The Real Monster of 'Frankenstein'

‘The real monster is Frankenstein, not his creation’.

I agree with the statement that ‘the real monster in Frankenstein, not his creation’ to a certain extent, partly due to the fact that Victor Frankenstein’s key personality traits can be seen parallel to the Paradise Lost depiction of Satan - painting him as a monster. Victor Frankenstein’s lack of moral sense also contributes to his presentation of the real monster, as he allows his ambition to cloud his morality. However, the statement could be disputed as Victor Frankenstein could be viewed as the modern Prometheus figure, giving his noble characteristics.

Author, Mary Shelley, wrote her novel ‘Frankenstein’ in the early 1800s. This time period was extremely religious; the masses strongly believed in Christianity. Therefore, readers of this era would be astounded to realise that Victor is adapting into the role of God, by creating new life. Frankenstein is frequently accused of “paying God” because he goes against nature and dares to create life from death. Shelley chooses, for her epigraph, a quotation from Paradise Lost; “Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould me man? Did I Solicit thee From darkness to promote me?” (Paradise Lost, 10.743-5). Paradise Lost is one of the books in the monster’s library, and this, along with the many other references to Milton’s poem throughout the novel, suggests the need to keep this story in mind when reading ‘Frankenstein’. The epigraph immediately encourages the reader to associate Victor with God and the monster with Adam. The Paradise Lost poems follow the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. However, Victor could be depicted as the real monster in Shelley’s novel as he similarly links himself with Satan, the fallen angel, and while the analogy drawn between the monster and Satan focuses attention on the creature’s horrific acts of savage violence, the analogy drawn between Victor and Satan focuses more on Victor’s pride and ambition (his hamartia). In attempting to displace God, he demonstrates the same pride as Satan, who had similar aspirations. Commenting upon his torment of guilt, Victor draws upon the following simile; “Like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in an eternal hell’ (p.214). Victor’s hell is within him; it is hell as a psychological state, but this is also true of the hell so powerfully described by Satan in Paradise Lost. With this, Victor Frankenstein is automatically linked to the Paradise Lost depiction of Satan through their similar aspirations and traits, the most significant being the goal to displace God through unnatural means.

Victor Frankenstein’s goal to generate life causes a great deal of pain through his ambition, selfishness, and hostility, both to himself and others. As a result, these acts caused him to become alienated from his friends and family, and turned him into the true monster in the Frankenstein novel. Victor can be presented as a byronic hero, through his intelligent, charismatic but tortured character, though the Monster duffers from the negative effects of being byronic. Victor is egotistical, but still loved by his family and accepted by society, while the Monster is kind, but rejected by society and even his character. With this, Victor can be depicted as the true monster as he does not value his loved one’s lives as much as his desire for greatness. Frankenstein acts as a moral warning about what can happen if humanity becomes too arrogant, Victor allows his hamartia of ambition to distract him from what means the most to him - family. Through this, it can be argued that Victor is the true monster of the gothic novel as, in the end, he becomes heartless. Strengthening this idea, Victor even attempts to justify his callous actions stating to Walton that, “unless I had been animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm, my application to this study would have been irksome”. Throughout his story, Frankenstein attempts to persuade Walton that he is not to blame for the Monster’s crimes. He insists that he thought he was doing the right thing when he created the monster, but sometimes he seems to realize that his argument is not entirely convincing. In order to explain the nights he spent in “vaults and charnel-houses”, Frankenstein suggests that there was something ‘supernatural’ about his enthusiasm for studying corpses. Summarized, he claims the many murders of the monster was, in no way, his fault. The attempt to justify his actions is evidence that Victor’s egotistical views still had not changed, even on his death-bed.

Mary Shelley’s novel, ‘Frankenstein’, can be interpreted as a novel celebrating the invention and ingenuity of what man could potentially become. Some may argue that the real monster is Victor’s sinful creation, as he is the being who actually committed the murder of Victor's family. With this, contemporary and 19th Century readers may sympathise with Victor Frankenstein as he experienced the grief of everyone he loved. At the start of the novel, Victor is a generally sympathetic character with an enquiring mind and an interest in scientific development. Mary identifies Victor with the Greek immortal and hoodwinked figure of the modern Prometheus. In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan God of Fire and deceives God of the Sky, Zeus. He is credited with the creation of humanity from clay, and of defying the Gods by stealing fire and giving it to mankind. For this transgression, Zeus sentenced him to eternal torment. The tale of the noble Prometheus God can be seen as parallel to the story of Victor Frankenstein - with Victor being the modern Prometheus; both figures create life from lifeless matter, like clay and corpses, and they both go against God; Zeus and Christ. An explicit link between the Greek mythological Prometheus and Shelley’s novel is evident through the continuous references to “Paradise Lost” by John Milton. The book is an epic poem in blank verse, and it is one of the books in the monster’s library. With this link between the poem and the novel, another connection can be made which further parallels the Greek Prometheus and Victor. A part of the poem states “Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee From Darkness to promote me?”. The noun “clay” can immediately be connected to Prometheus as the Titan used clay to create “mould” humanity. Therefore, this is evidence of Victor Frankenstein as a noble and ambitious character, and not as the true monster, through his similarity to Greek Prometheus. However, The early 19th Century audience may feel conflicted on how to feel toward Victor as his similarity to Prometheus gives him positive connotations, though they may disagree with Victor adapting the role of God and creating life.

To conclude, the statement could be argued as true as Victor Frankenstein usurps the role of God by creating life from lifeless matter. Frankenstein is also a naturally egotistical character, resulting in him having a low regard for human life, even his loved ones - which gives him the characteristics of the stereotypical monster. However, some may dispute the statement that Victor Frankenstein is the true monster as he can be viewed virtuously through his connection to the modern Prometheus.