Good Example Of Essay On Moral Monsters In “Frankenstein” AND “The Picture Of Dorian Gray”

Monsters in literature date back Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Golem. But Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein inspired the genre of the monster with morals. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray offers another literary monster who demonstrates the destructiveness of society’s indulgences. Themes of isolation, duality, loneliness, science and enlightenment work together to present moral lessons to the reader. But the true monsters were not the Creature and Dorian, but the men who created them, Victor Frankenstein and Lord Henry.
Frankenstein has retained its popularity over the decades since its first publication due not to the horror story in the pages, but the psychological and moral dilemmas; in doing so, it touches responsive chords in the reader. The Frankenstein monster struggled with his horrible appearance even while his soul strove for internal beauty. The combination of external evil and internal beauty created the basis for the monster in the story. The monster actually refers to himself as a “fallen angel”. It should be noted that in Shelley’s novel, the Frankenstein creation was never given a name. It was referred to as the monster, the Creature, “it”, and others. This omission enforced the concept that it was not a man, as only God can create a man; Frankenstein created a “creature”.
Victor Frankenstein was a scientist driven by an ambition to create the perfect human being, a man who is more intelligent and physically stronger than normal. He takes on the responsibility of God but, as an imperfect creator, his results are also imperfect. Although he took years for the project, collecting the cadaver pieces and perfecting the reanimation process, he is horrified when the creation actually becomes alive. After assembling the body from parts of dead criminals, he is devastated by the result and abandons the creature. The Frankenstein monster, having accelerated speed and strength, takes revenge on his creator and Victor’s family. The monster’s actions generate disgust and anger in the reader, not only for the way the monster acts toward Victor, but for the way the scientist animated a creature that was a failure and then left it to suffer; the reader is prompted to feel compassion for the “man” who is deserted and scorned. When the creator leaves his creation, he dooms it to unhappiness and unsatisfied need. Ultimately, the difference between happiness and heartache prompts the difference between monsters and men.
The appearance of the monster described by Shelley is even more horrific than the one characterized in later films. The author describes him as being eight feet tall with yellowish skin that was translucent. Pulled tightly over the body, it "barely disguised the workings of the arteries and muscles underneath". The eyes were glowing yellow and watery. The teeth were white and prominent, the lips black, and the dark hair was long and flowing.
The Frankenstein Creature realizes he has not had the upbringing normal humans experience that shape their characters. “But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which I distinguished nothing” (Shelley 143). He mourns the lack of affection that allows most people to develop into moral beings. Realizing this emptiness in his past, he attempts to compensate for it by approaching others in a compassionate manner. However, while he began to develop a caring relationship with the blind man, it was interrupted by the arrival of the family who could see him and judged him by his appearance. It becomes apparent at this point that the monster’s moral development will be doomed by his terrifying presentation.
The Picture of Dorian Gray deals with the world of aesthetics without the need for morality. Dorian Gray shows the conflict between morality and the philosophies of art and beauty. The Aesthetic Movement in 19th century England gave more importance to beauty than political or social topics in literature. Sentiments leaned toward moral messages. The Picture of Dorian Gray showed the moral disintegration of a promising young socialite when offered unlimited pleasures without consequences.
Dorian Gray only sees himself as a decoration, art without content. This lack of content is demonstrated when his lover Sybil commits suicide after he rejects her; unaffected by the tragedy, he instead values the drama it created. He states, “It seems to me to be simply like a wonderful ending to a wonderful play. It has all the terrible beauty of a Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which I took a great part, but by which I have not been wounded” (Wilde 114).
There are several clear comparisons between the Frankenstein monster and Dorian Gray. Each had their morality shaped by the perception society held of them. Perhaps, in a world where physical appearance is not important, Frankenstein may have developed into the loving, internally beautiful person he wanted to become. However, his anger and frustration at the behaviors of others toward him resulted in a murderous rage bent on revenge. Dorian, on the other hand, was allowed every indulgence based on his beauty and wealth which ultimately led to his moral downfall.
A further comparison lies in the men who produced the monsters. Victor Frankenstein created the horrifying physical body of his monster, but Lord Henry created the terrifying soul of Dorian Gray. In both instances, the creation surpassed the creator. In addition, the victims of the degenerated morals of the monsters happen when society’s reactions to the behavior of the Creature and Dorian shape their behaviors. Each began as innocent beings vulnerable to the influences that eventually proved to be their destruction. Dorian believes his only worthwhile quality is his appearance, and the Creature believes he has no value because he is no ugly. This misconception leads to the reprehensible acts each commits.
In conclusion, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray represent the ultimate manifestation of man’s immorality. The physically repelling Frankenstein monster laments his lack of internal beauty, while the externally beautiful Dorian is horrific in his deficit of internal attractiveness. But in the end, the monsters in these novels were not the ones who murdered without conscience, but the ones who created them: Dr. Frankenstein and Lord Henry.

Works Cited

Duggan, Patrick. 'The Conflict between Aestheticism And Morality In Oscar Wilde’s The
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Feldman, Paula. “Probing the Psychological Mystery Of Frankenstein”.
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Maraş, İzel. “Analysis And Comparison Of Main Evil Characters In Gothic Novels Mary”.
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Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library,
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Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Andrew Elfenbein. NY: Pearson Longman, 2007.
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