Jimenez 1

Gemma Jimenez

Professor Batty

English 102

15 October 2017

The Monster Lives Among Us

One of the prominent icons of the Halloween season is Frankenstein. Automatically, the

image of an eight foot tall, ugly, green like skin, abnormal creature comes to mind. It is easy to

forget that the creature is actually never given a name and that the title Frankenstein is actually

referring to the creatures creator, Victor Frankenstein. Why is it much easier to picture the

creature when we hear the name? Is it because his abnormalities are much more striking than a

scientist in a white cloak? Most likely it is because the way Universal Studios adapted Mary

Shelleys novel Frankenstein in 1931. The creature was played by Boris Karloff who life as an

actor changed forever as the film became a huge success at the box office. Everyone was

terrified and intrigued by the creature. The creature in the film is depicted as inarticulate,

shamble, and evil. It goes on a killing rampage and humans are defenseless to its enormous

stature. Yet, in the book the creature can be seen as a victim; it is the result of a careless mad

scientist. Victor Frankenstein, tells the story of his fatal creation, but as the story unfolds we

come to realize the true monster is Victor himself. Victor should be the inhuman creature that

should pop into our heads when we hear the name, Frankenstein. It is his narcissistic, unnatural,

and immoral personality that should terrify people. Even though the creatures unfamiliar

characteristics leaves much more of an imprint on us, if we analyze Victor Frankenstein persona

through a psychoanalytic lens we come to realize that human are capable of monstrous actions.
 Jimenez 2

The novel Frankenstein begins with letters written by an explorer, Robert Walton, who

builds a relationship with Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein almost dies from the freezing

temperatures in the North, but with the help of Walton and the ship's crew, he survives. Walton

immediately felt a connection with Frankenstein. Walton writes in his letter, I begin to love him

as a brother; and his constant and deep grief fills me with sympathy and compassion. He must

have been a noble creature in his better days (Shelley, 28). Walton has been longing for

someone like himself and according to psychoanalytic theorist, Jacques Lacan, we all are. Lacan

created the concept, the Mirror Stage, which is the stage in which humans realize they are an

individual. Who we see ourselves in the mirror does not truly reflect who we are on the inside

and so we are in the constant pursuit to express our individuality. The mirror stage, establishes

the ego as fundamentally dependent upon external objects, on another (Zuern). Through

language, actions and just about anything we do, we begin a pursuit for an establishment of who

we are. Walton is just beginning his own adventure and believes Frankenstein understands and

has important knowledge to share. Frankenstein, on the other hand, mirrors himself in Walton for

selfish reasons. Thomas Richard, writer of The Philosophy of Horror states, Rather than

genuinely interacting with those around him, Frankenstein uses his friends, as well as, Walton as

mirrors for his own desires. Through them, he constructs a whole and complete identity, a

performance that casts him into the role of Godnot just a better man than he once was, but

God, the divine creator (218). From the beginning, Frankenstein is sharing his story for his own

self-assurance of who he is and to prove that he was the victim. Self-assurance is important to an

extent, however, when Frankenstein begins to show narcissistic tendencies he starts to prove he

is not sane, he is becoming a monster.

 Jimenez 3

Frankensteins pursuit to be treated like God causes him to do many unnatural acts. Once

he begins his experiment to bring a human back from the dead, he becomes completely obsessed

with it. He deteriorates his health and alienates himself from the world for two years to work on

his creature. He said, It was a most beautiful season; never a more luxuriant vintage: but my

eyes were insensible to the charms of nature. And the same feelings which made me neglect the

scenes around me cause me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent, and

whom I had not seen for so long a time (Shelley, 56). Frankenstein becomes numb to the

everything in the outside world. Not even his family who he supposedly loves can save him. At

the time, Frankenstein is blind to see the damage he has inflicted on himself and those around

him prove that he is not sane. In the essay, The Pathology of the Romantic Subject and Mary

Shelleys Cure for Melancholia in Frankenstein and Mathilda by Mark Montwieler and

Katherine Boren, it states that Shelley argues that it's essential for stable egos to be in relation to

other people, and that those relations be healthy. In order to stay sane, one must have

connections with the outside world. Thus Frankenstein's isolation only causes his ego to worsen

and escalates the unnatural acts he does.

