Delacey's View Of Human Nature In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley disagrees with her character DeLacey’s view of human nature in her book Frankenstein. DeLacey’s belief is that “the hearts of men, when unprejudiced by any obvious self-interest, are full of brotherly love and charity” (122). The way the rest of the characters act, displays that DeLacey was written as a contrast to Mary Shelley’s more negative view on human nature. Individuals in her book all reacted to Frankenstein’s creation the same way, with fear and negativity, not stopping to wonder if the monster was peaceful. The creation himself reflects human nature, as he was created at the hands of Frankenstein, so he represents a piece of Frankenstein's soul. His nature is also a reflection of humans in general, as he learns from the …show more content…
They are cruel towards him for no reason other than his appearance. His own creator is callous towards him. Victor himself cannot look at the monster as anything other than a beast. When he is bringing him to life, Frankenstein’s immediate reaction is one of “breathless horror and disgust”, and is he is “unable to endure the aspect of the being” who he himself had created (43). When Victor sees the Monster again, without a second thought he blames his creation for murdering William, refusing to believe that the Monster might have a shred of righteousness in him, as “The mere presence of the idea was an irresistible proof of the fact” (63). He refers to his creation as a devil and cannot see past his first reaction to the Monster. Because the Monster is abandoned by his creator, he must face the prejudices of the rest of society. When he finally reveals himself to the DeLacey family, who have been nothing but compassionate and amiable, he is rejected based on his appearance alone. The only one who does not reject him right away is the blind DeLacey, who was created by Mary Shelley to show an belief of human nature that differs from her own. As he cannot see the grotesqueness of his features he does not conclude that he is a monster. As soon as the rest of the family is near, the Monster throws himself at the old man’s legs crying and screaming. When the rest of the family enters the girls faint and Felix seeing the Monster reacts automatically “with supernatural force tore” the Monster away from his father “in a transport of fury” (123). Felix’s nature causes him to look at the Monster and see beast trying to hurt his father, instead of someone begging for help. This causes him to react violently and cruelly. As Frankenstein is a romantic novel youth is used to show innocence. Victor’s younger brother is young, and