Mary Shelley presents the monster in a variety of ways. We are first introduced to it lightly, however when it comes into the novel dominantly, it had just commit a serious crime of killing William.
The monster is definitely a gothic element as it is seen as a supernatural figure. The monster is created from other dead humans that Frankenstein had stolen from the graveyard (P41.) – “Church yard was to me merely receptacle of bodies deprived of life…. Seat of beauty and strength”. This shows the excitement and enthusiasm that Frankenstein had from when he entered the grave yard to begin his experiment.
Yet, when the Monster meets Frankenstein, his creator, he tells him stories which can make the reader feel sympathy for the monster. Firstly, would be how he was abandoned and grew up alone, along with self-teaching himself things such as talking and survival skills. Growing up without having anyone, not even his creator; “I beheld the wrench – the miserable monster that I had created… one arm was stretched out… but I escaped” – This shows how Frankenstein’s reaction towards the monster may have added to the readers sympathy for the monster as Frankenstein showed his horror, fear and disgust of the monster; “breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”. Frankenstein threatens it with a wrench then makes a run for it.
When the monster confronts Victor and tells his tale of how he learnt to communicate through spying on the family; this is where most readers would feel sympathy towards it rather than fear as it also mentions how lonely it is too. The monster has no companion, friends nor family whereas Victor, family plays an essential role within his life. Especially since the monster spies on also a family, this emphasizes the significance of family within the novel.
Chapter 5 heavily revolves around the monster and the creation of it. The chapter starts off with “It was on a dearly night of November” – This can be seen as a foreshadowing element as later we discover that Victor had finished creating the monster as he described what seem to be proud of his accomplishment. Also the fact that the atmosphere was eerie since we are introduced to his lab at 1am. Victor says – “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God!” – However he also gives repulsive descriptions of the monster having “yellow skin” and “lustrous black, and flowing” hair – This is also a gothic element as it can be seen as Victor challenging and playing God with trying to bring dead people back to life, although it may not be the same due to the many different body parts from different people he had used for the monster.
Victor had had a nightmare that consisted of “ugliness” and Elizabeth. As Elizabeth was in his dream, this could be seen as a contrast to her beautiful self to the ugly monster. The next day this makes Victor incredibly disgusted to be within the same room as the monster, as he expressed that he was “Breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created” – Again, this shows how horrid he was by the idea he had created such as thing despite it being everything he had put in in the previous months.
