innocen that everyone was fond
ce of William.
Age note: seems to be
5/6 years old and V.F.
left six years ago so it
could be that he left
when he was just a
baby: image of
innocence or that he
never got to meet his
brother and know him
‘Monster! Ugly wretch!’ V2 Ch8 Corrupti Image of innocence
on of has been distorted
society here. The creature
thought he was
‘unprejudiced’ because
he was young yet still
insults him. He also
echos V.F. in his
insults perhaps
insinuating that V.F.
was childlike in his
actions and responses.
A05: Critical Viewpoints
Different views of the creature:
- ‘A critic of society’: the monster is the outsider who for society has no place. Plays on
the understanding of the cruelty and tyranny inherent in human institutions, just as
slaves were denied any sense of individuality(slavery was abolished later in 1865)
plus the horrid wars of the American war of independence and french revolution.
Maybe we sympathise with the creature because we see the abuse he receives from
society and recognise this in our own society
- ‘Representative of the mob’: Shelley was anxious about the possibility of a
revolutionary mob violence like the violence and terror that occurred during the
French Revolution. Represents an uncontrollable force loose in society
Ray Cluley
‘It explores the role of society and the individual and is a literary case study for the nature
nurture debate’ (shows that it challenges the expectations of readers like a romantic piece)
- V.F. is a ‘Romantic figure in his isolation’ (he has a desire for the forbidden as
seen in his erotic dreams). ‘The disturbing link between sex and death
presents the protagonist as montorous’
Jane Bathard Smith
‘Indeed the creature is remorselessly judged by his appearance….the label insinuates
certain things about the creatures interior as well as his exterior being’
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