After reading 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley, I wanted to focus on the Creature as he was the character that I found the most interesting in the novel. I thought that he was quite a complex character with multiple layers about him, with different elements affecting the way he is perceived by the reader.
The Creature is shown to be quite a submissive character, although he does have moments of violence where he is in control, his entire narrative is controlled by Frankenstein- which is symbolic of his entire existence. He is never given his own voice. Although he does technically 'speak', his entire narrative is told through Frankenstein's voice. This is shown through the structure of the novel with Frankenstein recalling his story, and encounters with the Creature, to Robert Walton. As there is a triadic framing structure to the novel (a story within a story, within a story, within a story) this could be why the Creature is written to speak with such eloquent language. "I will mut the glaw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends"1 This is an example of some of the type of the language that both Frankenstein and the Creature use throughout the novel. "Abhorred monster! Fiend thou are! The tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes."2 The language used by both characters is very melodramatic, to show their anger and disgust at each other.
The polysyllabic lexis that is used seems to be very advanced for the Creature, who is still only a few months old at this place in the novel, Shelley's use of the complex lexis could be her showing the reader that Frankenstein has almost hijacked the Creature's words in his retelling of the story to Walton. This could be seen as symbolic of Frankenstein asserting the power that he seems to think he has, as 'The Modern Prometheus', over the Creature. He is the one who brought him into the world by 'playing God', so it could be interpreted that the Creature's words are meaningless in the mind of Frankenstein, thus causing the Creature to lose the little identity he has been given so far in the novel.
The similarity in their speech could also be Shelley writing the Creature as the personification of Frankenstein's 'darker side' or even that they are the same person just personifying different aspects of the character, almost like Jekyll and Hyde. As the Creature was the result of Frankenstein 'playing God' and bearing a child without the need of a woman to be present, his 'Hyde' personality is coming back to haunt him in the form of the Creature that he made - making his demons haunt him fully. Frankenstein even resorts to calling the Creature "Demon" on multiple occasions throughout the novel, which could be Shelley emphasising the consequence of Frankenstein's actions to 'play God'.
The Creature could also be seen as a feminist addition to the novel, showing the place of women in society, as he was created without the need of a female- so the turmoil that follows could be seen to be as a result of the lack of a feminine presence in his life. In the process of creating the Creature, references to women and the process of labour are mentioned; "After so much time spent in painful labour, to arrive at once at the summit of my desires was the gratifying consummation of my toils"3 The connection of "painful labour" to the act of giving birth, places Frankenstein as both the mother and father of the Creature- making the female redundant and submissive. Even before the "labour", the language that Shelley uses creates the male gender as being dominant and the female being submissive. "They penetrate into the recesses of nature, and show how she works in her hiding places"4 The personification of nature as a female, makes the male scientists the active participants dominating the action. The verb "penetrate" gives a very violent image to the reader, almost of sexual assault, which is further emphasised by Shelley's use of "hiding places". By adding this image of sexual assault in before the 'birth' of the Creature, it installs in the mind of the reader that the female in this novel is submissive and unnecessary to the men. Negative connotations are also brought in after the Creature's birth, in Frankenstein's dream; "but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death..."5. Frankenstein immediately dreams of Elizabeth after the introduction of the Creature into the novel, but instead of visions of beauty he is faced with the vision of death. This negative image could be Shelley showing the future of that character, as a result of what he has created- so the Creature himself is representative of the death of Frankenstein's loved ones.
The physical appearance of the Creature is described by Shelley throughout the novel, piecing together a picture of how he looks to the reader. "I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open"6 "His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips"7 Both descriptions of the Creature are said through the perspective of Frankenstein, which creates a sense of awe along with disgust. There are lots of comparative features about the Creature that stand out, the colour of the "yellow" of his eyes and skin against the "whiteness" of his teeth being one. The yellow bringing the connotation of death and sallow skin, whereas the white brings the idea of cleanliness and perfection as a concept to the character- creating a contrast between the death the Creature is born from and the life he has been given. Furthermore the use of "lustrous" creates the image of luxury and something that is desirable, against the typical image that we as readers usually picture when we think of the Creature. The Creature also offers up his own 'opinion' about his appearance in the novel; "...I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am..." 8. The Creature views himself as a monster as he is different to those around him, like Agatha and Felix. However this opinion could be influenced by the fact that his narrative is being retold by Frankenstein to Walton, so that opinion could be changed by this.
References
1 - (Shelley, 1818) Page 77, lines 22-23
2 - (Shelley, 1818), Page 77, lines 24-25
3- (Shelley, 1818), Page 42, lines 2-4
4- (Shelley, 1818), Page 38, lines 22-23
5- (Shelley, 1818), Page 46, lines 3-5
6- (Shelley, 1818), Page 45, line 17
7- (Shelley, 1818), Page 45, lines 22-27
8 -(Shelley, 1818), Page 88, line 24
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