Humanity And Human Appearance In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells the tale of a man whose entire life turns to misery after creating what he calls a monster, a demon and a fiend. However, the real monster in this story is pride and the feeling of superiority. This is evident in the novel with Robert Walton’s view of himself and his expedition, Victor Frankenstein’s attitude towards himself in comparison with the creature, and mankind’s perception of the creature and their ignorance towards him.

   Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, sheds light on the importance of appearance through the tale of an unwanted creation that is never given a chance by society. Ironically, the supposed beast was initially much more compassionate and thoughtful than his creator, until his romantic and innocent view of the human race was diminished by the cruelty and injustice he unduly bore. Not only does the creature suffer the prejudice of an appearance-based society, but other situations and characters in the novel force the reader to reflect their own hasty judgment. The semi- gothic novel includes several instances of societal prejudice that include the isolation and outcast of Frankenstein's creation,

The above quote portrays the few moments after Frankenstien had given life to his creature. He had spent a few years working on this project. It can be compaired to a person giving birth to a child. By nature he wanted his creation to be beautiful. When he realizes that his creature is not a beautiful sight, but in actuality a grotesque looking being, he runs away. He does not spend any time nuturing his "child" , because the abnormal apperence of the creature has scared him away. From this point on the creature is doomed to receive this type of reaction from any one who sees him, because human nature is to fear the unknown. The creatures creator is afraid of him. This is like a

Due to Victor’s unwillingness to accept him, the creature was unable to conform to societal norms. From the creature’s very first moments, he is feared by others - the instant his eyes open, his creator cries out in terror and runs to his quarters. If only Victor had stayed and attempted to nurture his creation, instead of having “turned from [him] in disgust” (93), the creature may have enjoyed a gentle, upbringing in which he

The rejection the creature faces in the female role causes him to adopt the male role in his story, forcing him to attempt to sacrifice his feminine morals of emotionality, as social norms make it impossible for the creature to reconcile the male and female roles. The creature mistakenly kills William, and this leads the creature to believe that perhaps he is not like Adam (157). Rather, he begins to see himself as powerful — as if playing the role of Satan, whom he

Thesis Statement: In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature’s identity as a monster is due to societal rejection, isolation, and misinterpretation.

The creature claims that the creation of a equal partner like himself would make him happy. The creature proclaims, "my virtues will necessarily arise when I live in communion with an equal. I shall feel the affections of a sensitive being, and become linked to the chain of existance and events, from which I am now excluded" (121). In this speech, the creature tries to provoke sympathy from Doctor Frankenstein. However, because of his previous acts of violence, his request is denied. This agonizes the creature: "Shall each man...find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have a mate and I be alone?" (140). The result of these constant rejections that the creature becomes violent and therefore cannot be blamed for his violence. The creature's desire to be given affection and sympathy can only reside in another being like himself since he has been denied by the world around him.

I believe that the novel Frankenstein questions several social conventions and norms of society, especially when it comes to our notions of humanity and monstrosity. What makes a monster? What makes a human? This leads to the question of whether we are really humans or monsters. Humanity tends to place a large emphasis on appearance and those who do not fit into this category of the “ideal or typical physical appearance” are unfortunately more likely to be looked upon unfavorably. While we say to not judge a book by its cover we, in fact, do so, on a regular basis. The media plays a major role in influencing our perspective in terms of the fine line between humanity and monstrosity. This has led to

  One of the main themes in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the importance of appearance and acceptance in modern society. In today's society, and also in the society of Frankenstein, people judge one often solely on their looks. Social prejudice is often based on looks, whether it be the color of someone's skin, the clothes that a person wears, the facial features that one has and even the way one stands. People make snap judgments based on these and other considerations and they affect the way that they present themselves to one, and also the way that the treat the judged person. In Frankenstein the society of that time is much like our own today. It is an appearance

As I struggled to grab on to a thesis for this essay, it finally occurred to me that my empathy for the monster really was fundamental in my reading of this text. In further examining why I would feel this way, and by comments made in class on this subject, I soon realized that I had a parallel to the monster’s experience right in front of me – literally. My brother, borne with a severe cleft pallet and lip he has endured twenty-three years of surgeries and therapies to repair the structure of his face. The first surgeries focused primarily on function of his basic needs: eating, breathing, speaking etc. without emphasis on how he looked. However, these past few years, as he approached his early twenties, the surgeries have focused primarily on his appearance. Like the monster, he experiences many prejudices based on his appearance. He is frequently looked upon suspiciously in stores while shopping and has been approached by security on occasion. Strangers tend to shy away from him and often look away and do not respond if he directly address’ them. He

Victor Frankenstein's determination to constitute a race causes him to create a deformed creature, which he immediately rejects. In the

The first person who had seen the creature, other than Victor, “Shrieked loudly” (Shelley 83) when he looked upon his ugly and massive frame. This was a reaction the creature got used to, and he decided he would be better off to stay out of the paths of humans. When he found the hovel near the cottage he watched over for many months, the creature still was a loving, gentile being, despite the few nasty run-ins with humans. His sincitivity showed when he marveled at nature, and cried at some of the depressing stories from ancient civilizations. His tender and caring heart showed when he looked over the family, gathered

The monster was always judged on the way he looked which made him the outcast because he was not normal in the human’s eyes. By using this in depth character interplay, Shelley further expands upon the monster archetype and allows the reader to question who truly is the monster inside of Frankenstein.

(Shelley). The fact that Frankenstein fled from his creation very shortly after it came to life, proves how he refused to accept his obligations and responsibilities after his creature was created. ?The [creature] is Frankenstein?s abandoned child? (Mellor Abandonment 357). It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. Victor was intimidated by his hideous characteristics and felt threatened by the creature. He did not know his creation at all, so he had no right to judge him. This is an example of how various people and society place too much judgment on physical appearance. The creature had just come into the world for the first time, and the first thing he saw was his creator screaming for his life as a result of his appearance. This traumatized the creation, and caused him to seek revenge on Frankenstein. This novel shows how when people are prejudice against physical deformity or ugliness, it automatically characterizes that person as bad or monstrous (Halberstam 59). Victor was the one who gave him these characteristics; so in fact, he is to blame for the creature?s appearance being so monstrous.

The creature understands that adulthood must happen for the young boy but also wants to make sure the boy will be able to manage as an adult and not forget his innocence, which is why the younger-self get’s a similar creature