Uniqueness And Individualism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

“‘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.

While they obtained different knowledge for different reasons, both were led to unhappiness through it. Frankenstein, in the creation of his monster, brought upon himself a terrible fate of loss and anguish. The monster, upon learning to speak, found only that no matter how hard he tried this world would not welcome him, he found his reflection in Lucifer and felt the weight of his existence. Both were ultimately lost, falling into their own forms of

(Shelley) 14) Since Victor denies the monster social acceptance, the monster is left to self educate himself which leads to isolation issues which cause violence. 15) Victor began to think, “When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation. I would have made a pilgrimage to the highest peak of the Andes, could I when there have precipitated him to their base…”(). 16) When the monster began to tell of his tale with the cottagers we can see a new fatherly Victor, however, he never gained insight into the monster 's tortured psyche. 17)Victor wasn’t prepared to be a

The common theme portrayed throughout Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is without proper guidance and a stable sense of acceptance one is destined to live a life of despair and resentment towards those who did not accept him. From the very beginning Viktor’s creation was on his own. Viktor felt no attachment to his creation and felt no need to support him. Because of this, Viktor’s monster was on his own and soon found itself confused and quickly overwhelmed by the various new sensations and experiences. The monster encountered struggles from the basics such as the need for food and shelter to the feeling loneliness and disdain from those around him.

It is also pivotal to remember that he did not just lose his family, but by creating such a monster he loses his place amongst humanity as he says “I had no right to share their intercourse. I had unchained an enemy among them, whose joy it was to shed blood, and to revel in their groans” (pg. 188). Frankenstein creates the murderer of

Although he comes with friendly intentions, the Monster is treated violently and with contempt, essentially being forced into his alienation to survive and becoming the “monster” he is already thought of as a result. The Monster’s actions are a response to the treatment he has received from others, everyday villagers and Victor alike. With little known about his origins and no way to explain himself, there is no hope for the Monster to assimilate himself. This is present in other characters of the novel as well, for example, Richard Walton, who has self-alienated in order to gain distinction and knowledge. The Monsters origins and appearance develop these themes of alienation throughout the novel, themes that are further developed by other characters and play an important role in delivering the message of

Moreover, when he “looked around, he saw and heard of none like [himself]. Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, and whom all men disowned” (138). Through the knowledge he acquired from spying in on the Felix family, he gained the understanding that his grotesque look doomed him to be marginalized within human society; therefore, his understanding of human history destined himself to be a monster. Although, this self-realization of a monster identity plays a huge role in the general plot and character development of Frankenstein’s Monster, it hints at a subtler interpretation of the nature of knowledge.

Simultaneously, Victor failing to take responsibility for his own creation leads the creature down a path of destruction that manufactures his status as a societal outcast. The creature's dissolution from society, his search for someone to share his life with, the familiarity with intense anguish, his thirst for retribution, each of these traits coincide with Victor as he is depicted throughout the novel. Victor unknowingly induces his own undoing through his rejection of the creature. Shelley foreshadows his downfall by stating that “the monster still protested his innate goodness, blaming Victor’s rejection and man’s unkindness as the source of his evil” (Shelley 62) The creature essentially places Victor at fault for the creature becoming an outcast of society, by expressing this Shelley constructs a very austere portrayal of man’s contact with outsiders. Virginia Brackett asserts in her analysis of the novel that “Due to the monster's rejection by the cottagers and other humans, Victor serves not only as his creator but also as the only social construct on which he can build his reality” As the creator of the creature, Victor adopted the responsibility of his creation and the duties that accompany it, however, instead of answering the call of duty he fled and disregarded his obligation to the creature.

An eye for an eye or the law of retaliation is the principle most people live their lives by. For the characters in Frankenstein, this concept is apparent as the main character, Victor, creates a monster and instantly abandons him which sets off the chain of events revolving around revenge. However, as Gandhi once stated, “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” (Gandhi). Throughout the novel, the creature and Victor engage in a recurring cycle of vengeance, but these acts of revenge are bittersweet as in the end it destroys both of them. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley reveals how revenge consumes and destroys those who surrender to it.

He is a monster because not only his actions showed it, but his mind was consumed as well. Victor Frankenstein is the true monster in this novel, because he obtained this knowledge that only God should possess, he was not capable with his actions to fulfill this knowledge, and allowed his self-ambition and revenge to control him. Victor became a monster by allowing this knowledge of creation to consume his actions and mind and in the end, it destroyed him and everyone that he loved. I interpreted that Mary Shelley is trying to show us that allowing passion and desires to go uncontrolled in your life, will lead to destruction and turn you into a