Theme Of Appearance Vs Reality In Frankenstein
Appearance Versus Reality in Frankenstein
By: Corbin Schmidt
“The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully necessary to seem to know something as to know it” -Daniel Webster. One of the most important themes in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is appearance versus reality. This theme comes into fruition throughout the novel, most notably when Shelley provides insight into the characters of the story and how they are immediately judged by their looks in most cases rather than their personalities, such as the adoption of Elizabeth by Victor’s family. The appearance of certain settings also has an effect on how the characters in the novel feel, this is evident the most in Victor since the book follows him and gives …show more content…
The monster’s true personality is shown when he is interacting with seemingly random people throughout the story rather than with Victor or those he knows.
When Victor’s family went to adopt a new daughter they instantly chose Elizabeth after they laid their eyes on her. They did not care what she acted like or what her personality was, they wanted a beautiful child and they got one. Victor thought that Elizabeth “appeared of a different stock” (Shelley 34) especially when compared to “the four others [who] were dark-eyed, hardy little vagrants” (34). At first sight he thought that Elizabeth was so good-looking that “her lips and the moulding of her face [were] so expressive of sensibility and sweetness” (34). Even though Victor and his family did not know Elizabeth they still chose her based off of her appearance alone. Further on in the story when Victor has gone off to school and has gathered the parts to create life as it is sitting on the table he begins to describe “the life-less thing that lay at [his] feet” (57). Shelley describes the atmosphere through Victor’s thoughts and he shares that “by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, [he]
By: Corbin Schmidt
“The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully necessary to seem to know something as to know it” -Daniel Webster. One of the most important themes in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is appearance versus reality. This theme comes into fruition throughout the novel, most notably when Shelley provides insight into the characters of the story and how they are immediately judged by their looks in most cases rather than their personalities, such as the adoption of Elizabeth by Victor’s family. The appearance of certain settings also has an effect on how the characters in the novel feel, this is evident the most in Victor since the book follows him and gives …show more content…
The monster’s true personality is shown when he is interacting with seemingly random people throughout the story rather than with Victor or those he knows.
When Victor’s family went to adopt a new daughter they instantly chose Elizabeth after they laid their eyes on her. They did not care what she acted like or what her personality was, they wanted a beautiful child and they got one. Victor thought that Elizabeth “appeared of a different stock” (Shelley 34) especially when compared to “the four others [who] were dark-eyed, hardy little vagrants” (34). At first sight he thought that Elizabeth was so good-looking that “her lips and the moulding of her face [were] so expressive of sensibility and sweetness” (34). Even though Victor and his family did not know Elizabeth they still chose her based off of her appearance alone. Further on in the story when Victor has gone off to school and has gathered the parts to create life as it is sitting on the table he begins to describe “the life-less thing that lay at [his] feet” (57). Shelley describes the atmosphere through Victor’s thoughts and he shares that “by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, [he]