Frankenstein is regarded as a gothic novel and this genre was popular in the 19th century, Mary Shelley was influenced by this literary style. The novel itself is classed as being a gothic horror and one of the first science fiction books of it’s time. The novel is classed as gothic because there are elements of typical horror conventions such as the use of pathetic fallacy. As Frankenstein beholds his creature we are informed that ‘it was on a dreary night of November’ and ‘rain pattered dismally against the panes’. Gothic novels are designed to scare the reader and setting the scene the way Mary Shelley does with the raining dismally and ‘the half extinguished light’ shows that the novel uses gothic conventions. Throughout the novel Mary Shelley uses a lot of connotations of dramatic/horror words such as: ‘dull yellow eye’. This at first means that the creatures eyes were dull and yellow but it also means that there is something evil in the way he looks. Mary Shelley used these connotations to create and build dramatic tension in the novel.
The novel is unusual because the whole novel is written in first person narrative. Each narrator tells his own story, this effects the readers sympathy because it allows the narrator to exaggerate what has happened to them this helps to create more sympathy for each character. Before we hear about the creature we think it is a gruesome retched thing that is out to kill. By using this technique it allows Mary Shelley to create sympathy for each character.
Mary Shelley opens the novel in the epistolary style, presenting the beginning section of the story with a series of letters. This narrative technique allows Mary Shelley to give some background information on Captain Walton’s journey and separates his journey to Victor’s. It is a devise to emphasis Victor’s story at the expense to Walton’s. This technique adds pace to the story moving the plot along. It allows the reader to see similarities between the two characters, such as they both abandoned their domesticated lifestyle for adventure and the quest for knowledge this isolates them from their family and friends. They are driven by obsession, pushing the boundaries and dreams. There are some differences between the two characters there are differences such as; Victor is an intellectual and motivated by an overwhelming ambition to create life for his dead mother, whereas Walton is a more physical explorer and motivated by the thought of fame and personal glory. The series of letters emphasises admiration and affection that Victor inspires in Walton show that he sees great dignity, compassion, and kindness.
Mary Shelley creates sympathy for Victor throughout the novel who’s role is mixed he is a villain and a victim but in his mind he feels like the victim. In chapter five Mary Shelley shows Victors disappointment with his creation:
‘how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe’
Mary Shelley is showing the reader that the accomplishments of Victors ‘toils’ was not as perfect as he wanted them to be. Mary Shelley shows Victors emotions on a deeper and more intense level:
‘the beauty of the dream vanished’
This relates back to the death of his mother the ‘dream’ that Victor had was to cure death by creating life, which was ingrained in his mind and heart during the two years. When he looked into the ‘dull yellow eyes’ of the creature for the first time he realises the enormity of what he has done and his heart is filled with ‘breathless horror and disgust’. Victor ends up creating his own hell:
‘it became a thing such as even, Dante could not have conceived’
Mary Shelley allows the reader to explore a deeper and darker psychological side to Victor’s character. She does this using a dream or nightmare that uses typical gothic characteristics. Dreams normally allow deeper feelings to surface these could be socially unacceptable desires such as the Oedipus complex which is wanting to sleep with your mother. This is reflected in the dream:
‘I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death;….I thought I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms’
When Victor goes to kiss his fiancé and adopted sister Elizabeth she turns into the corpse of his dead mother. This hints that Victor associates sex with death, because he saw his mother die horrifically by childbirth, which is connected to sex. This could be linked with his and Elizabeth’s relationship. They grow up together having a pre-sexual relationship, Victor may feel that if he marries Elizabeth there relationship will stay pre-sexual whereas if he marries someone else outside of the family he might have to have sex. Victor may think that by finding an alternative to childbirth there is no need for women therefore there will be no sex and no more deaths due to the horror of childbirth.
In chapter five Mary Shelley includes a six line quote from a poem, The Ancient Mariner:
‘Like one, that on a lonesome road,
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round walks on,
Because he knows, a frightful fiend,
Doth close behind him tread’
In the story of Frankenstein Victor resembles the ancient Mariner and the creature resembles the albatross. When Victor abandons the creature, it becomes a burden. Like the albatross becomes a burden for the ancient mariner. Also the crew dying resembles Victors family dyeing in the novel. This quote might have suggested 19th century audience that Victor is to be doomed by his actions, because in the poem the Ancient Mariner he is doomed by his actions.
