“A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life.” (50)

Chapters 5-10 in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein highlight the repercussions of science without moral boundaries, and Victor Frankenstein’s consequences of creating artificial life are on full display; Shelley uses Frankenstein and his monster to highlight the importance of appearance in society and the dangers of ambicion. For example, the contrast of the monster’s qualities also contrasts with Victor Frankenstein himself. The monster is in a nutshell an eight foot tall, hideous being with mismatching limbs and composed of strange chemicals, yet perhaps demonstrates the most reasonable decision making given its situation; it is self aware enough to know it will never be accepted into human society, yet possesses the human quality of wanting revenge on his creator for breaking the laws of nature with the monster’s creation. Victor, on the other hand, appears to be an ordinary human being, and is surrounded with everything the monster cannot: love, friendship, and family. The dichotomy between the qualities of Frankenstein and his monster showcases the importance of appearance in society: if the monster looked like a human being, it would be more of a contributing member of society than Victor, however, it cannot because of its unchangeable appearance. In other words, Frankenstein’s monster actually has more advanced mental capacities than Frankenstein himself, yet due to its exclusion from society, it uses its advanced intellect to harm Victor and seek revenge, rather than for good and the better of humanity; if the monster had a human appearance, it would develop into a better human being than Victor. Furthermore, on the inside, Victor can be described as more of a monster than Frankenstein, as he cannot look past the appearance of his own creation and is constantly making moves out of ambition, selfishness, and secrecy. The monster, on the other hand, makes his decisions in order to maximize his own happiness, knowing that he cannot fit into society with other people.