Frankenstein and the so called Monster
Mary Shelleys Frankenstein examines human nature. A first time reader may be used to the unfaithful Hollywood adaptions of this timeless masterpiece but can find profound levels of depth and meaning in the art of Shelleys storytelling. The creature in the story is a creation of Victor Frankenstein who is obsessed by "a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature" (Shelley 21). It is the creatures treatment by society and his creator Frankenstein that leads him to indulge in vengeful and evil behavior. Although this behavior is horrible and not at all sane or acceptable, it does not mean that the creature is an animal or monster. Some people, legally and illegally, commit and enjoy murder, yet, are still human. Through the creatures experiences with normal people, its creator, and, physical and psychological senses we can see its human characteristics. His attempts to be benevolent and his expression of language and feeling do not justify his psychotic enjoyment of unspeakable deeds, but do show that he is, to some extent, just like us. The creature has often been painted as an inhuman animal-like monster and, although he murders several people, he is inherently human, capable of good and evil deeds. Sadly, because of his unfortunate circumstances, he chooses vengeance which is both evil and quite human.
The creature remembers with considerable difficulty the original era of his being and describes the events of that period as confused and indistinct, much like my vague memories of new life as a child (Shelley 70). I doubt that any non-human member of the animal kingdom can orally describe its origins and memories. The creature experiences the sensations of touch and feel as he saw, felt, heard, and smelt, at the same time (Shelley 70). He experienced fear, desolation, cold, sadness as well as pleasure in the initial infancy of life all alone and without guidance. The creature wanders into the forests of Ingolstadt confused. He experiences many first physical and emotional sensations here that he learns from and makes sense of alone. He figures out how to shelter himself from the cold and heat and learns from trial and error that fire is pleasurable and dangerous at the same time. Much like a new born child a very human curiosity and innocence is displayed by trial and error. He can reflect, learn, educate himself, and be introspective. He is able to teach himself to speak eloquently and read, something some people fail to do at all and definitely unheard of in the animal kingdom. The observation here is not that the creature behaves like an animal, but, that he his different from animals because of his depth and range of learning and feeling capacity. He may be more human than anyone can conceive.
Meeting people along the way the creature experiences rejection consistently from society. He secretly starts to observe the Delacey family. He begins to realize that he is different from all men saying, with self-taught fluency in language to Frankenstein, that he realized he was endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome (Shelley 85). He realizes he is alone in the world and this feeling of desolation depresses him intensely. Self-pity is distinctly human. He remains in secrecy and hides from the Delaceys, observing them with fascination. His benevolent human nature begins to surface as he learns more about his beloved cottagers and begins to admire their virtues and to deprecate the vices of mankind (Shelley 90). He begins to do chores without their knowledge and even cuts their firewood for them displaying his secret affection for the family. He, at one point, experiences the emotion that music can bring along with the sweetness of sound. So strong is his emotional reaction he tears up and is forced to pull himself away from the awesome, first time, experience. One day he finally builds up the courage and starts to execute a plan to finally meet the Delaceys and gain their companionship. He enters their home and attempts to befriend the elder Delacey. The rest of the family returns and is horrified by his repulsive appearance. Felix attacks him and throws him to the ground with seemingly superhuman force. Instead of fighting back in fury the creature was overcome by pain and anguish as he escaped back to his dwelling dejected and defeated (Shelley 97). He is again rejected and left to experience a new human emotion alone, that of anger. Hereafter could arguably be the point where he decides to act vengeful and murderous. Through events that occur with the Delaceys we see the creatures need for companionship. He has intentions and plans that he tries to execute. He experiences rejection, sadness, anger, self-realization along with many other human emotions.
Dr. Frankenstein is repulsed by the creatures physical appearance and immediately rejects him, leaving the creature, recently created and new to the world, to fend for himself. This creature contemplates and muses like a human being, appealing to his creator Frankenstein, and even asking himself: Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned (Shelley 85)? The fact that the creature is commonly perceived as an inhuman monster may be due to his evil, murderous actions. The way the story is narrated may influence the reader to believe this as well. The story is not told directly from the creatures own words, but through words of another. Like any other story when one does not experience the events himself it tends to sway towards the story tellers point of view. In this case that would be from the point of view that does consider the creature a non-human monster. Does a non-human creature appeal to its creator? Appeal for sympathy is uniquely human, to me, and the creature exhibits this thoroughly. I have yet to hear of or see an example of an animal doing so. This ability to feel emotion is exemplified when the creature says: "Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me" (Shelley 69).
Like many other people who had not read the novel Frankenstein I had the impression that the creature was a monstrosity unworthy to be associated with human kind. We are led to believe based on appearance and convoluted retellings of the story that this is true. Reading the book one realizes that there is more to the creature than is portrayed in popular media. One can find the infinitely wide range of emotions that all human beings experience in the description of the so called monster of Frankenstein. It would be unfair to paint the creature as an angel. He is a murderer and a psychopath. The creature takes delight in his violent actions, plans and premeditates most of his dreadful deeds. He is freakish in horrendous and able to do things that are extraordinary, physically and mentally. To associate him with something inhuman, like a monster, would be more unfair. He is also a creature of free will. He, like all humans, can make bad decisions and adopt bad ethics. The creature is not only the antagonist but also the victim. He is molded by what he knows and the short time he had to learn to live and deal with a life that he was not able to choose. Different people come away with different thoughts about the creature. Many say that Dr. Frankenstein ends up being the monster. To say that the creature is an inhuman monster would be an uneducated and prejudiced view. Of all the extraordinary and disgusting things the creature is, inhuman is not one of them.
Works Cited
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.
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