Slavery

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, there is a common metaphor used throughout the second half of the novel. This metaphor is that of slavery. Victor was a slave from the moment he began creating life. He became obsessed with overcoming such an amazing scientific feat. He lost sight of his whole world before this process that he was bound and devoted wholeheartedly. Never did it seem that the creature was his slave. I have no idea what Victor's motive was for building such a creature other than to be the first one to create life. Did he plan on making the creature his slave? Certainly not. He fled from his creation the second he instilled life within it. The entire rest of the novel is filled with the creature overpowering Victor. The creature even said, "Remember that I have the power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master; obey!" (Shelley, 122).The creature could overcome any human. Victor was at the hands of the creature; consequently, Victor lived the rest of his life in constant fear that his family, friends, and his own life be spared for the satisfaction of the monster.

However, the monster called himself a slave. "But I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse, which I detested, yet could not disobey" (Shelley, 164). The creature claims that after growing up in such misery and dejection, he was forced to live a life of crime. He was forced to seek attention from his father, his creator. He expresses that he hated killing Victor's loved ones. The creature would weep and mourn at their deaths. He acted with passion in the murders but afterwards, felt remorse for what he had done. The creature tells Walton that he was born a benevolent creature and that emotion never fully left him, as hard as that is to believe. The creature says, "When I run over the frightful catalogue of my sins, I cannot believe taht I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majestic goodness. But even so,; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil" (Shelley, 165). The monster was a slave to his emotions. He had to obey them at the extent of killing others, which ultimately killed the goodness in his soul.