Equality in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
The imbalance of equality are apparent throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. As we become acquainted with the genesis of Victor Frankenstein’s monster, we too are made aware of the very oppression that the monster experiences soon after. From the disownment he experiences with his very own creator, Frankenstein, to the torturing he endures in the nearby villages, the monster is rudely awakened by the discovery of the prevalent prejudice undue him in the world he was brought into. Although Frankenstein had every intention of creating an almost perfect human, to whom he can be called its god and lord, he himself is guilty of engaging in behaviors of speciesism by affording the creature of his …show more content…
In the spirit of deliberating between right and wrong, we can attest to this type of bias and attitude of prejudice towards others as having the ability to cause much suffering to its victims. In light of the monster’s ability to experience suffering and happiness or joy, is he not entitled to experience the same equality as all other humans and nonhumans, regardless of the deformity in his looks or even his membership to a newly invented species? In Peter Singer’s essay, All Animals are Equal, he contends that, “equality is a moral idea, not an assertion of fact. There is no logically compelling reason for assuming that a factual difference in ability between two people justifies any difference in the amount of consideration we give to their needs and interests.” (Singer 5) If we can extend the principle of equality to animals and other nonhuman species, then where does the monstrous creation of Frankenstein stand? Thus, we are left to confront the moral question of whether the monster, a nonhuman creature, was a victim of speciesism in the novel and if he was just as deserving of the same equality postulated as a human right. This essay will discuss how the monster is entitled to equal consideration by definition of Singer’s moral assertion that
The imbalance of equality are apparent throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. As we become acquainted with the genesis of Victor Frankenstein’s monster, we too are made aware of the very oppression that the monster experiences soon after. From the disownment he experiences with his very own creator, Frankenstein, to the torturing he endures in the nearby villages, the monster is rudely awakened by the discovery of the prevalent prejudice undue him in the world he was brought into. Although Frankenstein had every intention of creating an almost perfect human, to whom he can be called its god and lord, he himself is guilty of engaging in behaviors of speciesism by affording the creature of his …show more content…
In the spirit of deliberating between right and wrong, we can attest to this type of bias and attitude of prejudice towards others as having the ability to cause much suffering to its victims. In light of the monster’s ability to experience suffering and happiness or joy, is he not entitled to experience the same equality as all other humans and nonhumans, regardless of the deformity in his looks or even his membership to a newly invented species? In Peter Singer’s essay, All Animals are Equal, he contends that, “equality is a moral idea, not an assertion of fact. There is no logically compelling reason for assuming that a factual difference in ability between two people justifies any difference in the amount of consideration we give to their needs and interests.” (Singer 5) If we can extend the principle of equality to animals and other nonhuman species, then where does the monstrous creation of Frankenstein stand? Thus, we are left to confront the moral question of whether the monster, a nonhuman creature, was a victim of speciesism in the novel and if he was just as deserving of the same equality postulated as a human right. This essay will discuss how the monster is entitled to equal consideration by definition of Singer’s moral assertion that