“All of the characters are monsters in ‘Frankenstein’”
It is inaccurate to suggest that all the characters in Philip Pullman’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ are monsters. Monsters are cruel and unjust. Thought there are many monsters in the play, like Monster who murders two innocent people and Frankenstein and society who are prejudiced toward Monster, Agathe definitely cannot be put in that category as she is the kind lady who wants to help Monster. William Frankenstein, too, cannot be placed in the monsters category as he is too young to judge and do wrong.
Monster has proven that he is a monster through his actions toward Elizabeth and William. He murdered two of Frankenstein’s loved ones out of revenge. Monster wanted to “make him unhappy” and decided that he could “hurt him” by “destroying what is his”, and consequently, he killed William. The Monster did not stop there though. In vengeance for his bride, he kills Elizabeth by “seizing her by the throat” and then “drops her lifeless on the floor”. The two murders were ruthless and undeserved. William, an innocent little boy, and Elizabeth, an ordinary young woman, were murdered because they were related to Frankenstein and their lifelessness could make him “suffer”. These are the actions of a monster of which Monster has shown throughout the play.
Frankenstein and society are monsters as they are prejudiced toward Monster. When Frankenstein created Monster, he expected “something better than human” and “so precious and beautiful”, but when he finished, he “turned away in disgust” because it wasn’t what he “wanted” and it looked ugly and scary. This shows that Frankenstein is judging Monster only by his appearance, and therefore, is being prejudice. Society also turned away in “disgust and loathing from Monster like he is “a vision from a nightmare”. They don’t think twice before they “stoned” him, and “shot at” him and “Set their dogs” on him. They think only of “the worst of people”, in this case, Monster. Hence, they are called monsters.
The Essay on Is Frankenstein The True Creator Of The Monster Or Is It Society That Shapes Him?
... creator. His first act of vengeance is committed when he murders Frankenstein’s brother, William, and frames the family’s trusted servant who is then ... to fend for itself and is rejected by society. Isolated by loneliness, the monster seeks refuge in spying on a family, for ... pained by this, victor still leaves even though his cousin, Elizabeth, is really ill too. When he gets to university, he ...
Agathe unquestionably cannot be described as a monster. She is the kind lady who wanted to “help” Monster and “understand” him. She was blind so she couldn’t judge him and they “spoke together” and Monster thought she was “the only piece of luck” he ever had. She understood his pain as she was “an outcast”, just like Monster. Agathe was neither cruel nor prejudiced toward Monster. She is too sympathetic and caring to be a monster of any kind. William, too, cannot be a monster as he is the “kindest little child” and “the sweetest little boy”. He is also too young to have an opinion about most things and is not capable of doing wrong. Agathe and William are certainly not monster in any way.
In the play ‘Frankenstein’, an adaptation by Philip Pullman of Mary Shelley’s novel, not all the characters are monsters. Monster, Frankenstein and society are all monsters as they have been exceptionally cruel to someone who did not deserve it. Among those people, there are good people such as Agathe and William who are not monsters as they have done nothing wrong and nothing to hurt anyone or anything. Overall, it is proven that though most of the characters in ‘Frankenstein’ are monster, not everyone is one.
