend his mistakes for ‘the greater good’ but not for the monster. When the monster asks Victor to create a female counterpart Victor agrees to do so, but then backs out on his promise and destroys the female form even though he owes it to the monster. Perhaps, this is why the monster then kills Elizabeth because this is what Victor has done to him, as is evident when the monster says “You accuse me of murder and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature”.
In my opinion the monster is in many ways Victor’s alter ego. Mary Shelley wanted to show the world that there is good and evil in us all and the way we are nurtured can bring out either one or the other. Further on in Victor’s life, there is a lack of a mother figure as there is in the monsters life from the very beginning and maybe this is what unleashes the monster within these characters. The monster is Victor’s evil sides and tends to act upon Victor’s aggressions. For example, the monster banishes from Victor’s life, the people whom Victor isolated from himself from in the first place. Additionally, there is a popular tendency to refer to the creature as Frankenstein because he is seen as Victor’s double. Also, when Victor dies, the monster also kills himself after realising his mistakes, which suggests that one cannot live without the other, as they are in fact the same person.
Nevertheless, society can also be seen as the actual monster in the novel as “human justice is repeatedly emphasised” (York Notes Advanced) throughout the story. Society is the reason why Victor and the monster become alienated and ultimately become the cause of several murders. The monster is also aware of how unjust society is and Mary Shelley seems to use him to criticise equality in society. After the execution of Justine, Elizabeth says “men appear to be as monsters thirsting for each others blood” which emphasises Mary Shelley’s critique of society and her belief that it is more monstrous than Victor or the monster.
