The Creation’s Inception – Birth of the “Other”

A close reading of the animation of Frankenstein’s creation not only reveals the inherent bias that Frankenstein holds against his creation but also illustrates how Frankenstein paradoxically dehumanizes what seems to resemble human life. Upon the creation’s awakening, Frankenstein immediately scorns his work as a “catastrophe” and calls his creation a “wretch,” but the creation’s eye opening, breathing, and convulsions amount to similar reactions that the human body experiences in rising from deep sleep – perhaps blood shot eyes, yawning and heavy breathing, and the feeling of falling that manifests itself as limbs flailing and stretching out (26). What otherwise would be seen as a very human awakening becomes categorized as grotesque and Other, reflecting Frankenstein’s antipathy for his creation as he has created life that is similarly human but decidedly more perceptive and powerful – hence different and frightening in his eyes. Furthermore, Frankenstein’s contradictory description of his creation’s form confirms his fear and prejudice, for he reverses society’s typical standard of beauty and perfection, suggesting that his creation’s parts, which would normally compromise a desirable whole, sum to a disturbing aggregate. The creation’s proportionate limbs, “work of muscles and arteries,” “lustrous black [hair],” and “pearly white [teeth]” compromise what Frankenstein and society deem “luxuriances” (26). However, Frankenstein abandons his descriptions – his subscription to society’s standard of beauty, image, and perfection – in act of marginalization and Othering. Accordingly, the scene informs more about Frankenstein’s concept of the Other and how he employs contradictory and inconsistent tactics in order to alienate what seems different, in spite of the clear resemblance and a common human denominator (demonstrated by the creation’s smile and attempt to reach out to his creator for companionship and interaction).