The creature is misunderstood as soon as he is brought to life Victor paints a picture for the reader when he describes what the creature looks like. He describes him as being:
‘the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.’
The reader thinks that the creature is evil Mary Shelley does this by using connotations of horror words such as ‘dull yellow eye’. At first this creates sympathy for Victor but as the novel develops the sympathy changes to favor the creature as the reader learns that he just wants to be loved by his ‘father’ Victor and he would like a companion to love like Victor has Elizabeth.
Throughout the novel Victors attitude is negative he uses words such as ‘wretch’, ‘ugliness’, ‘vile insect’, ‘daemon’ etc. By Victor using these words to describe the monster it creates extra sympathy for the creature. The reader learns how the creature is feeling, and when they hear what Victor calls the creature it creates more sympathy. They sympathise with it, Victor abandons it as soon as he sees what he looks like and then he treats it in a disgusting manner.
During the creatures narrative he repeatedly begs Victor to listen to him;
‘listen to my tale’, ‘but hear me’, and ‘listen to me’
This shows the reader the desperation of the creature, he wants to be heard but most importantly he wants to be heard by Victor his creator and the only person that he cares for.
The creature is portrayed by Mary Shelley as being intelligent due to the fact that he learns to read and speak quickly, from the cottagers he watched. This shows the reader that there is similarity between the creature and his creator or father Victor, who is highly intelligent. Once he had learnt how to read he learns about human nature;
‘I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; …my wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing’
This creates to the sympathy already created for the creature and makes the reader feel compassion for the creature and hatred towards Victor because it was due to him that the creature turned evil and set out on his quest for revenge.
When the creature begins to narrate his side of the story his humanity, and sensitivity is revealed to the reader;
‘But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses.’
This allows the reader to sympathise with the creature because they feel that he is isolated from the rest of society, and that he is an outcast and can never be loved. This is effective because it makes the reader feel sorry for him thus creating sympathy for the creature.
Mary Shelley makes the creature seem innocent and curious by the language that see uses this means that the audience sees him as being unaware and not fully understanding why he is an outcast and hated by society and when he finds out what he is;
‘When I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.’
This allows the reader to see that the creature was upset and horrified by what he had seen. Also Shelley exaggerates the creatures feelings of loneliness and isolation and that he ‘does not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity’.
Mary Shelly uses language to entice the readers sympathy also exaggerating the way the creature feels towards life;
‘I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death ’
The use of this language makes it possible for the reader to interpret just how much the creature hates his life this point of which the creature turns bitter and is driven towards death and revenge that is aimed at his creator, Victor who being selfish abandoned him which means that the reader can't help but sympathise with the creature and feel compassion for it.
Mary Shelley creates sympathy for the creature by using language techniques;
‘I was a poor helpless, miserable wrench; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but the feeling of pain invaded me on all sides, I sat down and wept.’
This sentence has two effects on the reader, it allows me as the reader to see how the creature is feeling also the language technique of breaking the sentence up into small sections of two to three words that Mary Shelley uses makes me as the reader feel uncomfortable and uneasy as it does not flow well. This also relates to how society feels when they first meet the creature. Thus creating more sympathy for the creature.
In conclusion I feel that Mary Shelley did not intend to create more sympathy for either character, but what she did do was create a deep and thought provoking novel that allowed the reader to come to there own conclusion. The use of language enabled Mary Shelley to make the novel interesting for the reader with the different techniques that she uses, which allows the reader to see the deeper psychological thoughts of each characters enabling the reader to see the different sides to both Victor and the creature meaning that they can come to there own decision on who deserves the most sympathy. This is why in my opinion the creature deserves the sympathy because he did not chose to be created, he did not chose to be evil but was pushed to it because he was abandoned and didn’t know right from wrong due to not having the father figure in his life.
