Who is the Real Monster?
At first glance of the characters in Frankenstein it may seem that the creature is the villain of the piece, however upon closer inspection, it is not as clear. Because while the creature has all the outward characteristics of a classic monster, his actions do not reflect this, where as Victor, who is selfish and cruel embodies what it means to be a monster.
Victor Frankenstein
The Creature
Victor Frankenstein
- Victor begins his research with good intentions, and the goal to ultimately solve a human problem. Victor starts of wanting to make progress in the field of human limitations, by preventing illness and improving mans physical form, in addition to extending the scientific understanding of animation. Yet to do so, he untimely goes against the laws of nature and religion and is corrupted beyond repair.
- Being a scientist, Victor should have thought out the possible consequences of his actions before creating new life. For example how the creature and society would react to his existence and appearance, yet none of this crossed his mind, even after the creature disappeared. He was motivated by entirely selfish means, and a desire to be a sort of God for the new race.
- "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (Shelley 156) .
- The above quote exemplifies Victor's selfish attitude and lack of concern for the lives that he has destroyed. He is not looking back over his life with regret for William, Henry, and Elizabeth's death at the hands of his own creation or even Justine's execution for a murder the creature committed that Victor did not even try and stop. When he is looking back on his life he only remembers what he has "sacrificed" in order to bring the creature to life, and he clearly feels pity for what happened to himself, regardless of it being entirely self inflicted.
The Creature
- The Creature exemplifies the theory of nature vs. nurture because while he is not inherently evil, and his intentions are good at the beginning of the novel, he devolves and continues to do horrible things, not because he wants to, but he feels driven to committed these crimes because of the way that Victor treated him.
- "It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half frightened, as it were, instinctively, finding myself so desolate. Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes, but these were insufficient to secure me from the dews of night. I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept" (Shelley 71).
- While the Creature kills many innocent people and creates a lot of chaos to his society in which he lives in, he does so out of loneliness and desperation. First he craves love from Victor, his master, but after being abandoned by him and having no where to go and no chance of integrating into society because of his physical appearance his anger toward his creator builds. It is theses feelings of hatred towards Victor that causes him to murder William, for he does not have any animosity for the child, but the anger he feels for Victor, his older brother is so intense that he lashes out without thinking.
- The other people close to Victor that he murders (Elizabeth and Henry) however, can not be considered crimes of passion, especially in the case of Elizabeth they are carefully planned out and intended to inflict pain upon Victor as a punishment for his poor treatment of the Creature. Yet while these actions are clearly monstrous, he can still not hold the entirety of the blame, because it was Victor's actions that drove him to this desperate place.
- "His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips" (35).
- More than the crimes the creature commits, it is his appearance that what makes him a true "monster". His outward appearance is horrible, and he is treated accordingly by Victor and everyone else he comes in contact with, and as the novel goes on he loses his morals and his inward self comes to reflect his outer appearance. The body Victor gave him is a self fulfilling prophesy. He looks like a monster and so he becomes one.