The Role Of The Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Although Frankenstein is the name of the creator of the Monster, we immediately think of the hideous looking monster when we hear the name “Frankenstein.” Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is the story of a man whose ambition drives him to seek the supernatural from his work. In an attempt to “play God,” he creates a living being. Throughout the story, Shelley intentionally or unintentionally makes her readers question what it means to be human. According Daniel Chandler, “a true monster is evil, inhumane and lacks remorse or caring for things that a normal, emotional human being should care for,” (Chandler). Given this definition, the Monster’s humanity comes through very clearly throughout the novel. To begin with, the Monster exhibit at least two human instincts. He has the instinct to survive …show more content…
The DeLacey’s cruel rejection enrages him, which drives him to set fire to their cottage and run away. To make his hatred toward mankind more intense, the Monster gets shot after saving a girl from drowning. He states, “Inflamed by fame, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.” (Shelley 101). The Monster’s vengeance on Victor, his cold-blooded creator who abandoned him, is the pinnacle of his criminality. The Monster kills William, cleverly frames Justine (thus causing her death), and murders Clerval and Elizabeth. This fictional reality corresponds with the Swiss philosopher during the Enlightenment Era, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s belief on society: people in the state of nature were innocent and good before the creation of civilization, but they were corrupted by unnaturalness of society. If the society had not disturbed him, he could have had less miserable life. But still, he was so human that he could not resist the desire for society with others and the temptation for taking vengeance when that society treated him