The Ugly Truth About Beauty In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The Ugly Truth About Beauty
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley excels at accurately portraying how social beauty standards, along with being alienated from society, affects one’s perception of oneself. For the most part, when people think of “Frankenstein,” they immediately think of “monster.” However, Frankenstein is the creator of the creature - a creature who in actuality is unfit to suit the label of “monster” and is not given a name. In the midst of the novel, the creature becomes aware of other people’s appearances, the beauty they possess, and how it is all so different from his own image. Attempting to comprehend the newly found information causes the creature to question his own appearance, and once he does so, the view he once had of himself is altered.
To the characters in the book and to those in the world today who do not know the creature’s side of the story, Frankenstein’s creature is seen as the monster. However, he never commits any act worthy of the label. He is considered a monster, simply because he is “ugly.” As soon as the creature is brought to life, Victor, his creator, notices that the creature is not visually appealing and is extremely

It becomes evident that up until this point, although everyone else has perceived him as a monster, Frankenstein’s creation does not see himself as a monster. He has no reason to do so. People run away from him, at times screaming, but he does not understand why, for he brings no harm to them. However, in chapter 12, after observing Felix and Agatha’s appearances and comparing them to his own, he begins to be scared of his own reflection. He finally registers that he is different than them, and from here on out he “[becomes] fully convinced that [he is] in reality the monster”