Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein" Part 2.

The Ultimate Cliffhanger. 

"I was at first touched by the expression of his misery; yet, when I called to mind what Frankenstein had said of his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I again cast my eyes on the lifeless form of my friend, indignation was rekindled within me" (Shelley, 164).

The conclusion to Shelley's "Frankenstein" may or may not be a cliffhanger due to how the reader perceived Victor and the creature throughout the story.  The creature claims he is going to go to the North Pole to commit suicide after he has been reassured of the death of his creator.  This causes me to doubt whether or not he will actually do it.  The creature claims he was suffering significantly more than Victor; therefore,  I do not see why he would need to see Victor dead before himself.  I do not see what Victor's death accomplishes for the creature.  Additionally, the scene in which the creature kills Elizabeth causes me to question whether or not he actually goes to die in the end.  When Victor looks up and sees the creature out the window, the creature is grinning and points to the lifeless body of Elizabeth.  This made me believe that the creature had lost any sense of humanity that he had managed to gain from the DeLacey family.  Based on this evidence, whether or not the creature dies in the end can be called into question. 

Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein" Part 2

The Magistrate. 

The character of Mr. Kirwin has been a source of great confusion for me.  He appears twice.  His first appearance is during the trial of Victor.  Given that he speaks Victor's native language, he hears Victor's "real" story.  At this point though, I do not think Mr. Kirwin completely understands what is meant by the term "fiend".  When Victor awakens from his apparent insanity, it seems as though the magistrate knows everything.  "As Mr. Kirwin said this, notwithstanding the agitation I endured on this retrospect of my sufferings, I also felt considerable surprise at the knowledge he seemed to possess concerning me" (Shelley, 132).  From this, the reader concludes that the magistrate has learned about Victor's case and somehow believes it.  Yet when Victor asks for help in searching for the creature, the magistrate seems to express some doubt in Victor's story.  He claims they cannot search for him because he seems unobtainable, but the reader can still infer a sense of disbelief coming from Mr. Kirwin.  Therefore, whether or not the magistrate knows about the creature is ambiguous.   

Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein" Part 2

The Evolution of Henry, Victor, and the creature.

When the novel opens, the similarities between the characters of Henry and Victor are apparent.  Both men are ambitious and have a deep desire to learn.  At the creation of the creature, it seems that he and Victor could not be more different.  As the novel progresses, this changes drastically.  When Henry and Victor make their way to England, their differences become more and more obvious.  In a way, the two become foil characters.  Henry finds joy in every moment of life.  Clerval's desire to learn augments each day; he even plans on going to India to further his education.  The only thing that ever brings him down is the disposition of his dear friend, Victor.  Victor has been living in constant fear and worry.  "He was forever busy, and the only check to his enjoyments was to my sorrowful and dejected mind" (Shelley, 115)  Additionally, his thought process has begun to mirror that of the creature.  He refers to himself as "wretch" and often separates him from human society.   

Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein" Part 2.

At one point in the novel, Shelley seems to start to develop the theme of not judging a book by its cover.  The creature may hold some credibility in his hatred toward humans.  Why shouldn't he hate them?  No one, besides the blind man, has given him more than a moment's chance to show his real character which is genuine and emotional.  When the creature is chased out of the village earlier in the novel, I do not think he quite understands neither what has happened nor how he feels about it.  Once his education grows, he gains this understanding and places more hope into his encountering of the DeLacey family which in the end creates a bigger emotional letdown and sense of abandonment for him when Felix, Agatha, and Safie reject the sight of him.  He is so overcome by emotion he refused to fight Felix back and claims "my heart sunk within me as with bitter sickness" (Shelley, 97).  Later on, the girl and boy help to completely destroy any shred of faith the creature had left in humanity by shooting him for saving the girl.  In this, the reader establishes an understanding for the creature's actions.  Contrary to what other may believe at this point, the creature is not fully culpable for his actions.  

Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein" Part 2.

The Girls.

Every single female presented in Shelley's story is characterized a sort of source of happiness or at least a potential prospect of it.  Additionally, the all seem to present themselves at the exact moment they are needed.  Safie brings light into the heavy heart of Felix.  At this point, Felix's spirit has been bogged down from the constant reminder of his family's poverty (and how he caused it).  The creature remarks how expressions of happiness rarely cross his face anymore.  Yet when Safie arrives, "Felix seemed ravished with delight...every trace of sorrow vanished from his face, and it instantly expressed a degree of ecstatic joy"(Shelley, 82)  The women also tend to be the more light-hearted characters.  The character of Elizabeth is somewhat vulnerable in that she does not believe anyone to be capable of any harm or wrongdoing.  Even Mrs. Saville, Walton's sister, is at one point the only thing he has to hold on to when everything else seems to be going wrong.  Caroline also brings strength to Mr. Frankenstein's character.  For the creature, the expectation of having someone to confide in and understand him offers him a sense of calmness and possibly even joy, and the let down has even greater effects.  Though the girls may be sideline characters, they are what keep the men in this novel functioning.