The Consequences of Physical Appearance in Frankenstein The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a science fiction story about a creature created from non-living matter, by a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein. The conflict between society and Frankenstein’s creature is largely perpetuated by a split between those considered attractive, and those who are not. The conflict and language use in Frankenstein demonstrate that most of society judges others based on their physical appearance, which leads to excluding those who fall outside the accepted definition of beauty and sometimes life-threatening consequences for both groups. Frankenstein and his parents demonstrate that they also fall victim to the habit of judging others initially based off of their appearance. The Frankenstein parents first demonstrate this when they meet Elizabeth and her …show more content…
The use of the word monster in the book also correlates to appearance, and when the creature is called a monster, he feels forced to act like one.After being rejected by society because of his appearance the creature cries to Frankenstein, “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust” (Shelley 93). This shows that the creature internalized all of the hate he received from his appearance, to the point where he viewed himself as a monster. When he internalizes all this negativity about himself that stems from his appearance, and begins to see himself as a monster, he then begins to behave as one. He threatens Frankenstein by telling him “I may die, but first you” which shows that the creature is not afraid of dying as long as he can inflict as much pain as possible on Frankenstein first (Shelley 123). This alone is a monstrous way to act and it shows that the creature felt compelled to take on the role that society gave him. The consequences of the creature being villainized because of his appearance ended up threatening the lives of Frankenstein and everyone he