Societal Bait in Frankenstein's Framed Narrations

(http://comikaider.blogspot.com/2009/11/wang-of-frankenstein.html)

In representing Romantic irony, Shelley's major work harbors the same strength of purpose as Coleridge's tale told by the marinere.  The interlacing story telling of Frankenstein, controlled by multiple first person tellers, yields much more liberally to readerly dynamics than a single stream narrative.  Just as we observe the marinere from behind the wedding guest, we observe Dr Frankenstein from behind Walton, and more confidently place judgments upon them.  In a similar way, Shelley distances herself from the main discourse of the work that reveals both the purpose of creating the monster and also the characteristic behavior of the doctor.  By including the monster, a fictionalized creation framed by the creator’s character itself, Shelley emphasizes the importance of the interplay between the layers of the narrative. The monster not only represents the product of the doctor and the shadow of his maker’s flaws, but must be considered in accordance with the doctor’s narrative as well.  Through the birth of the monster Shelley plays a double commentary on societal invention and values of passion and beauty.  Shelley deliberately victimizes the monster within his narrative in order to comment on the societal judgment occurring throughout the whole narrative.  Shelley includes the framing narratives for the sake of the monster’s narrative.

Because the monster’s story is centralized, his serves as a pinnacle that cultivates the purpose of the other layers. The question we should ask is what does the monster’s values contribute, within the frame of the doctor’s values.  The monster’s narrative, which includes his pressure to reject himself, indulgence in intellectual pursuits, overpowering passion, is in dialogue with the doctor, who becomes sickly obsessive and irresponsible.

The ethics presented by Shelley are ones the readers are unprepared to accommodate. As a man’s creation, how might a reader judge the monster?  Shelley, in combination with centralizing the monster’s story, purposefully instructs this difficulty in order to give the monster freedom to judge the society he observes and refute any ethical judgment from the reader.  Because we are not meant to accuse the monster of his criminalities, we must focus instead of the monster’s placement in Frankenstein’s and Walton’s lives.

The monster, on his own accord, reveals the disgraceful value society upholds, while simultaneously demonstrating them.  Any ethical judgments upon the monster can only be refracted onto his creator and the people surrounding him.  The value of beauty shakes the entire narrative by society’s rejection of the monster on sight.  He learns this and enforces it by requesting an ugly duplicate of himself and accepting alienation.  As a new human—probably Shelley is stretching this in a parodic way—the monster is clean of imprints, therefore quick to learn to despise himself by the guidance of those around him. His looks are first and foremost, while violence is secondary to and effected by his ugly nature.

             The violence of the monster is related to the passion of his creator.  Both the monster and the doctor succumb to destructive passion, which is criticized by the Romantic Shelley.  Frankenstein’s monster acts as a bended mirror of himself.  As we attempt to judge the monster we in fact just the doctor.  Once again the framed narration works similarly as Coleridge; the doctor’s flaws are peeled open before an audience, Walton, who is at risk of committing the same destruction.  

"The Rime of the Ancient Marinere", S.T. Coleridge (1798)

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1823)