Monster – All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou are bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind
Frankenstein ~ Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
My sympathies always lie with the monster when I read Frankenstein. I find myself quite impatient with the doctor and not merely because he sports with life so recklessly without considering the consequences. In a way, I understand his ardent quest for knowledge, invention, and achievement. He meant to discover the secret to life, not create a monster. I consider his pursuit shamefully thoughtless but not malevolent.
How he responds after the monster comes to life, though, is when Frankenstein becomes antagonistic to me. Though I sympathise with his misery and regret, and I don't think he should have catered to the monster's demands for another creature, Frankenstein's narcissism and self-pity turn him into a monster of another kind.
Frankenstein – Thus the poor sufferer tried to comfort others and herself. She indeed gained the resignation she desired. But I, the true murderer, felt the never-dying worm alive in my bosom, which allowed of no hope or consolation. Elizabeth also wept and was unhappy; but hers was also the misery of innocence, which, like a cloud that passes over the fair moon, for a while hides but cannot tarnish its brightness. Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish
Throughout the book, Frankenstein considers only his own suffering, even at the expense of his loved ones. He grieves for himself, not for those he professes to care about so deeply. He mourns his loss, not theirs.
I understand Frankenstein's anguish and oppressive guilty—it's not that I condemn his remorse—it's that he only thinks of himself. Having created the monster, Frankenstein becomes responsible for it. He cannot separate himself from it and displace the blame, which he knows. It's why he suffers such tremendous guilt. As the creator, he takes on the same role of a god and a parent: a progenitor.
Frankenstein – My mother’s tender caresses and my father’s smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me, are my first recollections. I was their plaything and their idol, and something better—their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties toward me
Mary Shelley affords an incredibly insightful commentary on the nature of God by likening it to parenthood. When Frankenstein creates another being, he's accountable for moulding and guiding it. He has the power not only to give it life but to determine what kind of creature it will be and what kind of life it will have.
Even the monster understand this, which is why he holds blames Frankenstein above all men. Others suffer from the monster's rage and revenge, but the real target is Frankenstein. The monster blames Frankenstein for ruining him.
Monster – I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserable alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me [...] Unfeeling, heartless creator! you have endowed me with perceptions and passions and then cast me abroad an object for the scorn and horror of mankind. But on you only had I any claim for pity or redress, and from you I determine to seek that justice
Frankenstein creates a monster, and it's a reflection of himself. Mary Shelley illustrates the role of Deity, but she also illustrates the sacred duty of parenthood: the power to create and the power to destroy. Frankenstein portrays a corrupt caricature of God the Father