Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus: Friendship, Monstrosity and Radical Otherness

This essay looks at the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his Creature, examining the ethical implications of Victor’s hostility towards the Creature. This problem is considered with reference to the views of various philosophers, ancient and modern, stressing one’s responsibility for the Other and the importance of the Self’s will to befriend another being. It is argued that Shelley indeed presents the Creature as “befriendable.” Such presentation, this article indicates, is a consequence of Shelley’s sympathy for the rejected and persecuted and her insistence on parental responsibility – the ideas actually emphasised in the novel, yet passed over in the 1930’s Hollywood production, as a consequence, permanently affecting the popular image of the Creature.