# Who is the real monster in Frankenstein?

> Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

## Answer

The novel refuses a single answer, and that refusal is the point. The creature murders; Victor abandons, lies, and lets Justine die. Village prejudice judges a face; Victor’s science judges a triumph. Shelley keeps both accountable: monstrosity is an action and a refusal of care, not a birthmark.

A useful reading treats “monster” as a role people assign when they will not recognize a claim — for companionship, for justice, for responsibility. Point students to Justine’s trial, the creature’s request for a companion, and Walton’s choice to turn back. The question is a doorway into creation-and-abandonment and appearance, not a vote.

## Evidence

- [chapter-viii](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-viii.md): Justine’s condemnation shows Victor’s silence as a public harm.
- [chapter-x](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-x.md): The creature confronts Victor and demands recognition.
- [chapter-xvii](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-xvii.md): The request for a companion — and Victor’s later destruction of that hope.

## Links

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