ipl-logo

The Fear Of The Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1015 Words5 Pages

Monsters are created from fear, and fear changes from generation to generation. While there are things that humans are afraid of all the time, specific periods of time can be defined through one cohesive fear. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, fear and how the characters act on that fear is used as a plot device to help characterize her antagonist and protagonist, Victor Frankenstein and his monster. It is through analysis of character interactions between the these two and society around them that helps to define who is truly the monster, and who is the victim. During the Victorian Era there was only one thing its people truly feared: nonconformity. This era of time was built on the belief that everyone should be the exact same, that “if you …show more content…

Shelley addresses this question with the character Victor Frankenstein. One of the first things Victor is at fault for is his creation of Frankenstein in the first place. The monster would constantly cry, “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not…” (Shelley, 16.1). His reasons were selfish, to defy nature, and in fear of his own work he left it to suffer, without guidance into a world that was so foreign to him. Then when given a chance to bring the monster what he believes his only chance of happiness, he destroys it. “‘Shall each man,’ cried he, ‘find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn,’” (Shelley, 20.11). Victor denies the monster humanity because he is appalled by his features, and that’s what makes Victor the true monster. He made early judgement on who the monster was before the monster could speak because he was terrifying, and society had made him believe that if it were different it was dangerous. Even when the monster promised to leave society forever if he were only given someone to love, to feel normal, the idea that anything outside their realm of societal norms being allowed to continue existing was just too much for Victor. This emotion/tradition over rational that was seen all

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Ambition In Frankenstein

    938 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Frankenstein first started working on the monster, he became fully consumed by the process, and was oblivious of the possible consequences that could result from what he was doing. Eventually, he succeeded in creating life, but was so disgusted by the monster that he abandoned it. The monster was left alone, unaware of its surroundings and who it was. When the monster found out it was abandoned by its creator, it was hurt emotionally. To get revenge on Frankenstein, the monster started to harm his loved ones, the same way he harmed the monster.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Too Much Power In Frankenstein

    883 Words  | 4 Pages

    The monster fought for affection by trying to threaten Victor into creating a spouse for it. “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do; and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (Shelley 104). This situation was the first time the beast tried to establish it’s dominance over the creator. The only reason the monster felt the need to hold power over Victor was to gain a sense of emotion and affection as it has seen other humans do.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In Frankenstein

    722 Words  | 3 Pages

    Generally, when people think of a monster, the first thing that comes to mind is a hideous, gruesome, inhuman creature - not a seemingly innocent person. In Frankenstein, a gothic graphic novel written by Gris Grimly, the narrator - Victor Frankenstein - faces conflict that makes his innocence questionable. This graphic novel proves that a monster does not necessarily equate to a hideous, unwanted creature. Some people suspect that the creature is a monster due to its violent behavior and cruel actions. The truth, contrastingly, is that the true monster of this novel is Victor, not the creature, because he chose to create the creature yet neglected it and failed to apologize or acknowledge his wrongdoing.

    Read More

  • Why Does Mary Shelley Use Of Personification In Frankenstein

    656 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that tells the story of scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his obsession with creating human life. This leads him to creating a gruesome monster made of body-parts stolen from grave yards, whom upon discovering his hideousness, the monster seeks revenge against his creator, causing Victor to regret the creation of his monster for the rest of his life. Shelley uses the literary elements of personification, imagery, and similes to give a vivid sense and visualization of Victor Frankenstein’s thoughts and feelings as well as to allow us to delve deeper into the monster’s actions and emotions. Throughout the novel, Shelley uses personification of various forces and objects to reflect the effect in Victor’s actions.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Cruelty In Frankenstein

    687 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel Frankenstein brings to light many problems and situations that shed light on the faults of mankind. Cruelty was a huge factor in the novel; throughout Frankenstein is cruel to his body and to his creation. When he first makes the creature he runs from it, leaving the creature to fend for himself; even when reuniting with the creature he continues displays cruelty. The creature, in turn exhibits Victor cruelty right back. Within Frankenstein cruelty can be attributed, often affecting both Victor and the creature; serving as a crucial motivator and revealing their anger, pain, frustration till eventually both die.

