Frankenstein Good And Evil Essay

Bella Privitera

Professor Walls

ENG 102

21 April 2023

The Representations of Good and Evil in Frankenstein:

A Tug-of-War Game Between Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Monster

Every narrative has a protagonist and an antagonist, oftentimes known as a hero and a villain, and good and evil are typically balanced quite evenly between the two. While moral depravity is usually reserved for the villains, moral righteousness, in contrast, is reserved for the heroes. Which road the hero will take, and which road the villain will take, is almost always predictable. In Frankenstein, however, Mary Shelley strongly deviates from this predictable pattern. Instead, the two major characters, Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Monster alternate in a metaphorical

Was I, a monster, a blot upon the earth from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?” (Shelley 87). This quotation comes later in the narrative when the Monster communicates to Victor about its feelings of loneliness after its experiences with societal prejudice, especially after Victor had deserted and failed to prepare the Monster for how society would view it. The Monster is, at its core, a morally honest and pure character in the novel up until it transforms into a more monstrous one as a result of its

Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint wickedness might desolate the world… You may torture me, but I will never consent,” (Shelley 106). Victor ultimately decides against producing another creature at the Monster's request, which would have added to the suffering he has already indirectly inflicted. This decision is morally good. He makes the decision for his family, the individuals around him, and humanity as a whole, exemplifying Victor's shift of goodness in this portion of the novel and, in contrast, the Monster's