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Masculinity In Frankenstein

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The Creature is portrayed in the novel outright as masculine, and he certainly does have many masculine characteristics, such as his muscles and height, but he does share some feminine features as well. For example, outwardly, he is described as having long, “lustrous black, and flowing” hair (35). This long, beautiful hair is common to females, and it seems to stand out against his muscular frame. Consequently, he has conflicting hyper masculinity and femininity. This is highlighted by his emotions and behavior. When he sees the moon, he recognizes its beauty and decides it brings him “pleasure” (71). This is emotional enjoyment of nature is again driven home when he first sees birds and hears them chirping, for he is “delighted” by “that …show more content…

He is ashamed of his creation and he treats the Creature with disrespect and visceral disgust. Immediately after creating him, Victor abandons his creation which he sees as a “demoniacal corpse to which [he] had so miserably given life” (36). He leaves the Creature to grow up and survive all on his own, and when he needed guidance he could find none for his creator had left him. As a result, he is left to fend for himself and find his own way in a society that does not accept him, leading to his growing hatred and desire for revenge for the mistreatment. For the Creature recognizes that “no father had watched [his] infant days” nor did he have a mother to help raise him, rather even from the beginning he was alone (84). This realization brings about immediate sorrow to the Creature as all he wants and desires, acceptance, seems to be out of reach. This familial life is very different than what Safie encountered in her journey for acceptance. For while she is let into a beautiful family unit and is immediately enveloped in love and joy, the Creature, even from the beginning is surrounded by negativity and sorrow, as a result of Victor’s revulsion to his work of art. This leads to a very different outcome for the two characters, as they find their way in the world. The two grow from knowing nothing about the way the world works to learning German and the way that society works. While this knowledge breeds only goodness in Safie, it leads to the Creature becoming vengeful and despondent as he recognizes that he has no place in

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