Similarities Between Frankenstein And Dorian Gray

Evil in the world takes many forms: “an imaginary creature having various human and animal parts; someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful; a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed or a cruel; wicked and inhuman person” (vocabulary.com). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, there are obvious monsters: the creation in Shelley’s work and Dorian Gray in Wilde’s. Frankenstein’s creation is markedly unusual and deformed, and Dorian Gray is a cruel and wicked person. These two, however, are not the only monsters. What makes a monster isn’t always evident to the observer. David Schmid, associate professor in the Department of English at the University
Artist Basil Hallward sees Dorian and decides he wants to paint a portrait of this stunning example of a man, and Dorian consents. While sitting for the portrait at Basil’s studio, Dorian meets Basil’s dear friend, the socialite/philosopher Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry is an aesthete who whiles away his time by attending parties, going to the Club, supping and other such frivolities. He is a man of charisma, intelligence, sharp wit and “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (Wilde 56). Lord Henry is immediately taken with Dorian and quickly becomes infatuated. Over the course of time, Lord Henry begins to play a very sinister game with Dorian’s life—he seduces Dorian into leading the life of an aesthete, like himself. A life of debauchery and evil where the pursuit of happiness is paramount and comes at the expense of everything and everyone else—morality be damned. Lord Henry has no particular motive for doing this except to amuse himself and to play the game of creation. Dorian slowly begins to change; Dorian, the beauty on the outside becomes Dorian, the monster on the inside. He transforms into a selfish, hedonist. His disregard for others directly causes the suicide of his fiancée. He participates in immoral acts. He seeks personal gratification with abandon. His creator, Lord Henry, does nothing to intervene and stop Dorian’s progression from young, naïve man to loathsome monster. In
Are they culpable? Yes: for without them, the monsters would not exist. They are the progenitors of evil. Victor Frankenstein is seldom considered a monster, but when his actions are more closely observed, they reveal that he too, is a monster. He endeavors to create life, like God created Adam and Eve, but, unlike God—who continues to love Adam and Eve after they succumbed to Lucifer’s temptation—Victor disregards his creation, because it is not what he dreamt it to be. It is curious to note that Victor regards parents as the determiners of their progeny’s fate. When he speaks of the role parents play, he refers to their offspring as “[t]he innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me” (Shelley 28). He doesn’t relate that to his role in being the progenitor, the parent, of the creation. He regards his creation as hideous and as the most abhorrent being to ever walk the earth. The casting-off of his creation is what drives the creation to acts of evil; it’s what ultimately forces the creation to his monstrous acts. Victor’s actions stem from his selfish nature; he only thinks of himself. Because of his selfishness, the creation resorts to evil. The creation happens upon Victor’s diary and learns what his creator truly thinks of him: “Everything is related in them