Greenblatt’s self-fashioning can be most directly linked to the monster’s rise in comprehension, outlook, and morality, but can also be observed in Victor’s interactions with Walton. Though both endeavors are separate in their intent, the overall effect is the same: The monster's power is derived from its interactions with humanity, which allows it to understand and draw strength from its inner inhumanity. Likewise, Victor's deathbed resolution serves to affirm how the monster's creation furthers his authority, as the sole remaining legacy of Victor's life.
The monster’s first interactions with the self are second-hand, through observation and interpretation. With this, the first few of Greenblatt’s precepts are achieved. The monster is at a stage of great transition, and has no secure self-identity to draw strength from. Additionally, the monster is left at a liminal level of separation from humanity at large, distinct from the common animal, but unable to fully experience and interact with the true human self. As such, the power derived from this fashioning is not at how the monster can access its humanity, but rather harness its inhumanity to dominate others. This is reinforced by the monster’s embrace of ‘humanistic’ texts, which attempt to dissect, impose, and empower human experience through inhuman means and viewpoints- kindred territory for the monster.
In contrast, Victor’s endeavors are, at first, a vindication of the self towards Walton, an unknowing peer. Though his life has been ruined, his love has been slain, and his own body has failed him, he does not discard his creation, nor the impact that it has upon the world. Indeed, its actions have inexorably fused the monster’s power and his own, as a being that will, both literally and figuratively, far outlast him. This is evident during Victor’s demise. In contrast towards the solitude the monster now seeks, Victor seeks to let this terrible tale persist beyond the both of them, to stand as a monument towards such follies.
The monster’s first interactions with the self are second-hand, through observation and interpretation. With this, the first few of Greenblatt’s precepts are achieved. The monster is at a stage of great transition, and has no secure self-identity to draw strength from. Additionally, the monster is left at a liminal level of separation from humanity at large, distinct from the common animal, but unable to fully experience and interact with the true human self. As such, the power derived from this fashioning is not at how the monster can access its humanity, but rather harness its inhumanity to dominate others. This is reinforced by the monster’s embrace of ‘humanistic’ texts, which attempt to dissect, impose, and empower human experience through inhuman means and viewpoints- kindred territory for the monster.
In contrast, Victor’s endeavors are, at first, a vindication of the self towards Walton, an unknowing peer. Though his life has been ruined, his love has been slain, and his own body has failed him, he does not discard his creation, nor the impact that it has upon the world. Indeed, its actions have inexorably fused the monster’s power and his own, as a being that will, both literally and figuratively, far outlast him. This is evident during Victor’s demise. In contrast towards the solitude the monster now seeks, Victor seeks to let this terrible tale persist beyond the both of them, to stand as a monument towards such follies.