Monstrosity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein is a brilliant scientist who has mastered everything he has learned from his professors. However, he has never learned how to master his emotions about his creation. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the relationship between Victor and the monster to show the reader that the dynamic between the two beings happens to be two-faced. On the surface, they are hell-bent on revenge; while deep down they need each other, and more importantly, they need each other's forgiveness.

Mary Shelley’s ability to create such multidimensional characters in Frankenstein proves that writing is a powerful tool that has the ability to provoke vastly different opinions amongst readers. Even though each individual reading the story is reading the exact same words, their interpretation of those words often leads to opposing views in regards to the fate of the characters. The creature, in particular, has been a popular topic of discussion when conducting a close read of the novel due to his arguable versatility as a victim and villain. The concept of the villain has evolved over the years, however its basis still rests upon the simple fact that as a character in the story, their actions are a result of malicious intentions

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, an epistolary novel that structure a diverse narration enable through letters and dialogue. During the story, he author goes back and forth from writing from Victor’s point of view and other character’s perspective in the letters. The diction used to capture the feeling of abandonment, sorrow, and loss of identity that the monster felt. Victor also endured the feeling of sorrow because the very thing he created destroyed his entire family. The diction allowed the audience to connect to the characters, feel the pain and agony one’s faces after making a wrong decision that affects the rest of one’s life.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the unnamed creature brings terror to civilians and commits horrific acts against his creator, Victor Frankenstein. However, his redeemable acts of kindness makes his character morally ambiguous. He struggles between doing well and causing trouble because of isolation, the excerpts of society, and his pursuit for love.

The monster notices that humans are afraid of him because of his appearance, he feels embarrassed of himself, as humans do when they don’t seem to be accepted. He admires the De Lacey Family that lives in the cottage, he also learns from them, and hopes to have companion as they do. The monster is like humans, as mentioned, in the way that he wants someone to listen and care about him. He is discovering the world and his capacities, he seeks knowledge and understand plenty aspects of life by learning how to speak and read. “The gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to me; when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joys” (Shelley 47). The monster developed feelings and emotions as humans. The creature is different from humans also, since he never got to grow up as a normal human, and

Throughout the novel, “Frankenstein,” the “monster” was seen as hideous. As a result, many including the creator himself did not give the “monster” a chance and portrayed him as evil. Rather than looking at his personality, they looked at his outward appearance, which scared them off and made them assume he was a “monster.” When readers, including myself, read this story, we feel disappointed about how during this time everything revolved based upon looks and not on what really mattered like charisma. Overall he is portrayed as an evil, scary creature. When Victor describes him he is so harsh and cruel it makes him seem to be a monster. “He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” (Shelley 59) this phrase proves how when Victor describes the monster he did not care to think about what the monster was trying to say because he was too scared of his horrible looks.

In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley depicts the monstrosities of physical beauty. Shelley’s characters display conceited attributes that value outer beauty over inner beauty. This is best represented by Frankenstein’s monster. Initially, the monster is a curious being who is compassionate and naïve towards society. His value for physical beauty is so strong that he idolizes the family in which he is observing, therefore dehumanizing them. Evidently, he is unable to contemplate why “such lovely creatures [are] miserable” (Shelley 127). His association of beauty with happiness causes the inevitable eradication of his own self esteem. Furthermore, the monstrosity comes into place when the monster uses his lack of confidence to justify his

Mary Shelley uses point of view in Frankenstein to naturally develop her reader’s opinions and feelings in regards to her characters. Shelley forms her own Chinese Box structure along with a frame narrative stirred together to give the nature of stories within stories in a completely unique way ("Narrative Technique in Frankenstein"). When Shelley’s readers interpret Frankenstein, they tend to have mixed feelings when viewing the Creature and Victor Frankenstein. They have to decide who has evil attributes; the Monster for killing other humans, or Victor Frankenstein for creating the monster and then abandoning it. Throughout the story, the reader tends to battle with their emotions of sympathy towards each of the main roles within the story. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses her unique way of writing to fully mature her readers’ feelings on deciding the wicked character, Victor Frankenstein or the Monster.

