In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Victor creates the creature in order to be noticed and remembered for creating life. However, even though making the creature was fascinating and exciting for Victor once the creature was animated Victor wanted nothing to do with his creation. Throughout the novel the creature can be seen trying to fit in and be accepted by Victor and the other people in the society. However, he is turned away and treated harshly because he does not look like a normal human, he looks like a monster leading him to be overcome by rage and be the monster he is seen as.
Therefore, the creature is portrayed as morally ambiguous because of the good and evil that can be seen in him throughout the novel. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly, the creature created by Frankenstein can be seen as a morally ambiguous character because his thoughts and actions towards the cottagers and others are good while when he is overcome by hatred towards Victor he commits evil acts. The creature’s experiences reveal how the prejudice and rejection an individual faces have an enormous impact on their actions.
The creature’s moral ambiguity reveals how prejudice impacts an individual’s attitude because the creature was truly a good person but after seeing that people saw him as a monster it led him to commit evil acts towards Victor to show him how much he hurt him. For example, from the “birth” of the creature Victor saw him as “ugly” and he abandoned the creature. Victors said, “Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance… he was ugly then; but became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived. (36). This was the first sign of prejudice that the creature saw and experienced and as a result, it sparked the anger and hatred inside of him which paved the way for the murders and crimes he commits. Moreover, this showed that Victor had rejected his creation after seeing that he had created something that looked like a monster without waiting to find out if the creature’s appearance would match to his personality and be an evil being.
However, the creature was still capable of being good because his thoughts after committing a murder showed that the only thing that motivated him to be evil was not being accepted by the humans. The creature can be seen as a good person because his actions towards the cottagers and how after committing a crime he says the he feels bad shows his benevolence. For example, when the creature uses the supplies and takes things from the cottagers he realizes that he stole from someone and he goes to find wood in order to repay them. The creature says,”… I was enabled to assist their labours.
I found that the youth spent a great time of each day in collecting wood for the family fire; and, during the night I often took his tools… and brought home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days. “(78). This showed that the creature was truly a good person because he helped out the cottagers after he had taken things from them. Moreover, the rejection the creature experiences shows how what others think of you has an impact on how you will act, since the creature was seen as a “monster” by the humans it led him to act like the monster everyone saw.
This can be seen when the creature tells Victor,” Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend… I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me… They spurn and hate me. “(69). The creature told Victor this to show that the rejection he experienced from him and the humans was what had turned him into a monster and led him to commit the crimes and murders.
Furthermore, when the creature is talking to De Lacy and Felix sees him and starts to hurt him the creature’s reaction and thoughts further reveal the benevolence inside of him. The creature says, “I could have torn him limb from limb, as a lion rends the antelope. But my heart sunk within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained… ” (97). The creature stopping himself from being evil shows how he was a good person because he was able prevent himself from committing a crime instead of acting out because Felix decided to hurt him before realizing that he was not a bad person.
As the novel progresses, the creature becomes more aware of the harm he wants to cause and more obsessed with the thought of revenge on Victor allowing him to manage his emotions better and decide what he wanted to do or who he wanted to kill in order to cause Victor the most pain As a result of prejudice the creature experienced from humans, he can be seen as a malevolent person because he let his anger overcome his emotions and led him to commit crimes. For example, when the creature met William he did not intend to hurt him; he wanted to help him and gain a friend.
He says, “I gazed at him, an idea seized me that this little creature was unprejudiced. If, therefore, I could seize him and educate him as my companion and friend, I should not be so desolate in this peopled earth. ” (102). The creature was only looking for someone who he thought would be his friend and would not assume he was evil because of his appearance. However, when William saw him he saw a monster and told him that his father would hurt him, which led to the creature murdering William.
The creature tells Victor, “”Frankenstein! ou belong then to my enemy– to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim. ‘ ‘The child still struggled, and loaded me with epithets which carried despair to my heart: I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet. ‘ “(102). The creature figured out who William was and decided to have him be his first victim in the path to torturing Victor for abandoning him after he was created. Moreover, the creature showed the reader’s the evil in him when he threatens Victor about what will happen to him.
He states, “Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master…. ” (122). Therefore, this shows that the creature was filled with and obsessed with seeking revenge on Victor which was a result of being rejected by Victor and the other humans; like the cottagers and William. Moreover, killing Elizabeth was one final act of revenge towards Victor which showed the malevolence and potential for evil that the creature possessed.
This is seen after the Elizabeth has been killed and Victor is all alone like the creature. The creature whispers to Victor, “I am satisfied: miserable wretch! you have determined to live, and I am satisfied. ‘” (150). This showed how the creature’s obsession with revenge had ended once he had taken away all the people Victor cared about because Victor had abandoned him. At the end of the novel, the creature can again be seen as a truly good individual because he realizes what he has done is wrong. For example, he understands that he only wanted revenge on Victor and he wishes that he had not been created.
This can be seen when the creature says, “CURSED, CURSED creator! Why did I live? Why in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence… despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were of those of rage and have revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants… ” (97). Therefore, showing that even though he knew that he could have killed the cottagers for rejecting him he realized that it would only be out of revenge and he asks why Victor had not killed him before.
Moreover, at the end of the novel the creature’s rage and hatred is gone after finding out that Victor has died. The creature tells Walton that he never meant to hurt anyone, he says, “Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst. ” (163). The creatures asks Victor to forgive him for all the evil he has caused and the torture that he put him through because he feels guilty for all that he has done.
This reveals that the creature was a good person even though he had committed murders, because he was able to realize that what he was doing was bad and he went to ask for forgiveness because of the guilt he felt. In the novel, Mary Shelley shows the reader how prejudice impacted the creature and led him to commit evil acts; like killing William and Elizabeth. Moreover, Shelley portrays how the ambiguity of the creature is affected by what others saw the creature as, which reveals that prejudice and rejection have a tremendous impact on the actions of an individual.
