Analysis Of Bibliotherapy In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Bibliotherapy is defined as the use of reading materials for help in solving personal problems. In Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein”, the monster reads or observes four different novels each of which change his viewpoint of the world and ultimately lead to his demise. However, had the monster read different books he might have been able to be accepted by society and not be so fixated on revenge. The first book read by the monster is Ruins of Empires, written in 1791 by Comte de Volney. The book gives history on many ancient civilizations. The monster overhears portions of the book while watching the De Lacey family. The monster has three distinct reactions to the book all of which are negative. He first becomes disgusted by the atrocities of war described in the book and repulsed by the idea of man killing other men. This may have caused the monster to view humans as ruthless killers and desensitized him to violent acts. Secondly, upon hearing the value that man places on money and social status, the monster becomes miserable and depressed for he knows he has no chance of acquiring these things. Lastly, after learning about the family structure and birth of children, the monster becomes lonely and …show more content…
This book tells the story of many ancient Greek and Roman figures. Through this, the monster is able to learn of the wickedness of certain people’s actions such as when Romulus slays his brother. This affected the monster by worsening his view of humanity. This passage also introduced the concepts of betrayal to the monsters, which is problematic because the monsters perceived betrayal by Victor causes him to commit heinous acts later in the novel. The monster should have instead read “The Boxcar Children” by Gertrude Chandler Warner. The brothers in this novel care about each other and wouldn’t betray one another. This might of sparred the lives of Victor’s friends and family by removing the monsters desire for