Loneliness and the desire for revenge are not a good combination of feelings. Mary Shelley's dramatic novel, Frankenstein, exemplifies the ways in which the creature causes his own misfortune through his own actions. This illuminates the work as a whole by giving the reader the chance to experience this demise from the beginning of the creature's existence and conveying the idea of needing to belong and the dangers of vindictiveness.
The beast (creature) endures many moments of exclusion and aloofness. From the very beginning of his life, the beast "saw bliss from which [he] alone was excluded, [he] was benevolent; misery made [him] a fiend" (Shelley, Chapter 10). The reader may have previously viewed the beast through the eyes of the narrator's eyes. However, this quotes directly conveys the feelings of the creature. It allows one to experience the other side of the story. One can understand how badly the beast wanted to belong and feel a part of the world. He wanted to be friendly, but the way others shunned him caused him to become malevolent. From this moment, an inference can be made that the beast himself will cause his own misfortune. This relates to one of the many purposes of the novel: to reveal the point of view from someone in need to be accepted and loved.
As the story goes on, the beast tells more of his experience as an unaccepted individual who strives to be friendly but fails due to his physical appearance. He mentions that he utilized many methods to become a part of the society around him, but since he "had no money, no friends, no kind of property" (Shelley, Chapter 13), he knew no one would accept him. This asyndeton draws attention to the monster's poverty. He is poor not only in a monetary sense; he's poor in a much deeper way. He has nothing at all. This shows the inhumane way in which people sometimes act. The monster wants to integrate himself into the world, but cannot do so due to the prejudice people hold against him. Due to this massive rejection, the monster seems to acquire a revengeful mindset and thereby sets himself up for failure and sadness. Because of this, the novel remains within the theme of how revenge does not lead to any good.
The creator of the beast, Frankenstein, never accepts it or even sees the situation from the beast's point of view. Frankenstein believes his biggest mistake to be his creation and "ardently wished to extinguish the life [he] had so thoughtlessly bestowed" (Shelley, Chapter 9). Frankenstein's argument seems very superficial and ignorant, as he has not given the beast a chance at this point. He abandoned him and wants nothing to do with it, which eventually leads to the beast's overwhelming feelings of loneliness and lead to his demise. The beasts ruins himself. He wants to belong, yet he begins to commit evil acts to show his frustration. This seems to be a contradiction, since he yearns to be good but does otherwise. One may be able to understand, however, because the beast's own creator regrets his existence. The reader hears both sides of the story, which is one of the major purposes of the story. This sheds new light on an otherwise biased story.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, may be interpreted in many different ways. The author sets the novel apart from others by sharing the thoughts of the two contrasting characters and explaining how exclusion and closed-mindedness lead to evil acts from someone who would usually be benevolent. The creature causes its own demise by allowing the opinions of others to get to him and his feelings to overwhelm him.
