Within the heart of Victor Frankenstein, there was an insatiable thirst for scientific fame. His quest for scientific greatness birthed a creature that yearned for connection, only to be met with a chilling void where compassion should have resided. As the novel unfolds, the absence of sympathy becomes a repeating theme. Although the creature was seen as a monster, Victor Frankenstein was the true monster that lacked sympathy for the creature, making Victor less sympathetic than the creature. This was evident when considering Victor was motivated by selfish ambition and pride to create life, Victor abandoned his creation out of disgust and fear, and Victor refused to acknowledge the creature's humanity. To begin, Victor, driven by selfish …show more content…
The creature desired sympathy and understanding, but Victor felt nothing but hatred and regret toward the creature. When the creature came to life, it extended its hand, resembling a child longing for their mother's affection. However, unlike a child, the creature was denied the touch of its creator and faced rejection. The creature also talked about how “Adam was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature” (Shelley 154). But unlike Adam, the creature “was wretched, helpless, and alone” (Shelley 154) since his creator, Victor, abandoned him. The creature’s abandonment caused him to have many questions like “What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? … but [the creature] was unable to solve them” (Shelley 152-153). The creature was left all alone to fend for itself. The creature’s abandonment led to resentment and “in the bitterness of [his] heart [he] cursed” (Shelley 156), his creator, Victor. The curse against Victor set into motion a series of tragic events that led to the deaths of Victor’s loved ones. In his quest for vengeance, the creature unleashed a cascade of destruction that forced Victor to confront the consequences of his actions. Victor’s lack of sympathy was instrumental in driving the creature further into …show more content…
The creature repeatedly demonstrated that he was not evil. The creature saved a girl from drowning and secretly helped the De Laceys by gathering firewood, clearing snow from their path, and restoring their ruined garden. The creature was pleased with his actions when he “observed, with pleasure, that [Felix] did not go to the forest that day, but spent it in repairing the cottage and cultivating the garden” (Shelley 130). The creature demonstrated his humanity through his actions and understood that his actions have consequences, something Victor failed to realize. Yet, Victor continued to call the creature a “demoniacal corpse” (Shelley 60), a “wretch” (Shelley 60), and a “miserable monster” (Shelley 59), among other degrading names, showing his contempt and unwavering hatred for his creation, even after the creature vulnerably shared his heartfelt story with Victor. The creature stated that he is “malicious because [he is] miserable” (Shelley 174). The creature merely wanted someone to accompany him throughout his life who did not hate him. Hence, the creature asked Victor to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being” (Shelley 174). However, Victor refused and stated, “Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in
While Victor is in Ireland, attempting to create a female companion for the creature , he gives up on his efforts, which ends up angering the creature and leading to the death of his beloved friend Henry Clerval. Victor basically wants nothing to do with the creature and this makes the creature furious, because when looked upon from a religious point of view, the creator is obliged to take care of the being created. This is significant, because if Victor had just followed the creatures wants for a female companion, or not even create him in the first place ,his friend Henry would still be alive, and the ordeals of death wouldn’t keep following Victor. Tragically for Victor ,the creature vows to be there at his wedding day to take the life of his loving Elizabeth. The creature’s persistence to take away everything Victor loves and everything he couldn’t have himself, is what drives the monster to make Victor’s life a living hell.
This emotional reaction stresses one of Mary Shelley’s key themes, family and how necessary these connections truly are. The creature began his argument by trying to create pity and compassion for himself, believing Victor would commiserate his loneliness. He tells of traveling for days and nights before stumbling across a cottage where a family resided. He decided to lodge nearby and observe them from a distance.
The relationship between the creature and Victor juxtaposed the relationship of God and man. Shelley displayed this where the creature said, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (161). Just like Adam in the bible, the creature experienced loneliness
The creature's story is relevant today because adults that were abandoned as children were reported to have anger issues, anxiety, and depression later in life “Due to the lack of emotional and other support from parents,” (Shirely Davis). The creature lost his only parent figure when Victor ran away out of fear as the creature was brought to life. This led the creature to be alone and then not have the support from Victor that children need for their parents. Victor abandoning him led the creature to harbor resentment towards him. As the creature was about to confront the old cottager, De Lacey, his “Heart beat quick; this was the hour and moment of trial,” (Shelley 134).
