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Comparing Heroes And Villains In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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The history of literature is full of good and evil struggling against each other, often in the forms of heroes and villains. It seems as if we, the readers, need a clear distinction between these two in order to grasp which one of them we ought to support, and which one to fear. In reality, though, people are neither completely good nor evil. Most people are complex and can have very different traits, traits that even contradict each other. As previously mentioned, when first looking at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein it seems as if Victor is a kind and good-natured man, whilst the creature is cold-hearted and brutal. But when looking more closely at the text, the labels which we willingly attribute to the characters become more indistinct. Moreover, a great many similarities between the two can even be found, and the traits that the first character lacks, the other …show more content…

A likely explanation for this is that they are mirrors of each other, with the creature being a representation of Victor’s dark and savage side. Through the creature, all of Victor’s suppressed emotions can manifest themselves. Together they complete each other. No man is entirely good or evil: “nature can be the source of death as well as life. Good people do evil” (Lipking 330). Both sides need to be expressed. Moreover, this means that there is no supernatural element in the creature, as only a human being or humanoid can be a true monster. Although Victor tries to be, and believes that he is entirely good, his situation is untenable. A breakdown in the form of the creature is the result of his unwillingness to embrace his darker side. As an extenseion of Victor, the creature shares some similarities with him, but has the capability of following his raw isntincts and emotions. “like forces in the natural world, Frankenstein’s nregulated desires gathers strength until it erupts in the monster’s creation” (Poovery

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