The Real Monster, Victor Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper

The Real Monster, victor frankenstein

Mary Shelley s narrative, Frankenstein is the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.(52) This was the time and the place in which the creature came to life. Victor Frankenstein thought that his creation was a hideous monster, but his ignorance blinded him from the truth. In veracity, Victor Frankenstein was the real monster this was evident from his selfishness, from his cruelty and rejection of his creation, and because he indirectly caused the deaths of his own family and friends.

The selfishness shown by Victor Frankenstein is just one of the traits that shows that he is the monster. His selfish attitude is visible throughout the whole story. In the beginning when he first discovers the cause of generation and life, he does not tell anyone about it. He thinks, The astonishment which I had first experienced on this discovery soon gave place to delight and rapture What had been the study and desire of the wisest men since the creation of the world was now within my grasp. (47) This type of selfish thinking entails excessive pride and self-glory with disregard to the good of others. Another example of selfishness is the death of Justine, Frankenstein could have saved her if it was not for his selfish attitude. My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar. (75) This statement made by Victor Frankenstein shows how selfish he is. Near the end of the novel, the creature says: I shall be with you on your wedding night. (164) Victor Frankenstein never even thinks that it will kill his wife; he just thinks that it will kill him, which is another sign of selfishness.

Another trait that makes Victor Frankenstein the real monster is his animosity and rejection of the creation. From the beginning, Frankenstein abhorred the monster, this is visible when he says, he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion , it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived. (53) Later in the novel, Frankenstein refers to his creation as monster, Devil, and Fiend, again, showing his animosity towards the creature. When the creature and Frankenstein meet in the mountains, it says, Yet you my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us but I am the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous. (94) In this statement, the creature says that it would be good and benevolent, if it was cared and loved for, which even its creator, Frankenstein did not do.

Only a beast or a monster would cause the deaths of its friends and family, and this monster is Frankenstein. His production of the creature indirectly led to the deaths of all his family members and some close friends. In the beginning, William is strangled to death by the creature, which was created by Frankenstein. After Frankenstein destroys the companion he was making for the creature, it says: you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. (163) With this statement, the monster foreshadows the demise of someone related to Victor. This someone turns out to be his best friend Henry Clerval. Later in the novel, the creature kills Elizabeth, Frankenstein s wife. And near the end of the novel, Frankenstein s father dies because of all the grief he is suffering. All these deaths were caused indirectly by Victor Frankenstein.

People who have read the novel, have commonly referred to the creature as Frankenstein; this suggests that Frankenstein is the real monster in the plot. Frankenstein s selfishness, his cruelty towards his creation, and the indirect deaths of his family and friends are some of the aspects that make Victor Frankenstein the real monster of the story. Although many people believe the creature to be the monster, these facts prove otherwise.