Frankenstein

Why Frankenstein's monster isn't evil

Many people think that Frankenstein's monster is the main antagonist of Mary Shelley's novel ''Frankenstein''. However, there are facts which prove he isn't. I am going to explain why Frankenstein's monster isn't a villain and how his actions are justified.

Victor Frankenstein created the Creature as an experiment. He breathed life into it but was unhappy with the result. Due to difficulties in replicating the human body, Victor made the Creature tall and proportionally large. The beautiful creation of his dreams ended up hideous, with yellow eyes and skin that barely concealed the muscle tissue and blood vessels underneath. Frankenstein didn't take responsibility for his Creation. Instead of raising him, teaching him about the world and how to live in a society, he abandoned him, leaving him alone and unguided. Frankenstein's monster was never evil, he just didn't know what actions were deemed to be appropriate by the society at the time. He acted on his own instinct, not knowing what was right and what was wrong. Victor's act of leaving the Creature alone was the turning point in this novel. If Victor had stayed, the Creature wouldn't have done what it did. If only he was properly guided instead of being nourished by the creator's ignorance.

Another name for Mary Shelley's novel is ''The Modern Prometheus'', which also hints at Victor being at fault. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was a titan who created mankind at the order of Zeus. He made them physically god-like. Prometheus taught humans to hunt, read, and heal their sick. Even so, Zeus kept fire from mankind. Prometheus, being the creator, took back the fire from Zeus and gave it to mankind. Prometheus was also a myth told in Latin. In this version, Prometheus made man from clay and water, again a very relevant theme to Frankenstein, as Victor rebelled against the laws of nature (how life is naturally made). In both versions, Prometheus was punished for his actions. This shows us that the creation of life is not something to be toyed with. Some see Prometheus as a hero, but Mary Shelley saw him as something more sinister. She blamed the titan for bringing fire into the world and seducing mankind to start using it as a weapon to inflict damage. Like a mirror image to Prometheus, Victor Frankenstein created life but did not know what to do after he saw what he did.

In my opinion, Victor Frankenstein is the real antagonist of this novel. Perhaps unbeknownst to him, his actions lead the Creation to act as it did. Lack of care and nurturing his own experiment left the poor creature to fend for itself. And for that reason, Victor Frankenstein is guilty and can be tagged as the villain of 'Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus’.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/687923-frankenstein-s-creation-evil-or-unloved