Ross Fenmore
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
The defining of the monster as evil and assessing blame seems facile, and I didn't spend much time considering the obvious caution against man carelessly playing God. I felt compassion for all the characters, as I believe did the author. For me, it was a story about prejudice -- how the limitations man imposes on his love often results in the authoring of his own tragedy. Frankenstein could have embraced his creation from the beginning but, instead, abandoned it because he didn't have the courage -- and could not see beyond his own limited objectivity. Perhaps Shelley was in some ways coming to terms with her own elitist culture.<br><br>Is it a demon? Is it good or bad? I don't know. What is love to one who shall never be its object? What is justice to one who has no hope of its receipt? The "beast" possessed the mind of a man; the love in his heart, and all his terrible deeds were quintessentially human.