Social Identity in ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley

Social identity can best be defined as a person’s understanding of who they are based on their social groups. Everyone in the society tends to be classified into a certain social group and they are the ones that shape their pride as well as their self-esteem. Shelley in her book ‘Frankenstein’ brings out the concept of social identity through the monster created by Victor. The character of the monster is motivated by the fact that he does not fit into any social class and so everyone including his ‘father’ rejects him. People are products of their social environments; the society has a great role in shaping an individual’s identity. An individual that is treated wrongly by others in the society, end up becoming evil and selfish.

In the novel, Shelley presents different social classes that constitute the social order. Victor for instance is a member of the upper aristocratic class; he describes his family as having being there for many years as ‘counsellors and syndics’ (Shelley, p 51). The Orkney Island is used as a representation of the low social class and the upper class adopted women from the low class as a way of trying save them from poverty. Women like Caroline, Elizabeth and Justine were adopted into Victor’s family as a quest of trying to help them rise in social status (Shelley, p 56). The criterion that is used to select them is however unfair and also superficial, the women were selected because of their beautiful appearance, meaning that the people that were assumed not beautiful remained in poverty all their lives.

The upper class in the novel have to work hard to maintain their power in this society. They then are forced to marry amongst each other; something that victor classifies to be incest and is against it (Shelley, p 31). Victor is expected to marry Elizabeth, whom she considers to be her sister and this scares her. He constantly avoids this union and it is what motivates him to leave his home to go pursue his career in science. The fear of incest and procreation with Elizabeth is what eventually leads Victor to create a monster (Hustis, p 52). Victor believes that if he is able to create life, he would be able to procreate on his own without having to marry Elizabeth. The concept of class and physical appearance is further seen even outside the family with Henry who is a merchant’s son (Shelley, p 56). Henry is Victor’s friend despite the fact that he is below his social status; he is only accepted by Victor because of his good looks and fine manners.

This concept of class greatly applies to the creation of Victor; the creature does not fit in any class within Frankenstein society. He is neither human nor an animal and this is one reason he is classified as species that has never been seen before (Bernatchez, p 63). Right from the beginning, he judged harshly by his creator because of his appearance and do not even take the time to understand his character. The perception of Victor and the whole of Frankenstein society is based on Christian beliefs that an evilness in an individual begins right from birth. The creature on his part thinks that the human mind is good and he therefore rates himself as good (Bernatchez, p 95). His mind set however changes when he sees his face in the pool, he was terrified of his looks and realised why other people do not approve of him. The reaction of the creature after it knows how it looks is a good illustration of the power that physical appearance has on the 19t century society. People during this time greatly valued physical beauty much more than the character of an individual and it is one reason why only beautiful people were selected to join the high social class (Bernatchez, p 113).

The reaction of the people towards the creature is rude and also violent. He is severally attacked in the novel all because of his appearance, which helps to illustrate the concept of harsh rejection was common during the early nineteenth century. This concept is best explained by the ‘physiognomy theory’ that indicates that the physical appearance of an individual determine their character, an individual that has a malicious character is expected to have a disgusting appearance (Hustis, p 67). The process of determining self-worth can be nearly impossible especially when it is combined with feelings of desertion and disregard. Victor abandons his creation and the responsibility that he had towards it, leaving it to take care of itself in a new environment. The monster is forced to take care of itself in its first delicate days of life and it meanders around hoping to discover itself and learn about the world. The monster develops moral integrity and individuality even without Victor; however its understanding of the world and its role in it is unusual (Bernatchez, p 64). Without Victor, its parent who was supposed to teach it about the world, the creature ends up gaining knowledge through painful personal experience that shape its evil character.

This novel is an illustration of how an individual’s upbringing shapes the moral sense of an individual. Obtaining identity is a unceasing process that is shaped over time through life experiences, social collaboration and support moments. The cruel nurture of the creature and the negligence of his parent have direct consequence on the creature, leading it to be evil (Hustis, p 72). Victor is to blame for the character of the creature; his abandonment right from the beginning is what motivates its opinions, choices and activities. Both Victor and the monster struggle to distinguish their worth and placement in the world, they challenge to gather any understanding of personal uniqueness. The personal dilemma that Victor is struggling with effects his creation of the monster. He creates the monster as an duplicate of his identity crisis that leads to both ethical and human devastation (Britton, p 7).

The unsteady identity of Victor and his responsive instability is obvious right from his youth and it is what influences the life of the monster that he creates. Although he is intelligent and talented, Victor allows his mind to become corrupt and he drifts away from his family and friends. He allowed his intrigue and curiosity of science to control him and in the process he lost his identity (Britton, p 9). Victor end becoming a loner as he falls into a realm of personal falsification and boundless scientific development. To shun away his personal struggles, Victor put all his effort towards his creation. This is a tactic that is common among people that come from families that are broken, all of which were experienced by Victor (Hustis, p 64). He creates another being to try and mend the broken chain of his own family, hoping to create another family where he would be much more comfortable.

It is possible that the character of the monster would have much different if he had someone to guide him into the right path. If Victor has established clear and distinct guidelines for his creation, he would have been turned out to be a much different character (Hustis, p 54). The effect that an infant has when they are exploring the world for the first time has a great influence on their habits, thoughts and their future lives (Bernatchez, p 124). The abandonment of the creature by Victor caused him to learn through observation and assumption; he does not truly understand what is right or wrong. The society treats him with cruelty, rejection and abandonment, and these are the things that shape his character. The way that the society treats him, helps him to understand that his existence is not wanted and that he will never become part of this society.

The choices made by Victor and his creature are what led to their painful lives. The identity crises that was faced by the monster was initiated by irresponsibility, sculpted parental negligence and were all fuelled by lack of identity on the part of Victor. Victor disregarded his responsibility as a parent to the monster and this caused the evil character in the monster that ended up destroying his life. This text is a lesson to every individual to always take responsibility for everything that they do or create. Parents should always be there to guide their children in life because this is what helps shape the kind of individuals that they become in life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Bernatchez, Josh. “Monstrosity, Suffering, Subjectivity, and Sympathetic  Community in

Frankenstein and ‘The Structure of Torture’” Science-Fiction Studies. July 2009. Vol 36.

Britton, Ronald. “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: What Made the Monster Monstrous?”

Journal of Analytical Psychology, vol. 60, no. 1, Feb. 2015, pp. 1–11. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/1468-5922.12126.

Bailey, Ronald. “Victor Frankenstein Is the Real Monster.” Reason, vol. 49, no. 11, Apr.

2018, pp. 56–62. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=128081701&site=ehost-live.

Hustis, Harriet. “Responsible Creativity and the Modernity of Mary Shelley’s  Promethus.”          Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Baltimore: Autumn 2003.  Vol 43, Iss 4.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Mineola, NY. Dover Publications Inc. 1994.