    Read More

  • Empathy In Frankenstein

    929 Words  | 4 Pages

    ”(Millhauser). This violent rejection is a repetition of Victor’s lack of acceptance for the monster and attention to his family. Victor knows that the monster will never be able to live within society and that his ability to create life is the only hope the monster has of achieving companionship. Victor's own aversion to companionship surfaces as he, “ fails to give him the human companionship, the Eve, the female creature, that he needs to achieve some sort of a normal life.” (Mellor).

    Read More

  • Ambition For Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1278 Words  | 6 Pages

    The creature wishes to live in peace, but because he does not look like a normal human, he can not live in peace. Additionally, Frankenstein does not help the creature or nurture him with love, thus, he causes the creature to develop a deep resentment towards Frankenstein. The creature, whom is optimistic until now, says, “ Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live?” (161).

    Read More

  • Jealousy In Frankenstein

    1021 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Monster believes and mentioned several times that the reason that he is so angry is because of Victor. Shelley writes,

    Read More

  • Revenge In Frankenstein Analysis

    766 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mary Shelley shows the endless amount of revenge and that it is driven by pure hatred and rage. The monster was not created to be vengeful, he was kind hearted but when he was poorly treated by Victor and then by the Delacey family, he turned cold. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley displays the immorality and destructive effects that revenge can have through Frankenstein and his pursuit of the creature. Immediately after the monster had awoken, hatred thickened and would drive the plot to be all about revenge. The creature illustrates this hatred as he says to Victor, “Everything is related in them which bears reference to my accursed origin; the whole detail of that series of disgusting circumstances which produced it is set in view;

    Read More

  • Victor Is The Real Monster In Frankenstein

    596 Words  | 3 Pages

    When people hear the word “monster”, most people imagine a massive, horrid, and grotesque figure that haunts people. While pondering what a monster is, mankind thinks of the outward appearance. Seldom do people think of man’s internal qualities as being barbaric or gruesome. Authors allow readers to create their own images of these terrifying beings. Frankenstein is a thought-provoking novel that empowers readers to have their own opinions about who the actual monster is and what it looks like.

    Read More

  • Who To Blame In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    542 Words  | 3 Pages

    Victor Frankenstein turns away from his responsibilities by ignoring the existence of his creation. Throughout the novel, Victor is constantly running away from the monster and not giving him attention, which resulted in the monsters change of personalities. For example, in page 71 the creation said, “All men hate the wretched; how must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.” This quote suggests that because of the ignorance of Victor the monster began to become evil and have the urge to seek

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Victor And The Monster In Frankenstein

    1009 Words  | 5 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, shows how a character who is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the beginning, can become the monster in the end. Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s captivating novel showed how rival enemies share striking similarities. The similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their dreary isolation from the secluded world. A large difference is that they were both raised in two completely different environments but understood the meaning of isolation. Physical differences are more noticeable rather than their personalities.

    Read More

  • The Nature Of Revenge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1240 Words  | 5 Pages

    Due to neglect and immediate abandonment during the beginning of his life, the creature develops a hostile attitude and seeks revenge on Victor Frankenstein. In response to the cottage dwellers attacking him, the creature exclaims “cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence of which you had so wantonly bestowed” and reveals his feelings “of rage and revenge” (Shelley 135).

    Read More

  • The Monster's Alienation In Frankenstein

    782 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel Frankenstein,by Mary Shelley, the mysterious and unnatural origins of the character of Frankenstein’s monster are an important element. The Monster, having been created unethically and haphazardly, is at odds throughout the novel, resulting in his alienation from society and prolonged feelings of anger, desertion, and loneliness. Shaping his character, his relationships with other characters, and the meaning of the work as a whole, the Monster’s origins are what define him. The Monster faces rejection and violence every time he attempts to make contact with the new, foreign world he has been thrust into.

    Read More

  • Character Development In Frankenstein

    1921 Words  | 8 Pages

    However, upon realizing had created an abomination as he finished, he flees, “…now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). After a long and grueling process, Frankenstein regarded the creature as horrid, malicious, heartless, inhuman, and uncouth – simply, a monster. He wanted to create life so bad that it became an obsession for him as he would go to any extreme to reach his goal.

    Read More

More about The Fear Of The Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Open Document