Beauty In Frankenstein

The classic, well known quote “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” demonstrates what beauty represents throughout the novel Frankenstein. Mary Shelley displays through her writing that outer beauty does not always mean it is the best or the most innocent, but at some points the total opposite. Beauty, throughout the whole book, is seen as safe, charming, and benevolent. Any character seen as pretty automatically means they are good or holy and have not done anything wrong. At the very beginning of the book, Victor mentions how Elizabeth’s beauty was used to the best of her advantage. “...and the result was that Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parents ' house--my more than sister--the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations

“His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.” (pg. 45) Victor is very proud of his work and how well together it all came together. Although, even though the monster was not alive yet, Victor still perceived his creation as innocent and of odd beauty. Then everything changed once the monster was given life. That beauty was thrown under the bus and so was that innocence. The monster was now seen as evil, just because his outer appearance was ugly. The first time Victor encountered his well-alive monster, he thought it was a hideous and miserable sight to see. The monster had been grinning at him as Victor had been sleeping and after a terrible dream, Victor awakens to find the hideous beast in his face. “I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch -- the miserable

The trueness behind the quote “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” really defines how what you see is not always what you