Something I've never seen discussed.
I had sympathy for Frankenstein's monster up until he murdered Frankenstein's nephew. I can understand holding a grudge against Frankenstein himself. I can even understand, though not agree, that he would target Frankenstein's wife after he destroyed the monsters bride.
But there only ever seem to be two camps in the discussion. Those who don't comprehend the tale at all, or those who make endless excuses for, and are over sympathetic to, the monster.
Killing Frankenstein's nephew was a needless act of cruelty. Mary Shelley tries to play it off as an act of passion and have the monster say he feels remorse, but that doesn't change the fact he committed the act, then never made any worthwhile attempt to atone for it.
In my reading, that turns the monster from a sympathetic character, raising existential questions with a side of horror, to an impudent, immature, self absorbed brat unworthy of sympathy.
You could make the argument that, of course he's immature, he was never 'raised' by Frankenstein properly, and that's a central theme to his character. And I would make the counter argument, innocent people don't die ever time a child has a tantrum. Regardless of how sympathetic you might be towards the monster, he's too dangerous to innocent people to be left alive, and this determination was made based on his own actions. Accountability is the other side of free will, and you don't get to escape it regardless of your daddy issues.
I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF YOU PEOPLE CALLING FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER A ZOMBIE 😭💢⚡🧟♂️ STOP IT. STOP FUCKING DOING IT. I AM BEGGING YOU TO DEVELOP EVEN THE FAINTEST WHISPER OF MEDIA LITERACY 🤬📚🚨
HE 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 FUCKING 👏 ZOMBIE 👏
“but he’s made from dead body parts 🤓☝️” OH MY GODDDDDDD 😭😭😭 A FUCKING LEATHER JACKET IS MADE OF DEAD COW PARTS AND I DON’T SEE YOU CALLING IT A HAMBURGER 🗣️💥💥💥
A ZOMBIE IS AN UNDEAD PERSON 🧟♂️⚰️ FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER IS A NEW LIFEFORM ASSEMBLED FROM CORPSES AND ANIMATED THROUGH VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN’S UNHINGED SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT FROM HELL 🧪⚡🫀🧵
HE TALKS 🗣️
HE READS 📚
HE THINKS 🧠
HE EXPERIENCES LOVE AND REJECTION 💔
HE HAS PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHTS ABOUT HIS OWN EXISTENCE 😭
HE IS BASICALLY HAVING A 200-PAGE EXISTENTIAL CRISIS WHILE YOU’RE STANDING THERE GOING “haha zombie go brrrr 🧟♂️”
NO!!!!! 🚨🚨🚨
AND WHILE I HAVE YOU HERE HIS FUCKING NAME ISN’T EVEN FRANKENSTEIN 😭🔪 FRANKENSTEIN IS THE BITCHASS DOCTOR WHO LOOKED AT THE LAWS OF GOD AND NATURE AND SAID “nah I got this” ⚡🧪💀
THE MONSTER DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A NAME!!!! THAT IS LITERALLY PART OF THE FUCKING TRAGEDY!!!! 😭😭😭
BUT YA’LL SAW GREEN SKIN + NECK BOLTS + STITCHES AND AS A SOCIETY JUST WENT 🧠❌ “yup zombie”
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
STITCHES DO NOT A ZOMBIE MAKE 🗣️📢
CORPSE PARTS DO NOT A ZOMBIE MAKE 🗣️📢
ELECTRICITY DOES NOT A ZOMBIE MAKE 🗣️📢
I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL AND THEN VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN CAN SEW MY CORPSE INTO SOMETHING ELSE AND THAT THING STILL WILL NOT BE A FUCKING ZOMBIE ⚡⚡⚡🤬🤬🤬