Loss of Innocence

So we have reached the end of the book, and we have also reached the end of both Victor's and the monster's innocence. Ironically, both characters lose their innocence in very similar processes and have their loss of innocence thrust upon them rather than losing it through their own realizations and actions.

With the monster, we see his complete loss of innocence arrive in chapter 20 through the discovery that Victor has destroyed the female monster he was in the process of creating. This realization forced the monster to understand that he has no chance left to find acceptance anywhere. He will eternally be an outcast and an outsider in search of love but never destined to find it. In my previous blog post, I discussed how the monster clung to his shreds of innocence through this hope of acceptance, however, it has now been extinguished and he truly understands how alone in the world he really is. Personally, I sympathize with the monster and believe him to be the true victim of this book, being brought into existence but just as quickly abandoned by the one man who had the power to change his fate. Victor turned his back on the monster, which not only planted the first seeds of hate in the monster, but also his extreme need for love and acceprance. All of society, like Victor, views the creature as a monster, but is he really the true monster in the story? Perhaps I am slightly biased when I say this since I dislike Victor, but he arises as more of a monster than his creation does in my eyes. Whenever we hear the name Frankenstein, we always associate it with the monster in the story.  I grew up believing that Fankenstein actually was the name of the monster, but of course, reading the book taught me otherwise. However, this connection made me realize that we associate the name with the monster since it is Frankenstein who is the true monster of the story. He created life, similarly to how a woman gives birth to a child, but abandoned him while expecting everything to work out. Throughout the novel, he blames the monster for almost everything, but in cases such as with Justine and William, Victor refuses to take and part of the blame for being the one who created this "awful" monster.

Victor loses his innocence with the death of Elizabeth and his father in chapter 23, where he undergoes a realization that, like the monster, he is ultimately alone and has no one left who cares about him. This sadness is almost instantly transformed into rage toward the monster, therefore sparking the beginning of his relentless desire to kill him. The loss of innocence is a very tragic event. It is sad to no longer have those once child like views that are so genuine and so innocent that you can't help but be nostalgic about when you think of them. With innocence, we can the see the pureness in the world, in every action, we can see a good intention. When stripped of this innocence very suddenly and prematurely like the monster, it is very difficult to resist feelings of hatred and resentment, and it is easier to allow them to consume you. Although the book has ended and so have the stories of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, we must remember that monstrosity is acquired, not born with, and that innocence can be found in us all.

-Number Six