The Importance Of Appearance In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Improved Essays
In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, she presents her ideas on how people may only look at appearances when deciding a person’s worth and how inscest is not abnormal. According to Shelley one of the ways people are seen is by their appearance. I do not completely disagree with this because people are also seen for their intelligence, abilities, and many other things. Although people are seen for other things, sometimes it is necessary to look your best. Some of these times can be in an interview or when making a first impression. Shelley believes that if a person has a good appearance, they should be treated like something special, like when Caroline saw Elizabeth as a baby. Since Elizabeth as a baby was more beautiful than any other baby

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Mother Nurture: The Importance of Feminity in Frankenstein Frankenstein examines the importance of feminie nurture by exhibiting the repercussions of dominating male ambition and lacking feminie nurture. In the gothic fiction novel, Frankenstien, by Mary Shelly, females possess vital feminine nurture and empathy. However, because Frankenstein has dominating masculinity, he lacks feminine qualities, preventing the monster’s nurturing upbringing. This lack of nurture leads the monster down a path of violence and vengeance, demonstrating to the reader the horrifying repercussions of overbearing masculinity.…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mary Shelley uses a variety of imagery-related detail in her novel Frankenstein to describe Frankenstein’s creation. In the selected quote, Dr. Frankenstein has just given life to his creation and is now seeing it as it really is for the first time. Previously, he had been so engrossed in his work to pay attention to the overall appearance of his creature, but as its limbs quiver with the motions of life, Frankenstein realizes that he has, in fact, created a monster. In this passage, Shelley describes the visual appearance of the creature in detail, giving the reader a vivid image of what Frankenstein beheld on that fateful night.…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Human connections allow people to share the burden of their emotions and feel less alone in the confusing journey of life. Companionship can be beneficial to an individual’s physical health and can improve a person’s thought process. Friends and family also greatly improve someone’s emotional state. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Shelley conveys the opinion that companionship plays a vital role in the lives of all creatures by creating characters that experience the crushing weight of loneliness, and showing the resulting consequences of their isolation. Human connections are essential to an individual's well-being.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Humans have been proven that they start to judge others based on appearance from infancy. Judging others based upon their appearance before getting to know them is quite common among society. Many people have probably judged right away on someone’s appearance without intending to do so. Not only is there examples of judging at first sight in modern society, but in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein as well. Choosing appearance over character causes a misfortune and is a pain to the characters in the novel Frankenstein and to modern society.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nature has had a hold on humanity since Adam and Eve and in ancient texts nature has portrayed supernatural meaning influencing humans decisions. Since ancient times, nature has been thought to have meaning through natural events. For example, Egyptians would sacrifice human lives for rain, and if it did not rain then the people knew someone in the near future was going to be sacrificed. In modern times, people believe that if a Ground Hog sees it’s shadow then there will be six more weeks of winter. In the book, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, she uses nature to hint at the future like a Ground Hog hints at what the next six weeks will be like.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein takes the reader on a journey around countries in Europe, and brings you as far as the Arctic. The story involves one man 's desire to use his passion and love of science to create a living organism. The reader follows along as Frankenstein deals with the emotional stress from playing the hand of God. Shelley’s choice of setting plays an important role in connecting the audience with the story on an emotional level helping them feel the fear, stress, anger and joy felt by characters in the novel. It becomes evident that the author’s knowledge and choice of setting is vital to the theme and tone of the story.…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "Opposites attract and likes repel"-a fundamental scientific principle that has been applied not only to fields such as chemistry, magnetics, and physics, but to other aspects of life including relationships. This principle is evident in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, Frankenstein. There are several attributes that differentiate Victor Frankenstein and his Creature including their creation, education, relationships, and trials, which could make one think that the two characters could end up being quite the pair. However, the depths of this novel showcase the key qualities that are shared between these two characters that could make one think that the two would eventually oppose one another. ultimately cause the two to become adversaries.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beauty from within is distinctly inconsequential and exterior beauty is all that matters in society. Privileges are given to those who possess appealing features and are denied to those who don’t. However, those beautiful individuals are also targeted solely for their alluring attributes and utilized as tools for satisfaction. Shelley ultimately attempts to stress the immorality…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are people the way they are because of their genes (nature), or because of how they were brought up (nurture)? Multiple sources provide insight that points towards humans being nurtured as opposed to being nature. One source is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which is about Dr. Victor Frankenstein and how he creates a creature who is nurtured by society through multiple events. He obtains multiple traits throughout the story. The next source is “The Nature vs. Nurture Debate” which discusses both topics in detail.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley writes as the creature, “My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you can not even imagine.” This quote reveals how the monster’s malevolence is a result of nurture and humanity’s harsh treatment of him. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays humanity in a negative light because humans ostracize and oppress the creature based on his physical appearance: his creator abandons him in disgust, children are terrified of him, and adults maltreat him because they believe he is menacing. The people in Frankenstein do not deserve sympathy because these actions prove the characters…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Victor recounts his first tragedy to when Elizabeth fell sick, and his mother, despite numerous warnings, upon hearing “that the life of her favorite was menaced […] attended her sickbed; her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of the distemper” (28). Shelley indirectly characterizes Caroline as a…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Crystal Gabun Professor Morrow English 105 October 20, 2014 Frankenstein Literary Analysis Over the past few centuries, scientists have made countless discoveries and advances. These developments stem from an individual’s innate curiosity and desire to further the realm of possibility through theory and experimentation. For many, the thirst for knowledge can grow so immense that one is willing to disregard the moral codes or ethical standards of society in order to push the bounds of modern science.…

    • 2374 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    He would often yearn to dive into it to cleanse himself of the responsibility of Justine and William’s death. He would wish to become one within nature because it was beautiful and calm, opposite of what Victor thought of himself, a man riddled with guilt and fear. The creature, in a similar state of loneliness and depression, wandered throughout the forest regaining “pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive within me…forgetting my solitude and deformity, dared to be happy” (Shelley 129). Nature affects the creature exceedingly, turning his emotions in a complete 180°, in spite of being lonely. The creature is in comfort of the beauty of nature.…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    In Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray both want to achieve beauty. Frankenstein wants to create beauty in the form of another creature. Dorian wants to maintain his beauty, like in his portrait. It seems that both Victor and Dorian show us their view on the importance of beauty through their monsters, but it seems to show us two different consequences that occur for the pursuit of beauty.…

    • 1846 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Perception is defined as intuitive understanding and insight. In simpler terms it means, how a person’s mind interprets and breaks down the views of whatever is the topic of discussion. Humans look at life one of two ways: the glass is either half empty (negative) or half full (positive). Our perception, whether it has a negative or positive bias in it will dictate how we handle the problems we face. In Frankenstein, perception plays a key a role in not only the main ‘monster’ character but also every other character with how they view him.…

    • 2063 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays