Creature’s Artificial Humanity in Frankenstein Essay Example

In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the creature’s self-image is developed through the mirroring of his surroundings, which is evident in the novel as his emotions and self-awareness become more advanced. As he spends more time observing the cottagers, he begins to understand human life better and connect his experiences to the emotions they are feeling. This sense of empathy is naturally human, but his expression comes from a need to survive. This sudden enlightenment and realization affect the creature’s actions during the rest of the novel, causing him to become violent, for example, the murder of William. “...I discovered my lovely boy, whom the night before I had seen blooming and active in health, stretched on the grass livid and motionless; the print of the murder’s finger was on his neck” (Shelley 47). 

Since his creation, the creature's self-awareness and emotional intelligence have also improved because of his isolation and inability to live a normal life. He was able to adopt these complex emotions such as rage, joy, and sadness, as a result of the people around him. For example, in the passage, he states: “when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joys” (Shelley 79). But he also is affected by their disappointments and tragedies. “when they were unhappy, I felt depressed” (79). His direct emotional mirroring is specific to his own peculiar position as a spectator, not being fully involved in how their human life actually is, as well as being easily influenced. This issue sets the creature up to be disappointed when he finds out what happens when the world sees him as he truly is. This leads to many acts of vengeance against Victor, such as the murder of Elizabeth. He acts out because of his level of emotional conflict and disappointment, which reflects his emotional intelligence. Instead of pushing his emotions down, he was able to recognize and identify them as negative emotions, caused by outside judgment from society. 

As he gets further into his experience with the cottagers, the creature becomes much more observational and starts to notice the shifts in the mood of each cottager, as well. He is able to increase his own self-awareness by seeing their flaws and differences. “Agatha listened with respect, her eyes sometimes filled with tears, which she endeavored to wipe away unperceived;” (79). “Their nourishment consisted entirely of the vegetables of their garden and the milk of one cow, which gave very little during the winter when its masters could scarcely procure food to support it,” (77). He sees that they are struggling as a whole, but also that each member may be struggling without the others knowing, much like how he feels because of being shunned from society. The creature longs for a sense of community and family with whom he can share these feelings in the way that the DeLacys do. 

Because the creature surrounds himself with humanity, he is able to pick up on the emotional and social developments of the cottagers, and it eventually results in his actions against Victor. This creates consequences for the rest of the novel, which end badly for both the creature and Victor. For Victor, there comes the deaths of many of his family members and friends, as well as the ultimate destruction of his life and trust in himself. And the creature backs down in the end, but still does get what he wants. Although this emotional development gave the creature satisfaction when he was lonely and looking for comfort, it ends badly for both parties. Making mistakes and realizing that your actions have consequences are very human-like qualities, yet the creature obtains them artificially.