Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover - Novel Blog 3 (Frankenstein)

"I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers - their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions: but how was I terrified, when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification."

~ Frankenstein, page 80

When I was looking at the list of themes in the packet we got for the book, I was really surprised that appearance wasn't one of them. I think that the relationship between physical appearance and personality is something that comes up often. First is when Victor creates Cornelius. He is so appalled by his abhorrent looks that he runs away from him multiple times and assumes that he is some kind of monster. When we get to read chapters 11 and 12, we know that Cornelius isn't actually a bad thing; he has a full gamut of emotion and even tries to work for a family that he admires from afar. He feels sympathy and wants to make other people happy (which is a lot more than can be said for most humans). Victor didn't even try to learn about him. He feared what he didn't understand simply because he looks ugly. It's like all Disney movies - you can easily tell who is good and who is evil based on appearance; the good people are always beautiful, the bad are always fat or ugly. That's what's wrong with our society - we teach children from a very young age how to spot a bad person - does he look nice? Real life is a little more complicated than that.

Seriously. Pick one and tell me he/she is not hideous.

The other example is quite the opposite - Elizabeth. Victor's mother picked her up off the street because she was a beautiful "celestial" - looking child. While Elizabeth possesses both beauty and a compassionate personality (unlike Cornelius whose personality and appearance was incongruous), her character still represents the idea that looks are equivalent to disposition or intentions. This whole Disney notion is what drives the plot of Frankenstein and is ultimately what motivates Cornelius to do the horrible acts he does; the people cannot get past his appearance and judge him accordingly. (Okay, all these are assumptions made from previous foreshadowing in the novel and things we have kind of talked about in class; I'm not actually sure what happens.)