How Does Mary Shelley Present The Wretch In Frankenstein

The following quote is found on the title page of Frankenstein: “Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me man, Did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?” (Paradise Lost, X, 743-745). This quote represents the anguish experienced by a creature who was involuntarily brought into existence only to live a life of suffering, not only at the hand of society, but of his own creator. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses examples of society’s treatment of the wretch in combination with Victor’s callous attitude to not only rationalize the wretch’s behavior, but to elicit a piteous reaction from the reader. The creature’s account of his early life shows the extent to which his dreadful encounters with humanity affect his development

Upon the creature’s first encounter with humans, he is attacked and chased away by the people of a village he visits. After this, the wretch becomes wary of humans, relegating himself to silently observing a family through their window. Eventually, isolation and longing for companionship make the creature miserable and desperate. When the creature reveals himself to the De Lacey family and is rejected, he is devastated and vows to seek revenge against humanity, saying on page 124 “From that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me.” The anguish and loneliness the wretch experiences at the hand of human society drives him to anger and

In this way, it is almost as if the wretch is speaking directly to the reader, allowing for a much more personal connection and sense of sympathy between the creature and the reader. An example of this technique can be found on page 131, where the creature says, “Can you wonder that such thoughts transported me with rage? I only wonder that at that moment, instead of venting my sensations in exclamations and agony, I did not rush among mankind and perish in the attempt to destroy them.” The wretch thereby poses this question to the reader, imploring that the reader attempt to understand what he is going through. This allows the reader to experience the feelings of the creature, while also contributing to the idea that the wretch’s behavior is a result of his lack of nurturing from his creator,