Thoughts on the opinion of Christopher Schildt...

"There is a bit of the creature in all of us", says Christopher Schildt, and I agree with him wholeheartedly. Schildt believes that Mary Shelley was not writing so much about the SPECIFIC topics of Frankenstein, so much as the topics of "suffering and loss and pain". This is indeed a field of expertise for Mary Shelley. Having grown up in a life where she experienced the destruction of family, and the deaths of so many loved ones at such a young age, I agree with Schildt that she was definitely able to draw from personal life experiences (in more ways than one) while writing Frankenstein.
Much like Mary Shelley herself, Victor Frankenstein and his creature experience incredulous amounts of personal loss and grief throughout the story. Victor loses William, Justine, Elizabeth, Henry, etc. The creature had no one to begin with and no one to turn to on this planet that would associate with him or guide him in his early days. By my definition, Victor, the creature, and Mary Shelley were all ostracized in their lives, which leads me to believe that by no stretch of the imagination is Shelley's story more purely based on these horrible and trying emotions. I agree with Christoper Schildt that as we all know, "there is a bit of the creature in all of us".

Original Thoughts On Frankenstein Thus Far...

This post is designed for the sole purpose of discussing my thoughts so far on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel. After reading the text through chapter 19, I have found this novel to become more and more of a page turner as it progresses. I have particularly enjoyed Shelley's writting style, in that she narrates the story through a means of multiple perspectives. This style puts a nice feel to the book, because all the more information can be attained, and the reader can not only attain this information itself, but can attain the emotional standpoints of each character on a more individual level. My personal favorite perspective this far has been that of the creature. The creature describes his very short life, in a mannor that reminds the reader that in his day to day life, this creature has absolutly no outside experiences to draw on. Every single experience for him is a new one, and his story is fascinating. The fact that he was able to teach HIMSELF a language, and mannors, and other societal norms to follow (in only 2 years), seems slightly farfetched, yet impressive nonetheless.
This brings me to what is, in my opinion, the most intriguing point in the story thus far...Victor Frankenstein's decision. To create, or not to create. This is the crucial question. The creature decides that due to the fact that he is lonely, he is violent, and due to the fact that humans will not accept him, he will always be violent and miserable, unless he has a mate of his own kind. He appeals to Victor that since Victor made the irresponsible decision of creating him, his wellbeing, and the wellbeing of those around him are now Victor's responsibility. "I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create." (Creature 133) The creature raises a very valid point, however as in all cases, with one valid perspective comes another. On the flip side, to create ANOTHER monster is only to double the mess that he has already made. To create another monster is only to play God once more. What will Victor's better judgement lead him to?