Upon approaching Victor, desperate for a female, the creature is shut down by Victor. Shelley elaborates on his fear for the future of mankind by provoking ignorance in Victor’s response. The creature explains to Victor that even though he abandoned his duties to nurture him, Victor still holds a moral responsibility to provide the creature with essential needs including happiness. Victor contemplates whether his loyalty swings more towards the safety of mankind or the happiness of his creation, as for him to “create another like yourself, whose joints wickedness might desolate the world”, imposes a huge fear for complying to the creature’s ask (Shelley 156). The creature promises that no harm will come to humanity as they will isolate themselves, but Victor is still hesitant for he does not know what the readers know.
But where was mine?" (Shelley 139). The cruelty of society towards the creature reflects the societal norms and values of the time, highlighting the dangers of conformity and the destructive nature of
The creature expresses his suffering from Victor's neglect and rejection. The creature's experiences evoke sympathy and underscore the importance of compassion and empathy between family members. The creature builds to that by stating, "Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy monster, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us" (Shelley 102). The creature's observations about Victor's neglectful behavior as a parent are significant because it reveals the importance of proper parenting. The creature points out that parenting should not involve neglect or rejection, and this realization is made even more critical due to Victor's upbringing.
(Shelly 69) What Victor endured in the past still fuelled his hate and anger towards the creature. This hate consumed his whole being leading him to parade such savagery to the creature. Through the cruelty he shows buth his own body and the creature we can see Victor's selfishness.
”(Millhauser). This violent rejection is a repetition of Victor’s lack of acceptance for the monster and attention to his family. Victor knows that the monster will never be able to live within society and that his ability to create life is the only hope the monster has of achieving companionship. Victor's own aversion to companionship surfaces as he, “ fails to give him the human companionship, the Eve, the female creature, that he needs to achieve some sort of a normal life.” (Mellor).
When the creature, at last, confronts his creator he tells him “Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other, and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due.” (Shelley 1952, 100), the creature feels that if no one would love him, then at least his creator, that put him in this world, would. The creature was created with a pure heart and he tells Frankenstein “Remember, I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.” (Shelley 1952, 100). Further, he asks Frankenstein to create a mate for him, someone that “could” love him and see him for what he is: “I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me.
Once the creature had been abandoned it goes searching for help and society rejects him repeatedly until the creature goes on a murderous, impulsive, rampage. The argument of nature vs nurture has been debated for a long time and in this book, Mary Shelley perfectly
Victor's fear of being known as the creator of the creature, and the creature killing his family made him more and more isolated from the world just like the creature was. Victor even said “Revenge kept me alive" (pg149) similar to the creature's “insatiable thirst for vengeance”(pg 164) which kept him alive. Victor and the monster both had a similar desire for a loving family, and neither one could have it. Victor was given a woman to marry, his mother said “I have a pretty present for my Victor - tomorrow he shall have it” (pg 18) talking about Elizabeth. The creature wanted to be given a woman to be with just as Victor had.
The creature's actions are motivated by a desire to make Victor suffer and to show him the consequences of his actions. The creature tells Victor: "I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me" (Shelley, 98). This statement reflects the creature's sense of isolation and loneliness and its belief that its actions are justified by the cruelty of its
In the famous novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein’s creature is blatantly mistreated by his creator and misunderstood by the people around him. Mary Shelley introduces the daemon as a hideous creation made by Victor. Being appalled by the creature Victor instantly abandoned it, whose goals now are finding his creator again, and finding out why he is alive. Only by understanding the creature’s story can the reader form a full opinion of the creature and react more sympathetically. Early into the creature's creation, we as readers know very little of his story.
When the creature sits down with Victor and conversates with him about his journey he shows a controlled and developed side of him. When the creature is first introduced he is described as a devil and a nuisance to all of mankind. The creature grows and gets more educated, he learns to make fire which helps him in the long run. “It was morning when I awoke, my first care was to visit the fire” (Shelley 72), this quote shows the creature's sense of responsibility. The creature was oblivious to many things especially his surroundings, he learned to become more comprehensive and diligent to his life choices.