Words For Meaning In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Over time society has created many words to attempt to describe those it outcasts; monster, devil, brute, beast, barbarian, wretch and savage to name a few. Although we have many words the root of their meaning remains the same: they are different. The words we use to brand people mirror a sense of prejudice and hate that do not necessarily reflect the actual person. Thus, society creates monsters through a systematic branding of labels upon others as clearly evidenced in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the experiences of the creature and in modern society.

To begin, words clearly have an impact on humanity. There are dozens of mantras about how people should not let words become poignant; “sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me” (Cupples) being one of the more famous. The very obsession and repetition of such phrases reflects upon

Susan Smalley, a Professor at UCLA remarks that in tests “individuals read words of 'loving kindness' showed increases in self-compassion, improved mood, and reduced anxiety” (Smalley). The results of this experiment show how words do have a clear physiological impact on humanity as amiable words precipitate positive impacts. These results also extend to “verbal insults, verbal abuse, and the power of words to affect your emotions and actions are well demonstrated in science” (Smalley), detailing how negative labels produce adverse effects. In Mary Shelley’s novel, Justine is clearly subjected to a slew of verbal insults as she recalls how the “confessor has besieged me; he threatened and menaced, until I began to think that I was the monster he said I was” (Shelley 58). This contrasts with how Justine had just been described pages earlier as being “so amiable and fond” (Shelley 52), detailing how society proceeded to turn on her by systematic labeling her alleged crimes and vilifying her due to William’s murder. Moreover, the prejudice and hate that surrounded the Justine’s trial