Responsibility In Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein created the monster for personal gain, never taking responsibility for what he had created. Only showing any signs of sympathy for the creature after their confrontation. Once Frankenstein had listened to it he had finally realized that to please the beast he would have to create an Eve for Adam. The monster was created as the first creature in what Frankenstein believed would be an entire species of life forms that would bow to him. “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.” (Shelley, 57). Once Frankenstein had brought life to the puzzle of the body he was immediately overflowed with regret and horror. He spent years …show more content…
In time, the monster had murdered Frankenstein’s younger brother and wife, Elizabeth. All of which could have been prevented, the monster was not created as an evil creature but was made evil by its environment. Frankenstein’s negligence to his creature was that of a son being spurned by his estranged father; completely damaging to the emotional and mental state of a child and the monster. It’s debatable that the monster would have been an almost normal living being had he not been spurned by Frankenstein. “All men hate the wretched; how, then, I must be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissolute by the annihilation of one of us.” (Shelley, 101) This quote speaks volumes about the humanity an unnatural creature like that has. The creature is smart enough to know that humans spurn him, and experiences emotions that a normal human being would go through: being spurned by …show more content…
Instead of breaking a window or spray painting his room, what the creature did was steal human lives with its bear hands. Two of which belonging to Frankenstein’s little brother and the love of his life, Elizabeth. The monster’s reasoning for this is displayed in a way that is so evil and amazing at the same time; murdering people is a horrific act but some of what the creature says makes sense. There’s a method to the monster’s madness. One of the greatest character traits of an antagonist in a story is their belief that what they are doing is right, raising the question on who is actually the antagonist of this tale; it is all in the eye of the beholder. What makes the creature relatable as a reader is its linguistic skills, almost as if the creature is on the same level as human characters. It’s shown that the monster is very linguistic and has feelings, at times it seems to sound more educated than its creator; as shown in this dialogue from the monster: “Have I not suffered enough that you seek to increase my misery?” (Shelley, 102). The ability to communicate with humans in a full-fledged conversation is a very human trait that links the monster to humanity one step