The Morally Ambiguity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Moral ambiguity is a key part of many literature works, and it is about the difficulty of identifying whether something or someone is truly good or truly bad. This can be seen in several characters throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. One very important character in this novel who shows moral ambiguity, is the creature. The creature is the creation of Victor Frankenstein, and it begins to take revenge on Victor. With the understanding of the creature and it’s past, it is clear to see that this novel represents how much a society’s opinion and first glance can shape and mold a person to how they are portrayed later on.

During the creature’s first few weeks alive, he learns about what most humans would learn years after being born. He learned how to talk and human knowledge from a peasant family, whom of which he grew fond of. When he finally tried to meet them, they, like every other human encountered, were horrified and rejected him. Even though the creature’s physical features appear differently to other people, it doesn’t mean that he is evil at first glance, when he is actually, like a newborn, who is curious and looking for a friend. Even if he looks unique, he is still made up of different human body parts,  and he still has human thoughts. From this it can be understood that Shelley was trying to portray that what is on the inside is what truly matters, and judging shouldn’t be an option until actually know what a person is like. Through all of this rejection it made the creature feel all alone and isolated, and longed for a companion, which is when he turns to Frankenstein, asking him to make a companion so he wouldn’t feel so alone. After Frankenstein was skeptical if the female creature would reject the creature, he ultimately decides it’s a bad idea. The creature conclusively feels utterly alone and abandoned by everyone, and with no partner he had no purpose. With all of the rejection and loneliness, the creature makes the decision to live the rest of his life getting revenge. The creature was once curious about the world, until society turned on him, which made him so sad and sought vengeance.

When Victor and the creature meet and chat, the creature explains to him about some of the books he’s been reading. He’d go on to explain how similar yet so different he was to some of the characters in those books, and compare his and their lives. The creature in this scene seems so insecure and sad because he didn’t get to live a life knowing that someone was out there for him, which is what triggers most of his anger and revenge seeking against his own creator. In order for Victor Frankenstein to feel the mental pain that the creature endured, the creature began to kill off several loved ones of Frankenstein. From then Victor began to live with fear that the creature would kill him too, but the creature wouldn’t do that because he just wanted him to feel alone like he did. Learning about the dark history of humans from the peasant family, the creature then saw humans as only bad people, which is why he didn’t immediately feel regret for murdering some of his friends and family. His regret-free soul shows that if people already saw him as dangerous and a monster, then it didn’t matter if he killed anyone or not. Shelley is making the message that people can judge someone off of one's appearance and which then has an effect on the rest of a society treating him in a similar way.

The creature's caring and sensitive manner comes back into play once he sees Frankenstein’s dead body. All of his sympathy and emotions turned on, and he realized that he didn’t have a purpose anymore now that his only companion and nemesis is gone. The creature feels regret for what he did, and made a promise that he would commit suicide. From this ending scene can represent that his sensitive and moral side had been inside of him all along, and the evil murderer that was seen on the outside had only been a cover for what society changed him to be and what people thought they saw. Inside he wants someone he can put his love to, and the thing he loved the most was his own creator Frankenstein, as he felt that without him his life had no meaning. This representation ties in Shelley’s use of Romanticism in her writing, as she gave this evil and horrific being real emotions, and represents the creatures moral ambiguity that he had all along, as he wasn’t just a big scary monster.

The creature shows moral ambiguity by first being introduced as a calm and curious soul, then to becoming a murderer after society first learns about him. The creature breaks all of his morals after getting rejected by everyone in society, he chooses to get revenge on the one person who should have been there to guide him. Once Frankenstein is dead, he lives in remorse and regret for all of the murders he committed and for his own creator's death. Shelley gives a deeper understanding of what the creatures overall purpose was in the novel, and throughout all of his behavior it is certain that society is the one that can change and shape a person to how they are perceived. It is always the way people treat others that can determine one's outcome in the future.