In Mary Shelley's Franeknstein,
Felix's sweetheart, Safie (the "Arabian") arrives to stay with the DeLaceys due to the
tragic misadventure of her family. She does not have a command of the language, and so
Agatha teaches Safie, unknowingly teaching the creature as well. Not only does Agatha
teach the other woman about speaking the language, but also about letters for reading
(and writing). As the lessons continue, the creature learns more and
more.
However, the creature's understanding of the world
comes from Felix who reads Volney's Ruins of Empires. Through
Felix's careful explanations, the creature learns about, among other things, the
governments and religions of the empires of the past, including the Asiatics, the
Greeks, the Romans (and their decline), as well as the concept of "chivalry,
Christianity and kings."
I heard of the discovery of the American
hemisphere and wept with Safie over the hapless fate of its
original inhabitants.
As
Felix reads on, the creature learns about humanity:
These wonderful narrations inspired me with
strange feelings. Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent,
yet so vicious and base?...For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go
forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I
heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased, and I turned away with disgust
and loathing.
The very
knowledge that so inspires the creature as he learns from the DeLaceys, and again with
Safie during her lessons, soon gives way to a clearer insight of the world
beyond the walls of the cottage. Whereas the creature had
originally seen mankind as wonderful and superior, he now sees its true face, and is
horrified, ironically, much the same way that humans are horrified not by his
actions, but simply by his appearance. One begins to
question: who is the true monster in the novel, an idea that will continue until its
conclusion.
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