Science vs. Humanities

It is indubitable that Dr. Frankenstein holds his scientific efforts in high regard. It is also likely that he snubs many of the humanities – as oftentimes scientists do – by considering them beneath him. The differences between creator and monster are increasingly highlighted as the latter recounts his development. The nameless creature considers the humanities, specifically language, extremely important. He goes so far as to call “the science of words or letters” (98) a “godlike science” (100). Given the extremely scientific lean of Shelley's novel and the traditional rift between the two communities, for the monster to connect the two in such a fashion speaks to his distinction from his creator and, in a more significant way, as a point of caution; while the more “traditional” science of the creature’s creation is shown to have flaws, languages also are dangerous in the effects on people – something the monster learns when words are used to snub him and make him become the “monster” everyone sees him as. In many ways, it is the “godlike science” that forces society to get the negative impression of the traditional kind that the book portrays.