Who is the real monster?” acts as the dominant question throughout the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelly as the reader explores the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation. As the novel progresses, the reader notices how the relationship between the two characters goes far beyond a neglectful creature and resentful creation, for the two influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of each other. Furthermore, the creature’s physical appearance acts as his purpose throughout the novel as well as a mirror of Victor Frankenstein’s true identity. Additionally, the creature’s lack of identity begins to initiate Frankenstein’s shame towards his own identity, revealing the flawed character of Frankenstein and determining the resolution to the question “Who is the true monster? Who is the true catalyst of destruction?” During the novel, the reader is able to identify the creature as the most effective foil for Victor Frankenstein because the creature causes: Frankenstein to view the action of the creature as his own work, the shift between pride and shame in Frankenstein, and his physical appearance demonstrates his purpose to reveal the true character of Victor Frankenstein.

Throughout the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the creature is subjected to countless acts of violence and rejection. For a monster to develop, one must have been formerly exploited either by an individual or their society. The creature is not only a physical product of science, but his atrocious behavior is also an explicit result of Victor’s actions toward him. The creature was not born a monster, but slowly morphed into one as he experiences violence and rejection from his society.

When picturing a stereotype of a monster, often the thought of an asymmetrical, gruesome, and evil figure is visualized. A creature born to wreak havoc and compromise the peace of the defenseless and innocent. Because in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the common conception of a monstrous creature is not mirrored, the reader is forced to question who the true monster of the novel is. At first, the reader believes that Victor’s monster is to assume position, but as the plot unfolds, the situation demands closer attention. Upon further analysis, the reader can conclude by the character’s actions and motives, that Victor Frankenstein’s creature is not the real monster, rather Victor, himself.

As the characters in the novel Frankenstein compellingly evince, monstrosity is not an inherent characteristic but one that is acquired through belligerent revenge, extensive isolation and dangerous curiosity. By applying this trait not only to the monster but also to Frankenstein, Shelley demonstrates that true monstrosity not lies in the outer physical appearance but exists in the minds full of obsessive malignant intentions. Referring back to the root of the word monster, monere (to instruct), Shelley uses the theme of monstrosity throughout the book to instruct the readers that challenging the realm of god only leaves one with monstrosity and

Frankenstein is one of the most stirring novels in the history of English literature. The author, Mary Shelly, goes on to delve very deep into the intricacies of human nature in comparison to what people call monstrous. The novel is essentially an exploration into the mind of the protagonist and his creation- the monster, and it describes the gradual change of psyche of the monster. The novel raises ethical questions with regard to scientific discovery by portraying the condition and experiences of the monster. The characters of Victor Frankenstein and the creature are the driving force of this novel, and their final outcomes leave the avid readers stirred to the very core of their hearts.

In most people’s minds as of today, there is no question to who the monster is in Mary Shelley’s book, Frankenstein. It is the creature that Viktor Frankenstein created, that murders innocent people. However, when looking beyond the appearance of the creature, it is evident that he did not begin as a monster. Mary Shelley analyzes fundamental and crucial issues in her novel in terms of being able to use science and knowledge for the good of people and not for the satisfaction of personal ambitions without even being able to take responsibility for that. It is also the novel of social rejection based on external looks and inability to accept. It was the extreme misconceptions of humans that resulted in the extreme isolation of Frankenstein’s

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein portrays one of the darkest, most hopeless situations that could possibly occur due to the monstrous deeds performed by the main characters in the novel. When one thinks of Frankenstein, they generally think of Victor’s creation as being a monster, and the cause of the unfortunate events that occur in the novel. While Victor’s creation is indeed a monster, Victor is equally as monstrous in his actions. While both characters are initially innocent, they are being constantly corrupted throughout the story. Both Victor and his creation become monsters through their actions.