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Corruption In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein explores the theme of alienation and how it ultimately leads to the corruption of an individual. As Victor Frankenstein sought to discover and solve the secret to life by “bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (37), he erected a creature who was monstrous looking. As a result, the creature was continuously rejected and isolated from society due to his grotesque appearance, forcing him to navigate the world alone, unable to find any source of companionship or parental guidance leading him to become bitter and vengeful. Mary Shelley presents allusions to demonstrate how the creature’s identity in becoming a monster was forced upon him, due to the creature’s circumstances of social rejection and misinterpretation …show more content…

Once the creature was able to read and decipher Victor’s journal, the creature realized the circumstances of his creation and realized that he was regarded with disgust by Victor. The creature’s exclamation, “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?” (115), highlights his awareness of his monstrous appearance and the realization of the role it plays in his isolation from society. The creature’s physical otherness prevents him from finding acceptance or companionship in a world that is repulsed by him, further emphasized by the cottagers, specifically De Lacey who was blind and accepted the creature’s company and kind words. However, once his children entered the cottage, they were horrified at the creature’s appearance, with one of the children, Felix, striking the creature violently with a stick. This highlighted the idea that his appearance led to him being alienated from society which made the creature grow resentful, “from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me” (121). Due to the circumstances of alienation by the creature’s physical appearance, the creature grew vindictive and corrupt when he was consistently being …show more content…

As Victor insists that he and the creature continue in separate paths, the creature holds Victor accountable for his negligence and his lack of nourishment saying, “I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel… make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous” (84). By utilizing allusions to demonstrate the creature’s disdain towards his creator, it explains how the creature becomes bitter and vengeful in his desire for revenge against his creator for treating him more like Satan than Adam. He wishes to feel happy by simply not feeling alienated anymore, asking Victor for a female companion. He explains to Victor that if he complies, “neither [him] nor any other human being shall ever see me again” (131). This wish demonstrates that the creature only wants is to escape the human eye where all he’ll be seen as is a monster, instead fleeing with one of his

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In the modern world, when a person hears about Frankenstein, they think of an abhorrent and detestable monster, but that is not the case. In the book, “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a scientist that pursues his dream of reviving a human. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, conducts a series of experiments and creates a monster. Abhorred by his creation, he leaves the monster. Through desolation and isolation, the monster is driven by society and Frankenstein to commit crimes.

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A kind, empathetic, and loving creature transforms into a terrifying and cruel monster after the sharp edges of society shape him as they see fit. Societal monsters are products of injustice. They do not fit in and for that, society ridicules them. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there are many instances of societal injustice. This prejudice can be traced back to other monsters in real life society.

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“Many people who’ve never read Frankenstein know of Victor Frankenstein’s creature as one of the most famous monsters in literary history. Adaptations of the novel have contributed to this misinterpretation by portraying the monster as a horrifying character who provokes fear. However, part of what makes Mary Shelley’s novel such an impressive accomplishment is her ability to portray the monster as multi-dimensional and complex. The monster is responsible for many violent actions throughout the novel. He is also legitimately frightening and grotesque because of his enormous size and composition from parts taken from corpses.

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By Victor taking away what the creature saw at his only chance at happiness, the creature becomes furious and kills Elizabeth, Victor’s wife. By viewing the creature as a child, the opinions based on his image and actions are altered because a child is always considered innocent. The creature had the ignorance of a child when he first woke up. His actions and image then can be blamed on Victor for not teaching the creature like a guardian would teach a child.

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Victor, his creator, “turned from [the Creature] in disgust. Satan had his companions… but [the Creature is] solitary and abhorred” (110). Consequently, his perpetual isolation from companionship distorts his genuinely innocent nature into violent loneliness. He is alone with nothing other than thoughts of his lack of companionship, his monstrous appearance, and how he may never gain friendship because of his appearance. These dark thoughts breed into deadly cruelty.

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In Shelley's Frankenstein, the Creature's encounters with exile through his interactions with humanity catalyze both personal growth and isolation, revealing the complexities and destructive effects of the nature of prejudice. The main desire of the Creature is to experience love, but despite numerous attempts to fit into society, it realizes that acceptance by humans will forever elude it. The novel Frankenstein depicts a series of painful episodes of exile that the Creature endures, leading to alienation. Right from the moment Victor brings his creation to life, the Creature is subjected to exclusion.

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