Societal Bias in FrankensteinMary Shelley's novel Frankenstein highlights the importance of appearance through the story of an unwanted creation that society does not give never a chance. Ironically, the so-called beast was initially much more compassionate and thoughtful than his creator, until his romantic and innocent view of the human race was diminished by the cruelty and injustice he unduly endured. Not only does the creature experience the prejudices of a society based on appearance, but other situations and characters in the novel force the reader to reflect on their own hasty judgment. The semi-Gothic novel includes several examples of societal prejudice, including the isolation and outcast of Frankenstein's creation, the creature's biased opinion of cottagers, and Victor's unbalanced and inappropriate classification. Throughout the creature's isolated and pathetic journey, he has never had the opportunity to participate in human interaction, as he so deeply deserves. When it was created, the reaction of Victor, its creator, was so terrible; we forget that it is actually the birth of a human being. His "father", Victor, is so selfish and so lacking in responsibility and foresight that he creates a human being for the simple purpose of recreation, intellectual stimulation and the thrill of "the hunt". Frankenstein himself refers to his own creation as “…the life I had so thoughtlessly bestowed” (88; ch.1; vol. 2). Victor is only interested in the surface-level beneficial aspects of creation, just as his interest in the “monster” outside is superficial. Not only is Victor's quest selfish, but his goal is also frivolous. Victor's initial opinion on ...... middle of paper ......rs, and even tolerates the labeling of Victor's benevolent "child" as a "monster". If the image-obsessed society had stopped for a moment to introspect the persona it feared, a multitude of lives could have been saved. Works cited and consultedBloom, Harold. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. New York: Chelsea, 1987. Botting, Fred. Make it monstrous. Frankenstein, criticism, theory. Manchester University Press, 1991. Boyd, Stephen. York Notes on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Longman York Press, 1992. Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley. His life, his fiction, his monsters. Methuen. New York, London, 1988. Patterson, Arthur Paul. A Frankenstein study. http://www.watershed.winnipeg.mb.ca/Frankenstein.htmlShelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus. Edited with an introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Longman York Press, 1998.