In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley conceptualizes the term monster to mean the creature that Victor Frankenstein created in his laboratory (Shalghin 1). The creature was tall and sewn together, and Victor used scientific knowledge to bring it to life. However, a deeper analysis of the text reveals a paradox because the creature only acts violently because of the environment in which he is situated. Dr. Victor Frankenstein emerges as the real monster because he abandoned the creature after fulfilling his scientific ambitions (Poorghorban and Taghizadeh 1). Victor’s unusual ambition transforms him into a self-centered person because he creates a living creature and then abandons it after realizing it has a grotesque appearance.
The desire to overcome the natural order creates the starting point for Victor’s transformation into a monster. Victor’s ego primarily fuelled his ambition; he did not consider his ethical obligation to the field of science when creating life from death. Victor could not help but obsess over the possibility of creating a new species that would bless him as a creator (Shelley 54). Therefore, Frankenstein does not create the monster from a place of love or the intention to raise it but a desire to receive glory from the scientific community. Going against the natural order leads Victor to disregard the ethical obligations that science has put in place with regard to creating a living entity.
The flaw in Victor’s morality emerges most evidently when he succeeds in bringing the creature to life. Victor chooses to flee instead of developing a sense of pride after the creature opened its eyes; he says, “The beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 57). The creature had not developed the ability to survive when Victor abandoned it; the giant was more of a child that existed within the frame of a creature that was eight-foot-tall. Victor did not feel concerned about the welfare of his creation after realizing that “the creature whom I had left in my apartment might still be there, alive and walking about” (Shelley 60). Victor’s main concern was what his peers in the world of science would think about him after seeing the creature. Abandoning the creature creates the foundation for tragedy in Shelley’s work because Victor creates life but does not care to provide the guidance necessary for surviving in a hostile world.
Frankenstein enters the world as a kind creature but with limited knowledge of how the world works. Frankenstein is interested in securing a warm connection with the people in the world; the gentle nature of the creature becomes palpable as he studies the De Lacey family and understands language. He also develops the idea of empathy and morality by helping the poor peasants to cut firewood and think about teachings from Paradise Lost. Frankenstein resolves that his suffering connects with Victor; he says, “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous” (Shelley 98). This thought process reveals that vices like murder and revenge are not inherent to the creature but a reaction to the rejection it has experienced in the hands of humans and abandonment by its creator. Ideally, society neglected Frankenstein because he was grotesque but Victor rejected him because he existed.
The nature of Victor’s monstrosity becomes clear at the Mar de Glace glacier when Frankenstein demands for a wife. The creature needed a companion to help him lead a comfortable life away from humanity rather than wealth. Frankenstein says, “My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create” (Shelley 144). Victor accepts the request of the creature because he acknowledged the part he played in causing the pain the creature was experiencing. However, Victor’s paranoia led him to go back on his word; he resolved to tear apart the body of the female creature he had started developing after seeing the creature peeping from the window of his workshop (Shelley 166). This action destroyed all the hope that Frankenstein had for a companion, effectively demonstrating Victor’s inability to fulfill the promises he made or meet his obligation as a parent.
Victor’s inability to be self-aware prevents him from realizing that he is similar to his creation. The creature is scary due to its physical appearance but Victor is equally terrifying because of his focus on self-preservation. Isolation drives the creature to terrorize people but Victor’s self-interest causes physical and psychological harm because people are terrified of his creature and others meet their demise in the hands of the angry creature. Victor gradually becomes vengeful toward his creature, and this is evident when he says to Walton, “I devoted myself, either in my life or death, to his destruction” (203). Therefore, the difference between Victor and his creature is the choice available to the two characters; the hostile world pushed Frankenstein to isolation but Victor chose to live separately from his family and friends because he wanted to protect his secrets. Therefore, one would be accurate to indicate that Victor’s pain is self-inflicted when compared to the monster because the creature was only acting out of a desire to belong.
Accordingly, Victor emerges as the true monster due to his spineless nature; he seems more focused on ensuring his reputation remains clean even as Frankenstein developed into a vengeful creature. Victor did not seek ways of preventing Frankenstein from causing harm despite being knowledgeable about the creature evolving into a murderer. Frankenstein killed Victor’s brother but Justine Moritz was falsely accused of killing William. Victor was aware of this injustice but chose to remain quiet because he was afraid of people calling him a mad person. He admitted this reality when he said, “I could not enter into a detail of powers that I had created . . . was not one that could be believed” (Shelley 80). Victor’s silence resulted in the execution of Moritz, effectively revealing that his focus on self-preservation was more dear to him over the lives of his family members and friends.
In conclusion, Frankenstein committed crimes such as murder, and these are sufficient acts to brandish it a monster. However, the true monster in Frankenstein is Victor because he was in possession of all the faculties he needed to make moral choices. Frankenstein acted as he did because society was hostile toward him, and this led him to become desperate. Victor was well-educated and had a family that loved him but he acted in a selfish manner and abandoned his creation. This abandonment caused significant harm to the creature and other members of society like Justin and William. An innocent person was executed and another died in the hands of Frankenstein simply because Victor was more interested in protecting himself. Therefore, Frankenstein was fairly grotesque in appearance and met the typical description of a monster but Victor was the true monster because his actions are reflective of a heartless person.