Frankensteins obsession with his monster may be alluding to libidinal desires. Sigmund

Freud believed that deep down in humans there are forbidden sexual desires that subconsciously

influence us. Before his obsession began, Frankensteins mother dies. It is possible that

Frankenstein has a sexual desire for his mother and his cousin, Elizabeth, who he was supposed

to marry sublimates his experiment. Frankenstein: Character Studies by David Minden Higgins

analyzes a quote from the novel to prove this point:

I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of

Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; bus as I imprinted the
first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features
 Jimenez 4

appeared to change, and I thought the I held the corpse of my dead mother
in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms
crawling in the fold of the flannel (Shelly, 59).
Higgins, states that Frankensteins dream animates his sexual tendencies; the folds of the

flannel represents the vaginal and the grave-worms represent the phallic (39). This unnatural

desires that control Frankensteins actions prove to be disastrous as it blinds him from making

conscious decisions. When the creature finally comes to life Frankenstein finally reenters the

normal world and realizes his mistake.

When the creature comes to life, Frankenstein does immoral acts that harm the creature

much more than it harms him. He abandons the creature, even though it is just as defenseless as a

baby (59). Instead, he becomes ill and lays in bed sick for months. It is not until years later that

they cross paths again. The creature personality has developed. It tells Frankenstein how it had to

fend for itself. For a long time, it lived in the woods and had to survive on berries. It became

incredibly observant of its surroundings and when it came across humans it learned from them.

The creature spied on one family the most, the De Lacey, and learned about emotions, history,

and language. When the creature attempts to connect with the family, they are completely

horrified and beat it. (140) We can not help but sympathize with the creature because of the way

Shelley presents it. The article What is a Monster? supports this fact:

This hideous and deformed creature, far from expressing himself in grunts
and gestures, speaks and reasons with the highest elegance, logic, and
persuasiveness. As a verbal creation, he is the very opposite of the
monstrous: he is a sympathetic and persuasive participant in Western
culture. All of the Monster's interlocutors -- including, finally, the reader -
- must come to terms with this contradiction between the verbal and the
visual (Brooks).
 Jimenez 5

Even though, the creature proves to be more human than Frankenstein himself; his pursuit of a

human connection is always denied. Consequently, Frankenstein selfishness and refusal to make

the creature a partner, causes the creature to commit murders. If Frankenstein had originally been

a father figure to the creature, and not isolated himself, he would not have stunted the creature's

capabilities. Instead, the creature is unstable and has no choice but to be the monster everyone

thinks he is. When Frankenstein, finds out of the murders, he does not step forward and reveal

what he knows. Frankenstein constant denial and refusal make him a monster for choosing to be

immoral.

To sum up, Frankenstein is a much more deceiving character than the creature. From the

beginning of the novel, we can pinpoint his narcissistic character, that leads his pursuit to be

God. He constantly mirrors himself on others for self-assurance and is driven by repressed

libidinal desires. All of this causes him to become obsessed with his scientific creation of the

creature. Frankenstein begins to appear more monstrous as he isolates himself, deteriorates his

health, and commits immoral acts. As a result, when his fantasies come to life and present

themselves as visually unnatural, he is horrified. He abandons the creature and constantly

victimizes himself and shuts himself from others. Yet, the creature who is constantly being

denied because of his appearances, and has no mother or father figure, longs to be part of society.

The creature does not completely give up on life and proves to be capable of human emotions.

But on its last attempt to reach out to Frankenstein, who again denies it, it gives in to the role of a

monster it is assumed to be and commits crimes. Acting monstrous can be seen as a projection of

Frankenstein. Frankenstein has an unstable ego that makes him ignore those around him.

Consequently, this behavior is transferred to the creature. Maybe, this is why Frankenstein
 Jimenez 6

cannot stand the creature because it projects the truth of who he is. A monstrous human being is

mirrored that is narcissistic, embedded by unnatural wants, and infused by immoral acts.

Works Cited
 Jimenez 7

Brooks, Peter. What is a Monster? According to Frankenstein. In Body Work (Cambridge:

Harvard Univ. Press, l993), pp. 199-220; reprinted in Frankenstein/Mary Shelley, ed. Fred

Botting (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995),

http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/brooks2.html

Fahy, Thomas Richard. The Philosophy of Horror. The University Press of Kentucky, 2010. The

Philosophy of Popular Culture. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk

&AN=350588&site=eds-live.

Higgins, David Minden. Frankenstein : Character Studies. Continuum, 2008. Continuum

Character Studies. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk

&AN=837661&site=eds-live.

Montwieler, Mark E. Boren , Katherine. "The Pathology of the Romantic Subject and Mary

Shelley's Cure for Melancholia in Frankenstein and Matilda." Psyart, Jan. 2012, p. 14.

EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&

AN=89511769&site=eds-live.

Shelley, Mary, and Maurice Hindle. Frankenstein or The modern prometheus. Penguin Books,

2003.

Zuern, John David. Overview. Lacan: The Mirror Stage,

www.english.hawaii.edu/criticalink/lacan/index.html.
Jimenez 8