Pity For Victor's Suffering In Frankenstein

Evaluating How Mary Shelley Garners Pity for Victor

A key characteristic of humanity is its ability to empathize with others; especially for those who are in physical or emotional pain. In the gothic novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the reader’s natural inclination towards sympathy to garner pity for Victor. Shelley understands that it is human nature to have empathy for people who cannot care for themselves, and that is why she depicts Victor as weak and emaciated at points in the novel. Another reason the reader pities Victor is because his humanity is contrasted with the creature’s evil. However, Shelley also emphasizes the fact that the reader should also have pity for the creature by depicting Victor’s cruelty towards it. In Mary

After murdering William the creature “has learned now to work in mischief” (154) and portrays his wickedness by knowingly framing Justine for murder. The creatures ability and willingness to frame Justine illustrates that the creature has lost its innocence and has succumb to evil. This loss of innocence turns the creature from once being seen as an innocent child into a monster that the reader struggles to sympathize for. He also shows his vengefulness by killing the innocent “Clerval, [Victor’s] friend, [and Victor’s] benefactor” after discovering that he will not receive a companion (191). With the death of Victor’s best friend the reader now starts to see him as a victim instead of as a man doing his penance for playing God. Not only are the creature’s actions monstrous, but also his appearance. After Victor dies the creature looks like a monster who is “gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in proportion” (236) contrasts to Victors human features. This depiction of the creature solidifies the image of it as a monster, and allows for Victor’s human features to be accentuated which helps the reader to relate, and, therefore, more easily sympathize with Victor. Though contrasting Victor’s humanity to the creature’s evil produces sympathy, it is

As Victor describes his childhood he reminds the reader that parents are responsible for their children’s “happiness or misery,” and “to bring [them] up to good” (32). Based off of this logic Victor, as the creature’s creator, is responsible for the creature and its actions. Because Victor fails at raising the creature it is his fault that the creature turns against him. Victor makes the decision to not raise the creature immediately after creating the creature, because he is “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created and rushed off out the room” (59). With the abandonment of a then innocent creature the reader is reminded that Victor could have changed his fate by accepting this creature, but instead ignores the creature and therefore seals his own fate. Victor not only abandons the creature, but also mistreats it. Upon finding the creature in the mountains Victors is very cruel to it and calls it an “abhorred monster [and that] the tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for [its] crimes” (105). By illustrating Victor’s cruelty towards the creature the reader now sees Victor as unsympathetic, and now lacks empathy towards him because of his aggressive behavior. These scenes depict Victor as hypocritical, irresponsible, and cruel; with these actions Victor diminishes the sympathy he gains due to the