Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Frankenstein: sympathy

"There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that moment I declared ever-lasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery." (page 97).

After finishing this novel, I tried to figure out where I stood with each of the characters. Throughout the story, I have felt sorry for the creature. He was born deformed and so many people hated him. He was born good, so therefore, I believe that the creature has a heart. He cared for so many people, but they would turn against him. Sympathy is an integral part of the book and is located in many areas of the second half of the book. The creature seeks sympathy a lot, though, so I'm starting to think that this is an important part of the creature. The creature yearns for sympathy because the creature yearns to be loved in some way. On page 164, the creature says, "My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change, without torture such as you cannot even imagine." Here, the creature is hoping to have someone feel sorry for him. However, Walton calls him out on it. Walton says, "If he whom you mourn still lived, still would he be the object, again would he become the prey of your accursed vengeance." (page 164). In short, I am recognizing that the creature is a very complex character. He wants sympathy from others, but he also did not give Frankenstein any sympathy at all. He is solely evil towards Frankenstein because Frankenstein failed to raise him. It's a lot to ponder that the creature can be someone I love and hate at the same time.

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