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Introduction
In analyzing the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, it is difficult to determine which is more monstrous, Dr. Frankenstein or his creature as these characters fall into the realms of evil. Both Dr. Frankenstein and the monster he creates begin their existence in a state of goodness and innocence, yet both can be considered a monster. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word ‘monster’ as “a creature having a strange or frightening appearance” and also as “one who inspires horror or disgust” (2003). Within her novel, Shelley suggests both of these definitions hold true, but suggests the appearance may apply to behavior as much as outer aspect, either of which might inspire horror. She does this by employing the first definition as it applies to the monster, but then employs the second definition to apply to the doctor, suggesting that the hidden monster is far worse than the apparent one.
Main body
The monster Dr. Frankenstein creates is given little chance to do anything but inspire disgust and horror on first sight. Despite Frankenstein’s rejection of it, the monster awakens with a gentle spirit and desire to love. Gaining an education from eavesdropping on the DeLacey family, the monster tells Frankenstein, “my spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of joy” (119). However, his monstrous appearance causes him to be chased from this loving home and he becomes convinced that there is no where and no place for him to be happy among normal humans. His only option, he reasons, is for Frankenstein to create a companion for him, with whom the monster plans to disappear into the wilderness far from human civilization. However, he finds he must resort to violence to get Frankenstein to even listen to him. It is only when Frankenstein refuses to create this companion that the monster fully dedicates himself completely to Frankenstein’s destruction. In the end, the creature tells Walton, ”I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, to riot in the excess of my despair. Evil thenceforth became my good. Urged thus far, I had no choice but to adapt my nature to an element which I had willingly chosen” (239). Although he appears to be a monster on the outside, Shelley makes it clear that this creature never fully became a monster on the inside, driven to violence out of desperation rather than inclination.
Dr. Frankenstein, on the other hand, has received a number of warnings regarding his unnatural studies but crosses into the monstrous as he continues forward with his experiments beyond the point of no return. His studies “forced [him] to spend days and nights in vaults and charnel-houses. My attention was fixed upon every object the most insupportable to the delicacy of the human feelings” (45) while “my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature” (49). This behavior is horrific and repulsive in itself, yet the idea that the doctor recognizes its unnaturalness and still chooses to pursue this course of study suggests a far more frightening inner appearance. Despite the warnings Frankenstein had been given about his study and his willful flaunting of the natural world, the doctor continues to work on the creature he had started until the living monster stood facing him. Only at that point does he recognize the monster as hideous and then rejects it in every possible way, monstrously forcing an innocent creature into an unforgiving world. Frankenstein, having created something so hideous he can’t bear himself to look upon it, abandons his creation and allows it to enter the world unprotected, uncared for and misunderstood at every turn, proving himself the greater monster.
Comparing these two characters, one can see how both can fit within the common understanding of the term ‘monster’ – the doctor creation as the physical embodiment while the doctor represents the psychological element. In telling her story, Shelley suggests that the psychological monster is the more evil because it is more likely to bring evil into the world. The monster simply looks evil, frightening others by its appearance but perfectly willing to exile itself to prevent this fear if it can just have some companionship. In contrast, Dr. Frankenstein forces the monster to commit acts of violence before he will agree to talk with it. This inner nature that would treat another living creature so heartlessly, eventually forcing it to act so against its own inner nature just to meet its basic needs paints Frankenstein as the more hideous of the monsters in the book.
Works Cited
“Monster.” The American Heritage Dictionary. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
Shelley, Mary. The Essential Frankenstein. Leonard Wolf (Ed.). New York: Simon & Schuester, 2004.
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