In her novel, "Frankenstein," Mary Shelley weaves multiple perspectives together in order to give the reader a chance to judge the conflict from all possible sides. Given the opportunity to view the conflict from all sides, the reader struggles with the weight of the opposing emotions. As readers contemplate those emotions, they may wonder who the real monster is. .
When Victor Frankenstein was young, he was interested in science and how things work. During his teenage years, Victor became more fascinated with and learning and experimenting, and his passion eventually grew into an obsession. His fixed craving for knowledge about the creation of life gives the reader a foreboding feeling. Victor begins to experiment with recreating life, eventually succeeding in creating a grotesque version of a human-the monster. He is sure that his reanimated human collage will be the greatest advancement of mankind. The reader cannot understand why Victor is unable to control his desires. In an attempt to redeem himself for creating the monster that killed innocent individuals and members of his own family, Victor hunts the monster down until his physical conditions prevent him from doing so anymore. Victor's struggle to rid the world of his abomination reassures the reader that his intention was never to create a being that would harm others. It reassures the reader that Victor, although he created the monster, is innocent of the overall harm that it caused. .
Knowledge is power, but it is of no value unless practiced. The monster, similar to a newborn baby, had no knowledge of any sort when he was created. It is understood that as knowledge grows, so does understanding; the monster should learn how to control itself as its knowledge increases. The reader's first reaction is to help the monster because of its ignorance, but as the monster begins using its knowledge for evil the reader's pity for the monster subsides.
