Frankenstein: Hero or Villian by Amanda Lukas

Hey everyone! I just read "Frankenstein" for AP English. The book was written by Mary Shelley, and this is the 1831 edition. This review is a personal opinion and in no way reflects the beliefs and opinions of the SK LMC. Please leave comments, and tell us what you think! Do you agree, disagree, indifferent?

“Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! The tortures too mild a vengeance for thy crimes.” In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, when Dr. Victor Frankenstein sees his monster, or “creation”, for the second time, this is what he utters. He leaves his monster the moment he set eyes upon the monster, assuming because of its ugliness its nature is just as horrifying. The monster, childish with no child-like features, is abandoned, and is turned evil, corrupted by the cruelty expressed to him. Frankenstein, due to obsession, creates a monster but destroys any possibility of life the monster could have due to Frankenstein’s fleeing—the doctor, though portrayed as the protagonist, is the antagonist of the story, and discourages the monster’s growth in his shallow one-sided personality and cravings.
The novel is a frame-story—a story within a story. In the letter written to his sister, a captain named Walton describes his position; he is traveling to be the first to sail to the North Pole. In his letters, he tells the discovery of a man, half frozen and half dead on the ice. Walton writes of the conversations that the man—the reader finds out his name is Dr. Victor Frankenstein—and the minor details the doctor gives about himself. The doctor warns Walton about obsession, a weakness that Frankenstein says he himself has. He is mentally weak, staying in Walton’s cabin alone and is physically exhausted. Finally, after weeks of letters, Walton states that Frankenstein is finally strong again, and this is when he tells his tale.
By the way he begins his history—the details of his parents’ first meeting, the expeditions of a friend of his, and his growth— the reader can automatically see the obsessive behavior that Frankenstein is possessed by. One example is when the character, Elizabeth, is introduced. She is a neglected and poor child that Mrs. Frankenstein fell in love with and wanted to take care of. She goes to her son Victor and states that she has a ‘present’ for him. A sign of danger is expressed in the next line, “I interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine….” Though, through one AP English class consensus, this is demonstrated as creepy, that is not the correct term. It’s not odd, because many people are overcome with large emotions. There is a better term for this behavior. It’s a screaming exaggeration and too overdone. The reader must become concerned about the mental situation of Frankenstein’s brain. Another sign of the obsessive behavior that will be his down fall was when he was younger. Frankenstein becomes interested in natural science. At that age, he reads any book about the topic. His father even warns him about the books, but when that happens, Frankenstein keeps reading them. In college, he then becomes interested in the mystical sciences, such as alchemy. His professors all believe that this fascination will not be healthy for his career, and the new experiment—creating life from an inanimate object—will never work. Instead of being discouraged, the obstacles make him want to create life even more.
This obsession shows another bad part of Frankenstein’s personality. The reason behind the creation isn’t noble. He discusses in a brief sentence that the new lives will be able to fight disease, but then he goes on for a paragraph or two on the real reason behind the creation—he wants to be God. He doesn’t say it for the reader to actually pick up and see, but the reasons, and how he describes them, shows the true intentions. He states that he could have a large group of individuals that would owe their lives to his ingenious. With the experiment’s success he would be glorified in the science community. He would prove everyone wrong that ever doubted him. He would have this power, and people would admire him. These reasons aren’t noble in any sense. Whether it is his obsession talking or it’s his true personality, these reasons don’t leave a good taste in the reader’s mouth. This is also expressed later in the book, towards the end. He doesn’t learn from his obsession and the danger of playing God. Instead, he becomes obsessed again. This time, instead of creation, the craving is for destruction. He wants to kill the monster he created, chasing it all the way up to the North Pole.
When his creation is “born”, (the scene “He’s alive! He’s alive!” was rather disappointing. It wasn’t as dramatic, and slightly confuses the reader in its lack of detail and quickness.) Frankenstein freaks out and runs away. He leaves his “child”, so the monster basically is all alone. Not only that, but he faints as well, an annoying trait that gives the reader a headache in its excessiveness. When the monster finally comes back into the picture and blames the doctor for his condition, the reader understands the monster and sympathizes with him more than the doctor. The blame is after the monster tells his story. He speaks of being alone for months upon months, and how he watches a family—his ‘protectors’—and learns things from them. He hears the history of men, and the brutality that they express towards each other. He tells of his rejections—of his “protectors” fearing him and beating him, being shot at for saving a young girl, and also being stoned for walking into a village. The monster tells his mental journey of first not knowing why so many hated him. Then, he looks in a river and is scared of his own reflection, finally understanding his appearance in the reason for his exile from human kind. He speaks of the fear he feels and the loneliness he experiences. He tells his creator of his turning point, the point that made him evil in his mind. It isn’t after his first two rejections—the ‘protectors’ and the stoning experiences. He sees the situation from their point of view for a moment; he knows he was in compromising positions. The moment is when he is shot, and lies in the woods alone, feeling as if he is going to die. He vows revenge on the creator that left him alone in the world, and who made him ugly, so any chance of being accepted is gone. He finds him, Dr. Frankenstein, and demands a request of him, something that will fill the void.
Frankenstein has the opportunity around chapter fifteen to make up for what he calls his ‘misdeeds’. He can make up for creating the monster in the first place, for having his younger brother dead by the hands of the monster, and the unjustified execution of a family friend, Justine, who is charged with his younger brother’s death. The monster demands the doctor to create another for him, a female mate, which Frankenstein agrees to. The monster doesn’t want to be alone, a fear that the reader can relate to. He is lonely, and wants—no needs to get rid of the loneliness. So, he asks the doctor for a mate and promises that he will leave for the middle of a jungle with her and never return to the doctor’s life. The promise seems truthful, and even if that is a doubt of the doctor, he can do something about this female monster. The doctor could have taught the female, and not abandon it like he did with the original monster. He can redeem himself, but he doesn’t. Instead, he destroys the female before she is “alive”. This of course angers the monster. The monster vows to “be with you on your wedding night,” to the doctor. Then, the doctor faints again in the next couple chapters.
Along with the fainting, Frankenstein whines…a lot. He spends chapters expressing the pity that he feels, yet he doesn’t do anything to stop the monster or warn anyone. Yes, people might think him crazy, but the guilt might not be as consuming. It seems to the reader that Frankenstein wants the pity. He wants to drown in it and be consumed. However, this just annoys the reader, especially after the monster’s tale. Eventually, the reader just wants the monster to come back. The doctor is a weak character, and just in that he doesn’t fit the “hero” role. He isn’t someone who can handle situations well, and seems to be lacking common sense. His personality leaves the reader wanting a character with a backbone.
The reader must wonder if the author intends the audience to dislike Dr. Frankenstein and sympathize with the monster. The book is written wonderfully, and the author does a great job in the description of the setting and creating a feeling of darkness and a great depression that the reader is sucked into. However, as well written as the long rants of Frankenstein’s self-pity are, the question of who is the protagonist is on the readers’ lips. Frankenstein, a whiny, self-centered, idiotic doctor, seems to be the wrong person to fit into the role. Some could claim that he does change; however, he does not learn from his mistakes. Instead of obsessing about the creation of life and playing god, he obsesses about destroying his creation. He may have stopped obsessing about one thing, but he still obsesses about SOMETHING. He doesn’t learn how hard obsession can be on the soul. He didn’t change or grow in any way. Most of the obstacles that Frankenstein faces are self-inflicted. The monster, however, never asks to be put through the things he put through, and the reader learns—through his tale—that the monster is several sided, with a wide variation in beliefs and traits. The monster, especially in the end scene, is shown to be a round character, a true protagonist compared to the weak doctor.