Frankenstein Blined Eye

Frankenstein Blined Eye

The human eye provides the ability to see. However, this does not include the power of discernment, rather, it often blinds such shrewdness. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the various perspectives the monster receives show the prejudice the eye create.
The actual encounter between the monster and the cottager perfectly depicts this bias (158). De Lacey’s blind yet profound and warm welcome contrasts Felix’s superficial and cruel reception of the monster. Blindness does affect De Lacey’s visibility but it does not weaken his perspicacity, instead it strengthens his perception. Generally, the loss of sight is supplanted by stronger insight through listening and reasoning. Physical appearance, in this case, is neglected but inner beauty and personality are focused here. Thus, blindness in a way makes perception more thorough and clearer, and so the monster to De Lacey is a “sincere” human creature (159). On the other hand, the naked eye shortens the range of visibility of Felix. This range is narrowed down to be superficial and materialistic. Many stereotypes are prevalent in this scope, which include ethnicity, race, sex, and deformity, which only the naked eye can see or rather blind by them. Thus, when Felix sees the monster; he judges him based on his savage race and his abnormality instead of monster’s generous human qualities. The eye therefore deceives other senses that are essential in determining a thorough vision. By showing opposite views of the monster through two different types of perception (one with the naked eye, the other without), Shelley alludes the danger and the partiality of the eye.

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