Amy Shivers
Professor Meehan
English Literature and Composition
October 5, 2009
The Creature as Adam and Satan
There are many biblical references in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. At many points throughout the novel, we find the creature comparing himself both to Adam and to Satan. But which is he more like? I would say that he has similarities to both of these biblical characters due to the way he was created, his loneliness, and his ostracism.
In Genesis, God assembles a creature and then breathes life into it. This is not too different from how the creature in the novel came into existence. “…for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body” (Shelly 60).
In Paradise lost, Adam asks God to create him a companion. After reading this, the creature wants one as well.
“I endeavoured to crush these fears, and to fortify myself for the trial which in months I resolved to undergo; and sometimes I allowed my thoughts, unchecked by reason, to ramble in the fields of Paradise, and dared to fancy amiable and lovely creatures sympathising with my feelings, and cheering my gloom; their angelic countenances breathed smiles of consolation. But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows, nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adams supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me; and, in the bitterness of my heart, I cursed him” (Shelley 118).
In this passage, the creature is expressing his desire for a companion. He compares himself to Adam and Victor to god, his creator. He doesn’t understand why his creator has abandoned him.
“But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history. It moved every feeling of wonder and awe that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own. Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature, but I was wretched, helpless, and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (Shelley 116).
The creature is saying that like Adam, he is also very lonely. But although there were no other creatures like Adam at the time, his creator loved and protected him. He refers to himself as Satan because he was ostracized by his creator just like the fallen angel.
“Be calm! I entreat you to hear me before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful than thyself; my height is superior to thine, my joints more supple. But I will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous” (Shelley 93-94).
He is saying that he wishes to live. The creature says that he is more powerful than Victor but he does not wish to hurt him. He merely wants to be treated as Victor’s Adam, but instead he is treated as Satan. Like the “fallen angel” he was once a good creature. But his isolation caused him pain and sadness. This made him into a “monster”. If Victor were to show him some compassion, the creature would no longer be a miserable monster.
Ultimately, these passages show the creature’s relationship to biblical characters. They show that because of the way that he was created and the fact that there were no other creatures like him, he was very much like Adam. They also show that due to the fact that his creator showed him no affection and the way that he became “a fiend”, that he is also very much like Satan.
