The Superficiality Of Culture In Frankenstein

The 18th century saw the rise of an aristocratically-ran culture in which the wealth one had and the appearances one gave essentially determined how they were seen by society. Mary Shelley highlights these values and brings attention to the shallow and unaccepting culture she lived in through her novel, Frankenstein, and the acerbic treatment the creature continually received. Alienated by his looks and quite simply, the overall differences he possesses from society, the creature’s presence in the novel reveals the unaccepting and judgmental culture Shelley herself witness and suffered from. The commonly-held maxim, “Never judge a book by its cover,” while widely spread, is often overlooked, or in most cases, simply ignored. The creature’s wretched and unattractive appearance is what ultimately decides how others will respond to his presence, despite his intelligent mind and gentle demeanor. Victor Frankenstein states exactly this when he initially perceived the monster, exclaiming, “Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance!” (44). This disgusted and judgemental reaction by Frankenstein,
For example, when Elizabeth is first introduced, she is painted as “a different species, a being heaven-sent and bearing a celestial stamp in all her features” (20), all because of her beauty and outward appearance. In contrast, however, the monster’s ugly and unappealing looks immediately alienate him from society. In fact, Victor is so disgusted by the creature’s appearance that he compares it to “a thing as even Dante could not have conceived” (44). By comparing the creature’s ugliness to Dante, an ancient author whose famous work, Inferno, spoke of Satan and Hell, Victor exemplifies how the society of his time were extremely unwelcoming of those who did not look the way them deemed