Oftentimes in the world people get hurt for seemingly no reason. Sometimes the wrong person was targeted, while other times the act of violence might be an accident all together. However, in great literature violence never exists simply because there is violence in the world; it always has a deeper meaning to the work as a whole. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature created by pseudo-scientist Victor Frankenstein both endures and inflicts a large amount of violence, highlighting the concept that monsters are not born but rather created.
When Victor Frankenstein is very young, he begins ready the works of alchemists Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus. He begins enthralled in the study and becomes determined to create his own life form. Although it takes years of self imposed isolation to finish his work, Frankenstein finally achieves his goal of creating a lifeform. Unfortunately, the creature he created was considered by himself to be horribly grotesque and Victor immediately denounced the creature.
This connects to the greater work as a whole because the creature was not an abomination of nature, but rather a creation of man. Had Victor acted as its creator and taught it human principles, it could have potentially assimilated into having a life. Since Victor had sent the creation away horrified, the creature had to learn for itself how society could treat those they find to outsiders.
Once the creature began life on its own, it immediately began to learn how cruel society can be. One day when it is in the woods it comes across a girl drowning in some water.
Without considering how much danger it might be putting itself in, it jumps directly into the water to save the little girl. Instead of being thanked for its bravery, the little girl is disgusted by the appearance of the creature and her father shoots the creature in the back. Any creature, whether natural or not, who risks their life for the wellbeing of others should be viewed as a hero, but Frankenstein’s creature is treated as a monster. This connects to the greater work as a whole because the creature clearly has good intentions and a pure heart; however, its worth is being judged solely on physical appearance. Throughout history people have been judged for things beyond their control–such as race, sexual orientation, or disabilities–regardless of how much they can contribute to the world around them.
Mary Shelley furthers this point when she has the creature meet the De Lacey family. The creature is immediately intrigued by their dynamic and learns much of what he knows from Felix and Safie (unbeknownst to them due to the fact that he has been spying on them from outside their house). When the creature finally decides to make contact with the De Lacey’s, it talks to Mr. De Lacey, due to the fact that Mr. De Lacey is blind and will not be able to see the grotesque image Victor created. This plan seems to be succeeding until Felix and Safie return, and Felix begins to attack the “monster.” This act of violence should have caused the creature to lash out, but instead the creature made plans to try again in the future.
It was not the De Lacey’s left that the creature decided to seek vengeance against the person who had made it so isolated. The creature endured violence from every human it interacted with until it could not stand to endure any more. Once the creature decided to focus its efforts on vengeance opposed to gaining the acceptance from society that it would never realistically receive, it began systematically killing every person Victor had a meaningful connection to. The creature became the monster that Victor and the rest of the world had always seen when they looked at it.
Frankenstein Timed Write. (2022, Nov 15). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/frankenstein-timed-write/