When Victor created the monster his dreams were destroyed when he saw the result. Victor had ignored the science of his ideas and concentrated on what he believed could happen: “the beauty of my dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” Shelley here subtly makes a social comment about the Romantic period; Victor’s dream was destroyed because he had ignored his studies. Shelly’s life was very lonely; the monster had a lonely life because he was abandoned. Shelley often felt this because her father did not have time for her.
She creates a narrative that reflects her own life and experiences and uses the monster and Victor as metaphors for her life, sometimes she identifies with Victor and sometimes with the monster. Shelley also uses three adjectives here to create sympathy for the monster. By discarding the creature Victor fails to show any human qualities. The monster, however, shows many human qualities throughout the story such as kindness and compassion. When the monster is hiding at the cottage he steals food:
“but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfied myself with berries, nuts and roots…. ” As soon as he realises that he has upset them, he stops and even repays them by chopping their firewood. By these actions, the monster shows compassion. Although he is not human, he shows human qualities. However Victor fails to show compassion, he left his family when they were still grieving and abandoned the monster because of his appearance. After the monster kills William, he feels guilty:
“I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph… ” The use of words “hellish triumph” tells the reader that even though the monster achieved his goals of revenge, he knew what he had done was wrong and he felt terrible. Again, at this point in the novel is showing more human characteristics than Victor: guilt and remorse. Shelley has created the monster’s character to be more human than Victor, perhaps identifying more with monster than Victor in relation to their characters.
When the monster asks for a female companion, Victor refuses to make him one, despite getting married himself. Sexism plays a vital role throughout the story; Victor thinking that women are less superior to men: “With his permission my mother … ” Shelley may have experienced times in her life where she had had to ask men for permission to do things. The monster does not think the same way as Victor does; he believes that woman should be seen as an equal.
Shelley uses the monster here to express her ideas or Romanticism and dreams, that woman would be seen as an equal. Victor and the monster are used as metaphors here, Victor to relate how men did look at women at the time and the monster for the way Shelley wished they could be judged. Shelley uses them to relate her point of view; that women are equal. The monster wishes for a female companion because he believes they are equal.
