Essay on "Monstrousness in Frankenstein"

Essay 5 pages (1889 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Monstrousness in Frankenstein

Almost everyone knows of the Mary Shelley story of Frankenstein, but most people have misperceptions about it. First, they often think that the name of the monster itself was Frankenstein when that was, in fact, the name of the man who created the monster - Victor Frankenstein. Additionally, they read the story and think of the monster and his hideousness, but they do not explore monstrousness itself, in all the ways in which it is depicted within the novel. There are many different varieties of monster in the story, and the concept is not one that Shelley found to be completely stable. In other words, monstrousness could shift and change throughout the novel, and could take on many forms. Explored here will be monstrousness overall, within the confines of the novel. Since there are many different ways in which it is possible to depict a monster, it is important to consider not just the obvious monster in the story but the others that are not so obvious, but that are still in many ways monstrous because of their thoughts and their actions.

The most obvious example of monstrousness in the story is the monster himself. He is never given a name throughout the entire novel, and is just called "the monster." While that may not be a concern for some people, those who think more deeply about the issue can see how the monster is never considered to be a "real person" by his creator. He is viewed only as a "thing" that went horribly wrong, and Victor does all that he can to avoid the monster. With no one to love and care about it in any way, and people running from it all the time, it is no surprise that the monster feels as though he is a hideous thing that no one could ever want. If even his own creator does not want him, how monstrous must he be? At one point the monster says: "Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?" (p. 70). He is angry at the fact that he is alive, simply because he sees how hideous he looks and is so very aware of how it does not match who and what he is inside.

In short, the monster is focused on wanting to understand why his creator would let him live if he was going to be a thing of such hideousness as to not be accepted by society at all. The monster, like all created beings, has thoughts and feelings. He wants to be loved and understood, and he wants to have friendship and companionship. The longer he lives the more he realizes he will never have acceptance from anyone in society, because human beings are simply far too "turned off" by the way he looks. At nearly eight feet tall and put together essentially from "spare parts," it is no surprise that Frankenstein's monster looks the way he does - and no surprise that people fear him and are repulsed by him, instead of accepting him for what he is - a creation in need of love and companionship. No one, including Victor, ever makes an effort to really get to know the monster. In fact, the monster only has one long conversation with Victor, in which he persuades Victor that the killings he has done were out of frustration and that they would stop if Victor would build the monster a companion.

During the entire story, that conversation is the only one the monster has with anyone. As soon as people see him they assume he is evil and dangerous because of the way he looks. Because they feel that way they go after him, beating him and chasing him away so they can feel safe again. Nothing the monster tries to say to them or show them sways their opinion, largely because they do not take the time to talk to him. They only go by what they see, and they are fearful of things that are different than them. Victor, of course, does not come to the monster's rescue or even admit that he was the one who created the monster. He hides from the truth, and it begins to affect him more and more throughout the novel. As the story progresses and the killings take place, Victor's nerves start to become more fragile. He knows who is doing the killings, of course, and he could stop them by admitting to what he has done or by making a companion for the monster, but instead he focuses on his own interests - even when members of his family are killed.

That brings the discussion around to other forms of monstrousness in the novel. Sometimes, things that cannot be seen are more monstrous than things that can be seen. In other words, what was in Victor's heart and mind could be deemed monstrous. What kind of person would allow his family members and friends - his loved ones, who supported and cared for him - to die at the hands of something he created, and simply not say anything because he did not want to be at fault or be blamed for it? That is an easy question to answer: a monstrous person would do something like that. In many ways, Victor Frankenstein is far more of a monster than his creation. Even though the monster killed people, Victor is essentially the one with blood on his hands. Victor's curiosity and desire for learning and experimenting was seen at an early age, and he talks about that in the novel, saying: "The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember" (p. 15). Is Victor perhaps mentally ill?

That is a question that the reader cannot answer definitively, but the progress of the story certainly lends itself to the idea that Victor may have some sort of obsessive mental illness which has lead him to not only become obsessed with the secret of life, but hide his "work" away from others. Even Elizabeth, who he is to marry, is not told of what he is doing or what he has created. He has promised to tell her the truth on their wedding night, but readers of the story know that the monster kills her before Victor can tell her about his dalliances into areas in which man was clearly not meant to tread. This is another area in which Victor's monstrousness shows through. The monster told Victor he would be with him on his wedding night, but yet Victor did not warn his bride or even tell her of the monster before that night. Perhaps she could have been saved if she had been aware that the monster would make an appearance. Victor, however, made everything all about him and how the monster was coming to get him. It seemed odd that Victor focused on how the monster was coming for him, since it had always been the others in Victor's life whom the monster had killed.

The unsuspecting bride, and the rest of the unsuspecting people upon whom Victor's monster had been unleashed, were innocents who had no place in the story other than to show the kinds of selfish monstrousness of Victor himself. The killings should have never begun, but it was shocking that Victor failed to say anything even after the first killing occurred. By then he certainly knew his mistake and was aware of it, but he decided that he did not need to say anything. Essentially, he blocked it out of his mind and refused to take the blame. There were long periods of time in which he did not see the monster and the monster did not kill anyone or do anything which would upset Victor or anyone else. Because that was the case, Victor was able to live parts of his life without the burden of the monster. Only a monstrous or mentally ill (or both) individual, however, would be able to just "block out" the fact that the monster was roaming the country. The idea of that was not something on which Victor focused, and he spent his time doing the kinds of things he loved. He traveled and studied (although not science anymore) and just lived.

Right up until nearly the very end of the novel, Victor is the only one who ever sees the monster. He is also the only one who knows what the monster has done and is doing. He lives with the constant threat of the monster, but yet he ignores that threat expertly. His frail nerves and inability to look at or touch the "tools of his trade" anymore are the only indicators… READ MORE

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