The Nature of Humanity in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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The Nature of Humanity in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein examines the very nature of humanity through the juxtaposition of two characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature. The curious creature has an innocent desire to learn whereas Victor Frankenstein pursues his blasphemed ambition. The creature has a sincere desire to belong in the human world but he is incapable of properly presenting himself whereas Victor Frankenstein isolates himself from humanity to hide his guilt. The sympathetic creature is an innately good being who was turned evil by a rejecting society whereas Victor Frankenstein is full of hatred and revenge. The creature’s actions and qualities weighed against those of his creator in a moral …show more content…

He “determines still to trust [himself] to the mercy of the seas rather than abandoning [his] purpose.”2 Victor Frankenstein has a stronger desire to destroy the monster than to survive. His humanity has reached its greatest downfall as Elizabeth, his lover, is destroyed and he is incapable of feeling happiness and joy. Unlike Victor Frankenstein, the creature has a sincere desire to belong but is isolated by humanity because of his grotesque appearance. Being innately good, the creature is aware that people are afraid of him and hides himself from the world. The creature shows his kind spirit by collecting wood for the cottagers at night and saving a woman from drowning. However, he is brutally rejected by them and is forced to become lonely and revengeful. The creature’s attempt at integrating himself into humanity makes him internally human. The creature shows a stronger desire to be accepted into humanity than his creator, making him a more amatory human than Victor. The creature’s abandonment and the death of Victor’s family and friends cause the two characters to be vengeful against each other.

Victor Frankenstein acts upon the results of his own mistakes whereas the creature is forced to act upon the circumstances that are given to him by his creator. The creature’s actions mirror those of his creator, like a son and a father. The creature, rejected by society and his creator, becomes a

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