The Cruelty Of Society In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The cruelty of society, within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is examined in various ways. The monster within the novel experiences the world when he is created and becomes lost. Since the dawn of man, adapting to society and possessing a feeling of belonging has been an instinct. Many different societies possess different cultures that individuals always try to accustom themselves to, from the way people dress to how a family is raised. Those who do not accustom themselves to the accepted culture are looked down upon, perceived as an outcast, and sometimes feared by. Something as minor as dressing with different attire than those in one’s society can cause an atmosphere of strange feelings towards that someone. The monster’s dominating
presence of eight feet and ragged clothes only aid his misjudgment. Individuals who are not accepted by society tend to feel unloved. In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the lonely hideous monster is misjudged and misunderstood by Victor, the cottage people, and the rustic man, as he strives for a life of meaning, acceptance, and belonging.

When the monster was created he was abandoned by his creator, Victor Frankenstein.
Since childhood, Victor had always been obsessed with science, especially studying the works of alchemists. “So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation,” says Victor to Waldman (Shelley 18). Victor’s passion for science enabled him to master everything his professors had to teach him. His perfectionist quality and his determined attitude aided to his strive to achieve more knowledge and unravel the “secret of life.” After bringing the monster to life, Victor becomes disgusted with his creation and flees him. His creation, the monster, was grotesque, and in Victor’s eyes, seemed to be evil simply because of his hideous physical features when in reality the monster is just as innocent as a newborn. The monster was left confused. For most every newborn, the first being they lay eyes on are usually their parents or someone who truly love them. In the monster’s situation, the first person he laid eyes on was Victor, who hated him from the start. The monster was forced to integrate himself into society, only to be shunned universally. Instead of confronting the problem, Victor chooses to continually evade it, only to make matters worse. The monster entered life eight feet tall and enormously
strong, but with the mind of a newborn with no one to nourish him. Possessing a sense of curiosity of his purpose of living and the world around him, the monster stalks Victor from town to his house to seek answers. When Victor dies the monster feels both joy and remorse. He feels joy because Victor has caused him so much suffering, and he feels remorse because Victor is the only person he had any sort of relationship with. Though the monster’s hideous appearance caused him to be misunderstood by Victor, the monster still continued to seek for a sense of belonging.

When the monster one day stumbled to the cottage people’s home, he observed their every move through a crack.
Unaware of an eight foot tall monster spying on their everyday lives, the cottage people continued to live peacefully. The cottage people were a small and poor family whom the monster felt benevolent towards. Ironically, noticing the closure and kindness of the cottage people causes him to suffer. “This trait of kindness moved me sensibly,” states the monster (Shelley 96). By observing the cottage people everyday, the monster really sees how alone in the world he is and realizes that he will never receive that sort of closure and kindness. His ugly appearance will always shun people away from understanding the true him. The monster learns about poverty through the cottage people’s steady simple lives, love by monitoring the romance between Felix and Safie, cruelty of man by studying the history lessons Safie received from Felix, how to speak and to read the language properly by learning it as Felix taught Safie, religion, and many other key things by studying and observing the cottage people. The monster had gained so much knowledge from the cottage people and experienced a variety of emotions from a distance with them, that he almost felt a part of them. Though his mental strengths improved greatly, his physical appearance did not. He hopes to reveal himself to the cottagers hoping that they will see past his grotesque exterior. He chooses to reveal
himself to the old man, De Lacey because De Lacey is blind. Knowing that the old man would not be frightened or startled by his The perfect opportunity soon presented itself, as Felix, Agatha, and Safie left the cottage. The monster nervously entered the cottage and began to speak to the old man, De Lacey. Just as he began to explain his issue and circumstance he is in, the other three return unexpectedly. Felix begins to abruptly strike the monster with weapons attempting to drive the monster away, horrified by his appearance. This angered the monster and made him experience the cruelty of man.

After being tortured with agony, the monster was overflowing with vengefulness. He wanted to make his creator, Victor, to suffer and experience what he was undergoing. The monster felt that would be the only way for Victor to understand him. On his way to Victor, he spotted a young girl, who seemed to be drowning. He forced himself to push aside all of his hate, and he saved the girl. When the monster rescued the girl from the water, the rustic man who was with her, suspected him of trying to kill the girl and shot him. Instead of figuring out the situation, quick assumptions are made. “She was senseless, and I endeavored by every means in my power to restore animation, when I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic…he darted towards me, and tearing the girl from my arms…he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body and fired,” explained the monster (Shelley 126). Ignorant people like the rustic man, quickly make accusations and judge people by their appearance. Their clogged minds of ignorance of what they think they know blind them from the reason.

Eight feet tall, hideous, and rejected by society, the monster is a result of a bad experiment gone wrong, in the eyes of many like Victor. Monstrosity is a major theme in this novel, not just referring to the monster, but possibly Victor as well. Victor is cold-hearted and selfish. Newborns are to be nourished properly and raised the right way. By abandoning a newborn because of its ugly appearance, or if one simply does not like it, is like abandoning one’s responsibility. Whatever one may lose, will eventually find its way back, in this case the monster found his way back to his creator, Victor. The quick assumptions and judgments made of the monster by Victor, the cottage people and the rustic man is what ultimately sculpted the monster to start acting like a stereotypical monster. The monster never meant harm and just wanted to be loved, sadly he never achieved it.