We Love Monsters!

I found it interesting that in section, when asked who we most identified with in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, almost everyone in the class said the monster.  Don't get me wrong, I am one of those people, but I was surprised to see that I was not the only person who felt this way. 

We were then given a quote saying, "The poor monster always, for these reasons, touched me to the heart.  Frankenstein ought to reflected on the means of giving happiness to the being of his creation, before he did create him.  Instead of that he heaps on him all sorts of abuse and contumely for his ugliness, which was directly his work, and for his crimes to which his neglect gave rise." Anonymous from the Knights Quarterly (Aug-Nov 1824)

The quote made me laugh out loud, because it is almost as though the opinion reflects anger towards Frankenstein, as though he is a real person who actually did create a monster.  Nevertheless I was lead to explore my own feelings about the monster.  There were plenty moments during my reading of this work that I felt a similar anger towards the man.  Why did he bother to make the creation if he was not going to attempt to connect with it?  And for that matter, how did he not see that the creature was going to be ugly once it was given life?  I mean I am certain that he saw every part of it while he was doing this project.

Then there was the lack of compassion that Frankenstein's Monster constantly had to face.  People were incredibly unkind to him, even when he saves a little girl from drowning.  Any other man would be treated as a hero upon such an occasion, but the vanity of human nature persists.  He is left feeling inadequate and alone, every time he interacts with people.  I think that if I were ridiculed to such a degree, I would feel equally detached and angry towards the human race.

Of course, if I am going to look at the situation through the eyes of the monster, it is only fair to take on the perspective of the assholes that are so cruel to him.  It is hard to say that if there was a disgusting eight-foot-tall man trying to interact with me, I wouldn't be repulsed.  That being said, Shelley really does make it easy to sympathize with the monster over the other characters in the book.  He is, ironically, the only one she gives a shred of humanity to.