Body Image In Frankenstein

The way society views a person influences how they view themselves. Shelley’s Frankenstein amplifies this idea by allowing Frankestein’s creation to tell the story of his interactions with humans from his perspective, explaining first hand how the reactions his appearance instigated influenced his body image and self worth. His tall and broad figure crafted of dead bodies stitched together, gave the immediate impression that he had ill intentions, making it impossible for him to connect with others. However, before he met humans he had no reason to assume that his looks were considered to be scary and unattractive. It was only through analyzing the behavior humans conveyed when they saw him that the monster comprehended how others viewed him.

After the creature watches a little girl slip into a rapid stream, he immediately jumps in, brings her back to land, and begins to restore life into her limp body. The man who was with the girl before she fell sees this and instantly snatches the child away from him and runs deeper into the woods. The monster runs after them, but soon becomes the victim of a bullet shot from the man’s firearm. From the ground which his injury had sworn him the creature thought to himself, “I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness, which I had entertained but a few moments before, gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth” (158). This dehumanizing experience gave light to the fact that no matter how kind he was, the creature would always be treated as if he were evil. After realizing that his good deeds would be met with the same response as if he had committed a murder, the being’s natural instinct to destroy presented itself, leading to the homicide of Victor’s family and friends. Desperate to find a companion, the creature attempts to kidnap a child whom he believed would be too young to imbibe his wretchedness. He took hold of the boy and to his dismay, he was met with a piercing screech when the child saw him. The monster attempted to explain that he had no intention of harming the boy, but the child’s shouting refused to stop. In an attempt to scare the creature, the boy tells him that his father is M. Frankenstein and that he will punish him. The monster immediately recognizes this name as the one who created him to be hated and who has caused his never