Romanticism, which was a reaction to the classicism of the early 18th century, favoured feeling over reason and placed great emphasis on the personal experience of the individual and allowed people to get away from the rational views of life and concentrate on the emotional and imaginative side of humanity; this not only influenced politics but was also a sharp contrast from previous ideas of the Renaissance period, which was human's ability to be logical and rational
Nature was also greatly used and admired during the Romantic Movement. Man's ability to think things through carefully and reasonably was often overlooked by writers during the Romantic period and it was our emotions and creativity that was believed to make human's stand out from the other creatures in the world.
During the novel Shelley poses the question are all humans born innocent and then changed and corrupt by society. The creature himself, who is born entirely innocent to society and the people within, is spurned from civilisation for his appearance alone. From birth the creature is full of the emotions of a human being and as he is continually rejected from society his view on the world is changed and he feels nothing but hatred for Frankenstein his creator, 'Although towards you I felt no sediment but that of hatred.' The creature's feeling and emotions turn sour as he is continually rejected by society, and he himself is corrupt by society, and feels the need to conform to the expected view of a human.
The creature shows that until society rejects him he has the emotions to be kind and caring, because as he had often eaten from the DeLacy's store on finding that this causes them to suffer he stops this, 'but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained.' and this shows that he is a good being underneath what he may look like and that he does have a conscience. At this moment it is as if the creature is a child learning, and developing an understanding of the world through his experiences.
