Examples Of Pity In Frankenstein

The final passage in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, reveals how the monster denial of pity causes him to view himself as a monster, and how he comes to understand that the only way rid himself of the miseries caused by Victor and achieve happiness is death. Most of the novel has been through the eyes of Victor, but in the final passage we get a glimpse into the injustices, miseries, and disappointments the monster has been forced to face. Only in the final passage does he reveal himself as a suffering monster.
In the final passage it is revealed that, despite originally regarding himself with self-pity, by the end the monster can no longer think of himself with such innocence, only as the monster he is. The monster proclaims the injustices …show more content…
The monster has just entered the boat to find Victor dead, and immediately after Robert walks in. The monster then begins to tell Robert his side of the story. The monster’s attempt to obtain self -pity is recognized when the monster exclaimed, “Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me?” (Shelley 189). The implied tone of the monster is defensiveness, and he attempts to defend himself by using exaggeration to strengthen his point. His intention in extending blame for crimes committed towards him from those who were directly involved to the entire race was to put his crimes into perspective; he was trying to make it seem as if his crimes weren’t that bad. He is attempting to gain some sort of sympathy from Robert and himself. Although the monster tries to justify his actions too he is unsuccessful. The monster’s inability to forgive himself is noted when the monster says, “ But it is true that I am a wretch, I have murdered the lovely and the helpless”(Shelley 190). This is a dramatic change from when he accused all mankind of being criminals, demanding sympathy for himself. In this instance, the monster begins to confess to all of his wrongdoings and understands how …show more content…
Therefore, the key to happiness is death. The monster will be released from the miseries that can all be closely linked back to the actions of Victor. The monsters proposes the idea that, “ I shall die. I shall no longer feel the agonies which now consume me” (Shelley 190). It seems as if the monster holds Victor responsible for most of his pain, for it was the lack of Victor’s presence that caused the monster’s need for revenge. This whole time the monster has been seeking to cause Victor to feel how he has felt, alone. The monster gathers the idea that if he were to die, he would no longer be reminded of the rejection he felt nor the crimes he has committed that were all in response to his abandonment by Victor. In this instance it can be understood that the root of his pain stemmed from the actions of Victor and that this pain have become so unmanageable to the only viable solution is death. The monster further proves his desire for death when he says, “ I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation”(Shelley 190). This is another instance of how death is the only way to diminish the agonies caused by Victor. The only comfort that the monster can receive is that of death because he would be returning to his natural state, the state that Victor selfishly