In her 19th century romantic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the characteristics of humanity, illuminates societal influences on development, and challenges the traditional biological definition of human beings through literary allusions and character interactions. Particularly, Shelley focuses on the characters of the creature and his creator, pitting an ugly, malformed giant against an educated, dedicated scientist to come to a surprising conclusion. While the creature becomes fallen and corrupted through society, he retains the desire for companionship and emotional sensibility that he is born with; his duality makes him more human than Victor, who is born more monstrous with the lack of key innate human characteristics.
Although …show more content…
After realizing that the De Laceys are in poverty, he demonstrates compassion by not stealing their food, collecting firewood, and clearing snow. In addition, the creature is able to empathize, as “when they were unhappy, [he] felt depressed; when they rejoiced, [he] sympathized in their joys” (Shelley 77). Despite rejection, the creature exhibits self-control; “[he] could have torn [Felix] limb from limb,” but he refrains (Shelley 94). Above all, the creature retains self-awareness as he is able to recognize his own motivations and flaws. He experiences a wide range of complex emotions and is able to articulate those emotions through words. In his conversations with Victor and Walton, the creature acknowledges his envy, misery, revenge, and corruption; he demonstrates an understanding of his own nature and sources of his debasement, noting that “[his] vices are the children of a forced solitude,” again illuminating societal influences on his downfall. Although both Victor and the creature become consumed by revenge, only the creature is able to recognize the positives of his enemy; he acknowledges Victor as a “generous and self-devoted being” and asks for forgiveness from his creator, revealing that what he truly desired was acceptance (Shelley 158). While Victor portrays the creature as an unfeeling and cruel monster, the creature’s confession to Walton discloses …show more content…
Although both Victor and the creature live in solitude, the creature is isolated because he is rejected by society; Victor is isolated because he rejects society. While creating, Victor neglects his friends and family, being far away and unresponsive to correspondence. He displays a disregard for community and social relations, which he should innately have as a human. Indeed, as George Levine, an English Professor at Rutgers University asserts, the ramifications of both Frankenstein’s shunning of and residing in society combined with his intrinsic character leads him to ruination; despite the fact that developments reflecting God’s banishment of Adam from Eden and Mephistopheles’s reaping of his deal with Faust exist throughout the text, these similar instances of mystical interference and transcendental influence did not cause Frankenstein’s downfall (311). The claim regarding Victor’s intrinsic character also reveals that his corruption stems less from societal influences and more from some innate impetus; both Clerval and Victor are raised in similar environments, both thirst for knowledge and discovery, and both are ambitious, yet only Victor ends up on the path to monstrosity. His character does not comply with Shelley’s definition that humans are born good and innocent, and his depravity is not spurred on by solely
Although …show more content…
After realizing that the De Laceys are in poverty, he demonstrates compassion by not stealing their food, collecting firewood, and clearing snow. In addition, the creature is able to empathize, as “when they were unhappy, [he] felt depressed; when they rejoiced, [he] sympathized in their joys” (Shelley 77). Despite rejection, the creature exhibits self-control; “[he] could have torn [Felix] limb from limb,” but he refrains (Shelley 94). Above all, the creature retains self-awareness as he is able to recognize his own motivations and flaws. He experiences a wide range of complex emotions and is able to articulate those emotions through words. In his conversations with Victor and Walton, the creature acknowledges his envy, misery, revenge, and corruption; he demonstrates an understanding of his own nature and sources of his debasement, noting that “[his] vices are the children of a forced solitude,” again illuminating societal influences on his downfall. Although both Victor and the creature become consumed by revenge, only the creature is able to recognize the positives of his enemy; he acknowledges Victor as a “generous and self-devoted being” and asks for forgiveness from his creator, revealing that what he truly desired was acceptance (Shelley 158). While Victor portrays the creature as an unfeeling and cruel monster, the creature’s confession to Walton discloses …show more content…
Although both Victor and the creature live in solitude, the creature is isolated because he is rejected by society; Victor is isolated because he rejects society. While creating, Victor neglects his friends and family, being far away and unresponsive to correspondence. He displays a disregard for community and social relations, which he should innately have as a human. Indeed, as George Levine, an English Professor at Rutgers University asserts, the ramifications of both Frankenstein’s shunning of and residing in society combined with his intrinsic character leads him to ruination; despite the fact that developments reflecting God’s banishment of Adam from Eden and Mephistopheles’s reaping of his deal with Faust exist throughout the text, these similar instances of mystical interference and transcendental influence did not cause Frankenstein’s downfall (311). The claim regarding Victor’s intrinsic character also reveals that his corruption stems less from societal influences and more from some innate impetus; both Clerval and Victor are raised in similar environments, both thirst for knowledge and discovery, and both are ambitious, yet only Victor ends up on the path to monstrosity. His character does not comply with Shelley’s definition that humans are born good and innocent, and his depravity is not spurred on by solely