In the novel 'Frankenstein', who is the real monster
In the novel 'Frankenstein', who is the real monster?
The novel 'Frankenstein' was written in the nineteenth century by Mary Shelley. Shelley was born in England in 1797, daughter of Mary Wollstonecroft and William Goodwin. Her mother died soon after giving birth to her only child.
Shelley wrote 'Frankenstein' in 1816, whilst on holiday in Geneva. The idea of the story came to her when horror stories were being exchanged between friends. Shelley then developed this into the well known novel .
The story of 'Frankenstein' is based on the rich Frankenstein family, who live in Geneva. Victor Frankenstein is a young , prosperous scientist, who after years of hard work , creates a living being using the body parts of the dead. Victor Frankenstein is the creator of a 'monster, but the novel raises the issue of who the real monster is; Frankenstein, for creating the 'monster' and his proceeding actions, or his creation, for being a murderous beast.
When the creation is given life, Frankenstein's hopes are turn to horror, as he realises that his creation is repulsive and menacing. Frankenstein then makes the mistake of fleeing from his creation in fear, although he knows nothing about the creatures capabilities or its intentions. This action is the beginning of a chain of events that leads the 'monster' to feeling rejected by society, consequently becoming a murderous, evil creature.
Frankenstein begins his project to create life with good intention. However, his project soon becomes an obsession. This is shown in the sentence "a resistless and almost frantic impulse urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit" when referring to his quest to build life. The word "resistless" shows how he is obsessed with building the creature, as it means he cannot control his want to continue with his project. This suggests that he his unhealthily pursuing his dream, at whatever cost. This is also shown in the when he states "I was in reality very ill, and surely nothing but the unbounded and unremitting attentions of my friend could have restored me to life". This shows his illness. He is so intent on creating a beautiful life, and it is obvious that he will not be happy until this task has been completed.
Frankenstein's hope is that his creation will be a triumph and a success is shown in the sentence "exercise and amusement would then drive away the incipient disease: and I promised myself both of these when my creation should be complete." This shows that he believes that his creation will be socially acceptable and entertaining. It also shows his sickness created by the project, as he admits to having an "incipient" disease.
When Frankenstein finally finishes his endeavour of creating life, he is bitterly disappointed with it. After believing that his "incipient disease" would be cured when ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Frankenstein's hope is that his creation will be a triumph and a success is shown in the sentence "exercise and amusement would then drive away the incipient disease: and I promised myself both of these when my creation should be complete." This shows that he believes that his creation will be socially acceptable and entertaining. It also shows his sickness created by the project, as he admits to having an "incipient" disease.
When Frankenstein finally finishes his endeavour of creating life, he is bitterly disappointed with it. After believing that his "incipient disease" would be cured when his creation was finished, imagine his disappointment at it being a hideous and terrifying. His shock and distress is shown in the line "I had chosen his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God!". The use of the word "God" is awfully ironic, as Frankenstein is in a way playing God, by creating life. Frankenstein clashes science with religion. In a way, he plays God by trying to create life, using science. This would have been very controversial in the time that the book was written, as religion was very powerful and respected then. He also says "but now that I had finished, the beauty of dream had finished and breathless horror filled my heart." This shows that the creation had not been properly thought through, and now that he had finished, he bitterly regrets having created it. It also shows that he thought his creation would be marvellous, but it turns out to be horrifying.
Frankenstein's failure to think of the consequences of his creation is also shown when he says "Oh! No living mortal could support the horror". This shows that he believes that no being could not be afraid of his creation. This reveals that the creation will inflict fear into all other living creatures.
Although Frankenstein is depicted as a terrible person in some senses, Shelley also creates sympathy for him. After the creation is given life, Frankenstein says "how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe?". This produces a feeling of sympathy for Frankenstein as he has spent so much time creating his 'monster', and has put so much effort into it, yet all this has resulted in a disaster.
The reader is also made to feel sympathy for Frankenstein as he is afraid of his own creation. The night after he has given life to the 'monster', Frankenstein has nightmares and is terrified of his creation. This is shown when he says " I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams." This suggests that Frankenstein cannot sleep peacefully because he cannot keep his mind from the menacing monster.
Frankenstein is portrayed as evil and immoral in some senses, but at the same time the reader feels sympathetic towards him. This is also done with Frankenstein's creation. It is made out to be a monster but sympathy is also shown towards it.
The creation is portrayed as monster because it is actually a monster. It is the result of a scientific experiment, which is the only reason it is so labelled. If a natural human being carried out the same actions as the creation, they would not be called a monster, although the actions that the creation carries out play a large part in labelling it as a monster.
Another reason why the monster is seen as a monster is because of its physical disadvantages. It is physically ugly which leads to society rejecting it before its personality is allowed to be expressed. The creation's ugliness is described when Frankenstein says "His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but this luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips." This description of the creation's appearance tells the reader how ugly the creation is, particularly by the adjectives used such as "lustrous" and "dun-white sockets".
The creation is also seen as a monster because it kills so many people. The creation was forced to live away from humanity, which led to it feeling isolated, and this soon turned to anger, which eventually led the creation to kill. When the creation meets with Frankenstein, it says "Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me." This shows that the creation knows that he can never be loved, even his creator "abhors" him, so there is no hope of anyone else loving him. This also creates sympathy for the creature as the reader discovers that it has human feelings, and knows it will always be unloved. The creature is shown to have a "soul" that "glowed with love and humanity". This shows that the creature wanted to be a normal human, but Frankenstein's reaction towards it didn't allow this to happen. Shelley creates sympathy in many other ways for the monster. Frankenstein never gives his creation a name; a name would allow the creation to be able to think of itself as somebody, not just a creature. This may then mean that humans would be able to see the creation as someone, not just a monster.
Although the creation is made out to be a 'monster', the reader is persuaded to feel sympathetic towards it due to its history, its feelings and the way in which it was treated.
In conclusion, both Frankenstein and his creation are monsters in their own way. Frankenstein is a 'monster' because of the way he behaves in creating life, and then for rejecting his creation and undertaking no responsibility for it. Frankenstein's creation is a 'monster' because of what it is; a product of scientific experimentation, and also because of the way it acts. Both Frankenstein and his creation have excuses for their 'monstrous' behaviour, but I believe neither have a good enough excuse to do what they did.
Tom Bream 10N English Coursework 5/10/2007
