How Far Do You Agree That the Real Terror in Chapter V Comes from the Grotesqueness of the Monster That Victor Has Created?

‘How far do you agree that the real terror in chapter V comes from the grotesqueness of the monster that Victor has created?’

Richard Galbraith

Initially Frankenstein’s monster conveys a true physically grotesque form with even his creator not being able to withstand the sight of him. However the true terror comes from Victor’s clear psychological unrest and his state of being once the monster is alive. Furthermore Victor’s clear hysteria over the event and use gothic conventions to display such a melodramatically dark event for victor and the reader.

Shelly’s use of language to describe the monster is fantastically well done; pre modification is evident within this “dull yellow eye” and  “straight black lips”.  True physical disgust is evident in these references the pre modification certainly does shape the meaning of this part for the text, as it seems to just add more to what already is a fascinating description of the monster. This may have been done for dramatic effect and certainly an audience at the time of this text would have had an instantaneous attraction to this description. This could be due to their possibly narcissistic attitude, as whoever did not fit in or look right in society would be looked down on or become the center of the incorrect type of fascination. This would have created real terror for the audience and solely for them and possibly for a contemporary audience as well terror would have been capped of at the pure sight of the monster. The theme of a physical sense of terror also related to the use of weather by shelly in chapter V, pathetic fallacy is used throughout to give a physical representation of Victor’s emotions, “ cold dew” and “yellow light”.  Subdued and apprehension seems to fall key in the pathetic fallacy relating exactly to victor after the immense terror her feels after leaving the monster.

Nonetheless, terror is partial in the latter deceptions of the monster; Victor is clearly not coping with the pressures and strains of such a thing as to bring life to another being and effectively usurps God. This coincides with the Prometheus myth and shelly brings us to this link with victor’s attempt to usurp god power. Victor however is not in a suitable state of mind whatsoever and relation to the monsters outward appearance and Victors inner psyche perhaps are related closely by Shelly to bring about the relation for these two characters and how it could be said that the monsters external form could be a strong reason for victors physical deterioration and his mental deterioration as well. Terror in the chapter is not one entity it is layers and sliced brilliantly by Shelly and structurally by her use of climax early in the scene to create a sense of anxiety and immense fear around Victor is very well done to create a subliminal terror that might only possibly exists in Victor’s mind. Other characters in chapter v notice his clear mental and physical unrest, “How very ill you appear; so very thin and pale”, Cleveral clearly can see a major difference in his old friend at the hands of the monster. Victor’s rejection for responsibility of the monster, his overwrought emotions about the entire situation and the nightmare he suffers all feed to the terror of what a creation of life can do to a person and how the sheer feeling of such creation can drive a man mad. Victor is clearly a remarkably intelligent man but even his brain cannot cope with the god like power he has been bestowed, yes by him self, but unknowing of what the consequences might be. I believe Shelly is trying to portray the power of science and how humans if they push the limits to a point of no return can suffer the wrath of such scientific greed, like Victor.

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