Frankenstein Villian or Victom
Frankenstein's
Monster: Villain or Victim? "Am I to be thought the only criminal, when
all human kind sinned against me?" (Shelly 165) - Frankenstein's Monster Upon reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it is all too easy
to come to the conclusion that the creature Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates is
a "vile insect" (68) that should be "overwhelm [ed] with... furious detestation and contempt" (68).
But is this really accurate? Is this "monster" truly the
"wretched devil" (68) Victor believes him to be? Or is he actually a
"fallen angel whom [Victor] drove from joy for no misdeed... [and that]
misery made a fiend" (69)? The case for the creature being a "hideous
monster" (102) is quite strong. He murders young William Frankenstein with
his bare hands; afterwards, he frames Justine Moritz for the crime because he
"is forever robbed of all that she could give [him, therefore] she shall
atone" (103). Victor's best friend, Henry Clerval,
is murdered by the creature as well. Finally, the monster fulfills his promise
of being "'with [Victor] on [his] wedding night'" (139) by killing
Elizabeth, Victor's cousin and new bride. It would seem that this beast truly
is, in Victor's opinion, unequaled in "deformity and wickedness"
(122). However, after closer examination, one finds that the creature, though
he has committed heinous acts of violence, is not entirely at fault. In fact,
it would seem that the individual responsible for the monster's actions is Dr.
Victor Frankenstein himself. When Victor first creates the creature, he is
struck with "breathless horror and disgust" (35) at its very
appearance. Because of this, he abandons it, not caring about its welfare or
safety. This could be seen as somewhat analogous to giving birth to a baby,
then leaving it in the woods to fend for itself. After being deserted by his
creator, the creature becomes nothing more than a "poor, helpless,
miserable wretch" (71), living on a diet of berries and acorns, and
feeling Do 2 "frightened· [and] desolate" (71). He learns the
language and ways of man by observing a small family for a couple of years, and
yearns for their company so that they can be "sympathizing with [his]
feelings and cheering [his] gloom" (93). However, all his encounters with
humans end with the humans experiencing feelings of "horror and
consternation" (96) (due to his disfigured appearance) while his heart
sinks "with bitter sickness" (97) from these rejections. When he
approaches an old man eating breakfast, the old man flees in terror. When he
attempts to befriend the blind De Lacy, Felix darts forward and tears him
"with supernatural force· from his father" (97). And when he rescues
a young girl from drowning in a swiftly flowing river, he is not thanked with
kind words, but instead with bullets. Thus, the "reward
of [his] benevolence· [is] the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the
flesh and bone" (101). It comes as no surprise, then, when the
creature comes to the conclusion that "there was none among the myriads of
men that existed who would pity or assist [him]" (97), he declares
"ever-lasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him
[Victor] who had formed [him, the monster], and sent him forth to this insupportable
misery" (97). He murders William Frankenstein because he is a relative of
Victor, and frames Justine because he knows she will never be sympathetic
towards him, since she is a member of the human race (talk about being in the
wrong place at the wrong time). When the monster finally gets a chance to speak
with his creator, he has but one request: "a creature of another sex, but
as hideous as [him] self" (105). If Victor complies with this request, the
creature will, for once in his existence, "excite the sympathy of some
living thing" (105) and promises that no "other human being shall
ever see [them] again" (105). Victor agrees to this at first, but later
decides that it will be too risky to create another being which might be "ten
thousand times more malignant than her mate" (120). Upon coming to this
conclusion, Victor destroys the second creature, leaving the first, once again,
alone to "grovel in the intensity of [his] wretchedness" (123). At
this point, out of rage and desperation, the monster kills Henry Clerval, and later, Elizabeth. Can the creature really be
blamed for his behavior and actions? His heart "was fashioned to be
susceptible of love and sympathy" (164); however, in all his years of Do 3
existence, he has seen nothing but violence and hatred towards himself. It is
no wonder, then, that "evil thenceforth became [his] good" (164) and
he had "no choice but to adapt [his] nature to an element which [he] had
willingly chosen" (164). Despite all this, though, he still retains some
shred of humanity. He comes clean at the end, saying that "It is true that
I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled
the innocent as they slept, and grasped to death his throat who
never injured me or any other living thing. I have devoted my creator, the
select specimen of all that is worthy of love and admiration among men, to
misery; I have pursued him even to that irremediable ruin." (165)
Frankenstein's monster is in no way perfect. However, it cannot be said that he
is in any way responsible for being the "vile insect" Victor calls
him. The creature fights to retain his humanity and gain understanding from
humans, but without any proper guidance or sympathy from his creator, he has no
chance to learn anything about the ways of the world except the ways of
violence and hatred. Is it any wonder, then, that he lashes out at a world that
cares nothing for him? How can someone be expected to be kind when all his or
her life has been filled with negativity and brutality? In this writer's humble
opinion, I honestly cannot say I would have reacted
any other way. And I doubt that anyone else could
have, either.
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© Lorena Levy Ballester
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