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Society Rejects the Creature
The Creature Rejects Society
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Rejection Returned
For the being created by Frankenstein, rejection is the all too common end result of confronting human beings, as shown with Victor Frankenstein, the townspeople, and the De Lacey Family. This rejection cuts the monster deeply and leaves an everlasting impact on his life. Feelings of disappointment, alienation, and loss of self worth lead to feelings of anger and hatred and to thoughts of revenge. The creature returns rejection to the society that showed rejection to him.
Action begs reaction.
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Arson
After experiencing the horror of such a hideous creature, in their home, the De Lacey family flees, leaving the cottage to the land lord. Feelings of devastation lead to anger and a plot to return rejection to the De Lacey family. The monster tells us that that same night, "I placed a variety of combustibles around the cottage; and, after having destroyed every vestige of cultivation in the garden, I waited with forced impatience until the moon had sunk to commence my operations. As the night advanced...I lighted the dry branch of a tree, and danced with fury around the devoted cottage...and I waved my brand; it sunk, and, with a loud scream, I fried the straw, and heath, and bushes, which I had collected. The wind fanned the fire, and the cottage was quickly enveloped by flame, which clung to it, and licked it with their forked and destroying tongues" (Shelley 983). |
Hatred
An initially innocent and compassionate heart soon becomes filled with hatred and vengeance because it is only shown rejection. Several incidents in the novel cause the monster to hate his rejecter along with all humans. For example, after being shot when trying to save the life of a young girl, the monster vows "eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind" (Shelley 987). This hatred is everlasting and is the cause behind the later evil actions in the monster's behavior. "Because his overtures to human beings evoke only horror and disgust, his love rejected, turns into a murderous hate†(Abrams 906).
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Murder
While recovering from the gun shot wound, the monster spots a young boy running through the woods. Hoping the boy will be unprejudiced toward him and even become his companion and connection to other human beings, he grabs the boy and draws him close. When the boy reveals that M. Frankenstein, the father of Victor, is also his father, the monster grasps his throat to silence him, a grasp that kills the little boy. Gazing on the dead body of William Frankenstein, the heart of the monster "swelled with exultation and hellish triumph" (Shelley 986).
The monster's second victim is one of Victor Frankenstein holds deepest affection for: his wife, Elizabeth. On their honey-moon night, Frankenstein is searching through the hallways and corners of the house for his expected creation when he hears a scream coming from the room Elizabeth is in. The scream is repeated and he rushes into her room. Frankenstein describes, “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair. Every where I turn I see the same figure--her bloodless arms and relaxed form flung by the murderer on its bridal bier"
(Shelley 1017).
In committing both of these murders, the monster is rejecting his own creator and the people dearest to him. He is rejecting society by going against the laws. The monster revengefully returns the rejection Frankenstein gave him when he first created him and when he refused to create a female companion. For every action there is an equal reaction.
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