Theme Of Forgiveness In Frankenstein

Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, Public Domain, 1823. 269 pages. Reviewed by Zoey Hannah Erby.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly’s Frankenstein explores peoples’ lack of forgiveness and compassion toward the unknown. Shelly demonstrates this lack of understanding in three distinct ways: Victor Frankenstein’s blatant disgust/hatred of his creation, the cottagers’ aggressive reaction to seeing the creature, and Victor’s refusal to attempt to understand him. When the monster was created, he had no idea of the harsh world into which he was being thrust. This lack of preparation and guidance turned him into a cold, unforgiving monster; he lost his innocence and became this horrible, dangerous monster. Frankenstein perfectly exemplifies humans’ lack of compassion and the long lasting effects it

Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father, to whose knees I clung, in a transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick.”(158)
They entered their cottage to find a desperate, deformed man; instead of taking time to talk with him they chose to react horribly. Beating the creature was unnecessarily cruel and harsh; however, it did serve to further my point: humans lack sympathy for the unknown. Nobody denies that Victor has been harboring an obvious hatred toward the creation since the very beginning of its’ short life. He curses and abandons this new being that has absolutely no moral compass whatsoever; he should have expected that the creation would do something without fully understanding the moral wrongness of his actions. When Victor becomes face to face with his monster again he states:
“Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Begone or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must