In Victor's first true encounter with the monster, in
Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor feels no love for his "son".
Instead of embracing his creation, Victor rebukes the
creature.
“Abhorred monster! fiend that thou art! the
tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched
devil! you
reproach me with your creation; come on, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I
so
negligently
bestowed.”
Victor then
charges the monster in a deadly rage only to be sidestepped by the creature. The monster
requests of Victor to listen to him before he enacts his "hatred on my devoted head".
Victor refuses by saying that they are nothing more than enemies and if the creature
does not leave the a fight will ensue.
In pleading with
Victor to hear him out, the monster questions what it will take for Victor to "turn a
favorable eye upon thy creature". The monster asks Victor to hear his story and after,
and only after, if he has not changed his mind about his feelings towards him will the
monster allow Victor to "destroy the work of his
hands".
Victor's reaction to the monster's request is one
in which Victor curses the day upon which the monster "first saw light". Victor again
tells the monster to leave him upon which the monster relinquishes Victor of any
responsibility regarding his creation or to him as a being. Regardless of the ownership
the monster releases Victor from, the monster still requests that Victor hears his story
so that he can offer him the one and only thing he desires in life:
compassion.
After the monster's heartfelt reply, Victor
agrees to hear the monster out. Victor admits to readers why he agrees to hear the tale
of his creation:
As he said this, he led the way across the ice:
I followed. My heart was full, and I did not answer him; but as I proceeded, I weighed
the various arguments that he had used, and determined at least to listen to his tale. I
was partly urged by curiosity, and compassion confirmed my resolution. I had hitherto
supposed him to be the
murderer of my brother, and I eagerly sought a
confirmation or denial of this opinion. For the first time, also, I felt what the duties
of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I
complained of his wickedness. These motives urged me to comply with his
demand.
This passage, from
the end of Chapter 10, shows exactly what Victor regards as his duties to the monster of
his creation.
After Victor has listened to the monster's
tale, Victor continues to feel no compassion for the monster. This is compounded by the
fact that the monster asks Victor to create a mate for him. Victor blatantly refuses the
monster's request stating that the joined couple will "desolate the
world".
After being threatened by the monster for his
refusal, Victor begins to contemplate the request- but, only because the monster
requests happiness; happiness that will only come from the promise of gaining sympathy
from another being.
Victor seems to be caught between his
hatred for the monster as a physical object and his love for the monster as a feeling
and emotional being. Therefore, his duties as the monster's creator also struggle to
find a place in Victor's mind.
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