Victor Frankenstein as the Monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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

The Creature reveals that he is malicious due to being miserable. “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind” (104). Moreover, the creature mentions that he is miserable due to Victor creating him. “I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my arch-enemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred… I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall curse the hour of your birth” (104-105). As a resurrection to his kind ways, the Creature asks for a female and promises to leave humanity alone if this request is completed. “I demand a creature of another sex… Oh my creator, make me happy… If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again: I will go to the vast wilds of South America” (105). After Victor agrees and then breaks this promise by destroying the female he has created, the Creature vows that he will return to hurt those that Frankenstein cares for. “It is well… but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding night” (123). This decision by the monster is understandable due to being betrayed so often by humanity and promising to leave humanity forever if he was able to have the simple request of a female. This relates to moral ambiguity because the Creature was fully willing to abandon his revenge if he could reach a state of happiness, but due to this familiar betrayal, the Creature returns to malevolence. Not too long later, in a further event of malevolence, the Creature kills Frankenstein’s best friend, Henry Clerval and attempts to frame Frankenstein for the strangulation. “Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of live” (129). The Creature continues on this killing spree by traveling to where Frankenstein is having his honeymoon and

Victor Frankenstein’s creature understands that he is indeed different, but is not evil from the beginning. The creature wishes to integrate himself to society, to be accepted, but knows that his physical irregularities make this very difficult. It is evident in the novel that Victor Frankenstein’s creation is the villain and everything is all really Frankenstein’s fault. Nevertheless, just because it’s in contradiction of the obvious stereotypical interpretation that big ugly thing is the monster, doesn’t mean that the logical counterculture method is correct. Mary Shelley is fond of associating Victor Frankenstein to God, with his creation of life.

Daniel Dennett in his 1996 book Kinds of Minds writes, “Every human mind you've ever looked at … is a product not just of natural selection but of cultural redesign of enormous proportions.” Dennett points out that each of us are a product of ‘cultural design’. An example of this is, The monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The monster really does show us how society could have a positive or negative effect on who we become as people. Victor Frankenstein’s monster started out with the maturity level of a child, and the dependance of one as well.

Frankenstein pushes the creature away in horror, saying “Devil…do you dare approach me? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust!” (Shelley 97). The creature is just learning how to adapt to humanity, and his own creator is abandoning him due to the creature’s own wretchedness. The creature responds by echoing this consideration, speaking of how “All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” (Shelley 97). The creature has experienced the wrath of humanity, thus he considers himself to be wretched and

At the surface, Victor Frankenstein appears to be an altogether good and kind human being. He is well-educated, sensitive, and loving towards his family and friends. At first glance, even his reason for creating the monster seems reasonable: “I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now find it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (33).

All his life Victor was obsessed with science and things beyond what they seem. He isolated himself from all human existence for two long years, studying, thinking and ultimately creating. Victor pushed the limit of science by creating a living, breathing creature. In order to create his creature he had to take body parts from the dead. This paints a great picture of how dedicated he was to science and really how morbid the setting of this novel really is.

Victor's duties towards his creature are to take care of him as if he were his son. Not let him wander around by himself, not let him be lonely. At first, Victor let him wander around because he was scared of the creature and was mad at him because he believe the monster killed William. According to paragraph 14, line 6, it states, "You accuse me of murder; and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature." This quote shows how the monster is trying to tell Victor that he too is a murderer if he plans on killing the creature he created. This also ties in with Mary Shelley's epigraph which states, "DID I REQUEST THEE, MAKER, FROM MY CLAY, TO MOULD ME MAN?" This quote shows how the creature never asked to be created,

Frankenstein's true character and the way he is perceived are so different. Frankenstein is seen as an abomination and a horrifying monster and only as a horrifying monster. Monsters are viewed as evil scary creatures. On the other hand, Frankenstein feels more human than a monster. He wants to be included and accepted into the society he lives in, but people don't accept him because they are afraid. In the excerpt, Frankenstein said “ ...I trust that, by your aid, I shall not be driven from the society and sympathy of your fellow creatures.” The creatures he is talks about are the humans he is saying with help from his creator or father, he has hope that he can be accepted one day into that society. A monster would not try to get the peoples

In the letters at the beginning of the novel, it’s stated that a Robert Walton, an explorer, is sailing in the Arctic Ocean and eventually stumbles upon an injured Victor Frankenstein. In the letters, Walton is retelling what Frankenstein had told him about his story. Frankenstein was at birth a Genevese, belonging to distinguished family. As a child, he enjoyed learning things and he was quick to learn new subjects which explains why he had a profound love for science. Later his mother, Caroline Beaufort, adopts a girl named Elizabeth Lavenza who she gives to Frankenstein and takes his mother words literally, believing that Elizabeth belonged to him.

The moment he sees the creature he created and gave life to, he is horrorstricken by the creatures revolting appearance and frightening manner. Again Frankenstein simply judges this creature based on his outer appearance and doesn’t give him a chance for a regular life. Likewise, all the individuals that the creature come across treat him with the same attitude. From this inhuman treatment by society a monster is born. This is what gives some critics the vision that the creature is a monster and not humane like everybody else.

Most people think that monsters are scary beings that inflict terror and pain upon people. There have been many movies created that show how different eras of society have viewed monsters, and the same monsters always end up recurring overtime because society's main fears do not change on a large scale. The true meaning of what makes a man a monster has nothing to do with what that person looks like; it has to do only with their actions and feelings. A man becomes a monster when he hurts others mentally or physically without having any remorse for the other being. In Frankenstein, a gothic novel written by Mary Shelley in 1831, Shelley imparts her idea that monsters are created by society, which means how the majority of people treat another

A human, by definition, is a being that is susceptible to the sympathies of human nature, such as sadness and kindness; furthermore, this also suggests that one is human should they possess the biological components of a human organism. Based on this definition, I believe that the monster in Frankenstein is considered human, and Mary Shelley’s portrayal of the monster is contradictory of René Descartes’ depiction of the human mind and his predictions of biotechnology in the future. Shelley’s monster is more aligned with the tenets of John Locke in An Essay On Human Understanding, where Locke discusses a more mechanical aspect of the human mind.

Victor Frankenstein, main character in Mary W. Shelley novel Frankenstein discovered the secret of creating new life and become fascinated with the possibility of giving life to lifeless matter. He is consumed by the idea, working day and night not caring that he “tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay” (48). Irresponsible young man, not thinking it through creates “human being…of a gigantic statue” (47). Without thinking how he, the creator, will care for his creations. Without considering what the life is going to be for the creature he creates. He gives his creation life. He was in such a hurry to animate his creation that he didn’t pay attention how the creature looked. He and only he knows the secret of the process. He

Monster: an imaginary creature that is ugly, terrifying and enormous. However, not all monsters are from a story, they’re all around us. Monsters can be a person, place, thing or an abstract idea. As we grow older, we will encounter monsters of our own or hear of one.