In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, she portrays the monster as a depressed being. He is not wanted anywhere and is looked at as something that signifies evil and danger. Because of his grotesque exterior, people believe he is the same way on the inside; ugly. Therefore, the monster falls into a deep depression. He is alone in the world and cannot find a way to fix it. Since he cannot fix his problem, he looks to take it out on the world, in causing havoc. “All men hate the wretched…if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends (Shelley 104).” At this point, the monster has decided once and for all that Frankenstein will grant him his wish or he will cause destruction.
This depression to anger pattern falls into line with an article titled “The Angry Adolescent- A Phase or Depression?” by Michael Craig Miller. This article touches upon the idea of depression causing anger. “The origins of anger, and other feelings, vary from person to person. Anger could be a sign of depression… (Miller).” When someone is depressed, the only way for them to act out sometimes is through anger. It is not that they don’t want to be nice, but their depression isn’t allowing such actions to come easily. This idea is something that is played upon heavily in Frankenstein. Shelley shows the monster to be a depressed being, one that only acts out in anger after suffering from depression. He doesn’t want to hurt people, but his ongoing depression has led this anger to be his only option.
Miller, Michael. “The Angry Adolescent – a Phase or Depression? – Harvard Health Blog.” Harvard Health Blog RSS. 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2015. <http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-angry-adolescent-a-phase-or-depression-201209105272>.
