Adversity In Frankenstein

“It’s ALIVE”!!!!! Most people know that line from the 1931 movie Frankenstein. However, most people do not know that Mary Shelley’s 1818 book Frankenstein is one of the earliest examples of the proverb “one can not judge a book by its cover.” In the novel, the normal-looking Victor Frankenstein is unfeeling and apathetic, and the Monster is ugly and virtuous. To prove that beauty is on the inside, Shelley parallels Victor and the Monster’s response to adversity and guilt. Conventional wisdom suggests that handsome people are good at everything and ugly people are not, but that is flipped with Victor not being able to handle adversity and the Monster being able to handle adversity. After making the Monster, Victor cannot confront it: “Unable

While being a coward is not inherently bad, Victor’s cowardice and inaction in intense moments leads to the trouble that the Monster causes. After being cast out by society, The Monster finds the De Lacey’s cottage and realizes that he has been harming them: “I had been accustomed [...] to steal a part of their store for my own consumption; but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained” (Shelley 102). The Monster does not let the hardships of his early life corrupt him into an evil being, and it even helped establish this kindness in him because he realized that the De Laceys were wretched creatures just like him. The Monster’s empathy after the adversity he faces displays his resilience and mental fortitude and shows that the Monster does not let his appearance stop him from making ethical decisions. After destroying the female Monster,

After making the Monster, Victor is overwhelmed with emotion at his creation: “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was for ever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (Shelley 50). Even though Victor feels guilty, he does not truly feel remorseful. What Victor feels is regret which is different than remorse, and Victor feels regret instead of remorse because he instantly regrets his decision of creating the Monster, but does not feel enough remorse to right his wrong. While going through Europe, Victor recalls his time creating the Monster: “I was guiltless, but I had indeed drawn down a horrible curse upon my head” (Shelley 157). Victor’s true character emerges again as he is not taking responsibility for his actions and is still trying to convince himself of his innocence. Yet again, Victor does not feel genuine remorse; he regrets his decision, but it does not truly change him, and his unwillingness to admit his mistake shows his stubbornness. On the ship, the Monster comments on his life: “You hate me; but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself” (Shelley 215). The Monster’s high character shines through here because he is genuinely remorseful for his actions. Despite his ugliness, The Monster’s true remorse illustrates his