My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. The path of my departure was free, and there was none to lament my annihilation. I was dependent on none and related to none. But what if we saw the monster as a Romantic figure, too? Check out his description of himself: And we saw how well that worked out for Victor.
In Victor's " Character Analysis," we suggested that Shelley wrote him based on the Romantic ideas of her husband and his friends: an individual who went beyond society's norms to bring enlightenment back to us poor mortals. (Hm, sounds surprisingly like an anti-bullying PSA.) If we accept the monster's word-that he was born good and made evil-then one of the book's major moral points is that we as a society have a responsibility to reach out to our outcast members. By neglecting and shunning people with socially unacceptable appearances or behaviors, we create mass murderers. ( 16.19-20)Įssentially, Shelley seems to be saying that we (society) get the monsters we deserve. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone.
The moment he's accused of trying to murder the girl is a real turning point for the monster. Felix and Agatha think he's come to attack their father the public assumes he's trying to murder the young girl instead of rescuing her William Frankenstein assumes that he's going to kill him. But no matter what he does, his actions are always misinterpreted. He has visions of " amiable and lovely creatures" keeping him company (15.11) he admires Agatha and Felix as "superior beings" (12.17) he describes himself as having "good dispositions" and tells De Lacey that "my life has been hitherto harmless and in some degree beneficial" (15.25) and he uses "extreme labour" to rescue a young girl from drowning" (16.19). When the monster describes himself, it's all sunshine and light. But we haven't established whether he's actually a monster-or whether he becomes a monster because "where they ought to see a feeling and kind friend, they behold only a detestable monster" (15.26) Heart of Gold? Okay, so we've established that he's ugly. Even Walton, who knows the whole story, can't deal: " Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face," he says: "I shut my eyes involuntarily" (24.56). The sweet, gentle family he's been spying on in the forest falls to pieces when they see him: Agatha faints, Safie runs away, and Felix beats him with a stick (15.37). Unfortunately, Victor isn't the only one who's terrified of the monster on sight. (Check out his " Character Analysis" for more about that.) And when you take a closer look at this description, the real horror seems to be the contrast: flowing black hair and white teeth juxtaposed with his shriveled face and "straight black lips." We don't exactly blame Victor for running out the door, but we do have to point out that Victor has already revealed himself to put a little too much emphasis on appearance.
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Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing his teeth of a pearly whiteness but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Or does it? We'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt-but, when it comes down to it, we'd be pulling out the mace and pressing the panic button on our cellphone if we saw him in a dark alley. He has a face not even a mother/ mad scientist could love… but at least it comes with a heart of gold. (Click the character infographic to download.)
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