"Who is the real monster in Frankenstein: Victor, the Creature or Society?

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“Who is the real monster in Frankenstein: Victor, the Creature or society?

Frankenstein is a gothic novel which deals with romanticism and the related emotions of life. Victor, the Creature and society cannot solely be blamed for the catastrophes in the novel even though all three acted monstrously in some way. When deciding if someone is a monster their actions must be taken into account and in some instances can society Victor and the creature be at fault? Can society be blamed for recoiling in horror whenever they saw the hideous eight foot Creature? After being shunned and tormented by the world, can the Creature be fairly called a monster because of its actions? Certainly it was Victor’s blind ambition that sparked these atrocities; however did Victor not begin his work with the well being of man-kind in his mind? It is unfair to simply blame one person yet each must take responsibility for their part.

        In terms of physical appearance, the Creature is certainly a monster and this is what causes its doom. Victor built his Creature with huge proportions, far greater that that of a normal human: "I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of gigantic stature; that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionally large.” Victor bases his decision of sheer convenience, however although convenient for him, Victor dooms the Creature to be hated for being so abhorrently different. It is obvious that the Creature should not solely be judged on its appearance alone, yet it appears that it is not the only monstrous aspect of the Creature. Throughout the novel, the Creature kills three people directly and two people indirectly through the consequences of his actions. In all but one exception the Creature targets people who have caused him no pain or anguish therefore it can be said that the Creature is brutal and evil in his actions: “Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy – to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge, you shall be my first victim.” If the Creature murdered Victor then in some respects his actions could be justified however, murdering a young boy shows only malice and heartlessness; the traits of a monster. The Creature systematically destroys everything that Victor values thus destroying his soul and thus it can be said that the creature is in fact a monster.

However, would it be fair to judge someone or something on appearance alone and should not the reasons of why the creature acted be delved into in a greater extent?  After its creation, the Creature strikes the reader of being child like: “His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sound, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.” This was quoted from Victor’s narrative and it is clear to the reader that Victor is blinded by the Creature’s appearance and does not see the Creature as a newly born babe, this leads the reader into doubting Victor’s views of the monster. Victor only sees the hideous appearance not then plight of a child trapped in the skin of beast. If Victor had nurtured the Creature instead of fleeing from its creation and leaving it to find out about the world itself, then would it not have had a path of peace instead of hatred against mankind? Because of Victor’s incapability to do his duty as a creator, the Creature is continually shunned by society, “The whole village was aroused, some fled, and some attacked me.” Even after constant rejection, the Creature still manages to give and do great deeds to people who will never acknowledge him. After seeing a family ( the De Laceys) in financially trouble, the creature feels it his duty to aid them. The Creature has empathy for people who will only ever detest him: “I often took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing (fire wood) sufficient for the consumption of several days. “The fact that the Creature is willing to help  the De Laceys when he will receive no benefit, strongly supports the ideas of Rousseau, a Swiss philosopher who believed that “Men in his natural state is good. It is society that constricts and corrupts him that makes him evil.” By definition a monster feels no compassion yet this is clearly not the case with the creature. On seeing a drowning girl the creature feels it his obligation to save her but after doing so he is again abused: “He aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body and fired.” The Creature is taught that humans, as a general species, are evil and only cause him suffering; therefore it is unfair the Creature is labelled a monster for despising them.

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        Many would argue that it is society that drove the Creature into madness and murder, therefore it can be seen as the real monster in Frankenstein. Society continually attacks and brutalises the Creature to the extent where the Creature begins to despise its very existence. No matter what the Creature is doing it is punished for its appearance alone. Throughout the book the Creature blames Victor for the suffering it endures from society and therefore it vows to destroy Victor and be the tormentor of all mankind. When the Creature was in its infancy, in a manner of speaking, ...

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