Childhood In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The monster’s own childhood is riddled with despair and loneliness, neglected from the paternal involvement that develops a child mentally, emotionally and physically. The monster is forced to be autodidactic, understanding the world only through other people’s reactions towards him. The monster’s only source of true human contact and learning is through the De Lacey family. His learnings lead him to understand that man is “at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base” (95) and through this the monster comes to understand life and begin to question his psychological quarries towards his being, by asking his father “Who was I? What was I” (104). Another instant that reveals the obsession of childhood within Frankenstein was the interaction between the monster and William. …show more content…
The monster still child-like over-reacted to the child’s negative response to his fellowship proposal, he believed the youth of William will allow the child to disregard the malice of man and enter into a friendship with the