The Creature, often called Frankenstein's monster, is the being brought to life by the scientist Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, assembled from dead tissue and animated through Frankenstein's forbidden experiment. Roughly eight feet tall and immediately abandoned in horror by his own creator, the Creature teaches himself language and morality in secret, and initially seeks only companionship and acceptance, but is met everywhere with revulsion and violence purely on the basis of his appearance, which drives him to murderous vengeance against Frankenstein and everyone he loves. Shelley's sympathetic yet terrifying portrait of a being made monstrous by rejection rather than by nature made the Creature one of the most enduring and frequently reinterpreted figures in Western literature, a foundational text for science fiction and a lasting parable about the responsibilities of creation. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Narrative RoleSourced to the subject's own accountAntagonist and tragic victim in equal measure, the artificial being whose rejection by his creator drives him to vengeance 1 Defining TraitSourced to the subject's own accountInnately capable of gentleness and reason but transformed into a vengeful killer entirely by the horror and rejection with which every human, beginning with his own creator, meets him 1 Narrative role (class)Sourced to the subject's own account Narrative role (class)Sourced to the subject's own account Connections
Character In
Source Frankenstein's Monster (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Frankenstein's Monster (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Shelley describes the monster as 8 feet tall and emotional. The monster attempts to fit into human society but is shunned, which leads him to seek revenge against Frankenstein.
Names section, first sentence
Mary Shelley's original novel does not give the character a specific name.
- Character In: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Is Frankenstein the name of the monster or the scientist who created him?
Frankenstein is properly the name of Victor Frankenstein, the scientist who builds the creature in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. Shelley never gives the creature itself a name; Victor calls it things like creature, fiend, wretch and monster. The name stuck to the creature in popular culture mainly through the 1930s Universal films starring Boris Karloff.
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