Nature vs. Nurture

"Thanks to the lessons of Felix and the sanguinary laws of man, I had learned how to work mischief."  (Frankenstein p. 103)

One thing that has stuck throughout this book is that not one character blames himself for anything.  Granted, a lot of things are not in the character's control, but still, you would think someone would own up to their mistakes.  Not even Victor blames himself at the end of the novel because he says, "During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blameable" (161).  Sooo, building a creature who is a murderer... no big deal...

This quote is another example of the theme nature vs. nurture.  In the scene, the creature places the necklace from William's neck in Justine's pocket to frame her for the murder.  This is no accident; the creature fully realizes that she will suffer for the crime.  But, oh no, this is not the poor creature's fault because he was good by nature.  Felix was the one who taught him evil/clever things.  The creature's lonesome upbringing caused him to do evil things, not his nature.

 In my opinion, the creature does these evil acts out of bitterness towards the world.  Yes, everyone rejects him because of his appearance, but many people experience this because they are different from society.  Not all people who are rejected by the world become mastermind serial killers.  If everyone who was ever rejected became a murderer, we would all be dead.