“Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy, and it isn 't original sin. He 's born with the tragedy that he has to grow up... a lot of people don 't have the courage to do it.”(Hayes) In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein the monster who is her antagonist like in Helen Hayes’ analogy was born tragically and had to adapt to this tragedy throughout his life. The monster is totally isolated, rejected by love and treated terribly throughout his life; due to his horrible life it is obvious that the monster is in despair and displays characteristics of a tragic character. The monster may not seem like a tragic character due to the actions that he makes as a result of being tormented however it is certain that he is a tragic character.
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One example of a situation that the tragic character of the monster is revealed because he is let down is when Victor does not fulfill his promise to create a companion for the monster. After the monster confronts Victor and allows him to know the pains that he endures being alone and exiled the monster asks Victor to do one thing and one thing alone-- create a companion. The despair that the monster feels when Victor destroys the female and lets him down is evident in the expression that the monster shows when the female is destroyed, “‘Shall each man, 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. Man! You may hate…’” (Shelley 156) Making a female companion for the monster is a reason to live for the monster and makes him less tragic. The female monster would be able to relieve the pains and sufferings that the male monster feels and stop one of the things that make his character tragic; when Victor denies the monster any hope of having less distress and lets down his expectations the monster’s character more tragic because the opposite of a less tragic situation happens. Not only is the monster let down by Victor but society lets down the monsters expectations as well. Again in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the cottager family is the source of some of the monster’s grief; the monster after confronting the blind man was let down by the family who were chaotic and unsympathetic. During his recount with Victor, the monster describes the emotional distress that the De Lacy family inflicts on him by not being the loving family he had expected them to be , “‘I cannot describe to you the agony that
One example of a situation that the tragic character of the monster is revealed because he is let down is when Victor does not fulfill his promise to create a companion for the monster. After the monster confronts Victor and allows him to know the pains that he endures being alone and exiled the monster asks Victor to do one thing and one thing alone-- create a companion. The despair that the monster feels when Victor destroys the female and lets him down is evident in the expression that the monster shows when the female is destroyed, “‘Shall each man, 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. Man! You may hate…’” (Shelley 156) Making a female companion for the monster is a reason to live for the monster and makes him less tragic. The female monster would be able to relieve the pains and sufferings that the male monster feels and stop one of the things that make his character tragic; when Victor denies the monster any hope of having less distress and lets down his expectations the monster’s character more tragic because the opposite of a less tragic situation happens. Not only is the monster let down by Victor but society lets down the monsters expectations as well. Again in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the cottager family is the source of some of the monster’s grief; the monster after confronting the blind man was let down by the family who were chaotic and unsympathetic. During his recount with Victor, the monster describes the emotional distress that the De Lacy family inflicts on him by not being the loving family he had expected them to be , “‘I cannot describe to you the agony that