This important allusion that the monster makes about himself
comes in Chapter Fifteen, as he describes to Victor Frankenstein precisely how he came to learn
speech and to read and learn about his own situation. As he reads various texts, he identifies
himself with various characters in them. Key to this process is his reading of Paradise
Lost by John Milton. As a result of this he identifies himself as Adam at first, but
then feels that identifying himself as Satan is more appropriate for his position. Note what he
says:
Many times I
considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition. For often, like him, when I viewed the
bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within
me.
The comparison is clear. The
creature, by his physical appearance, is naturally excluded and isolated from the feelings of
love and companionship that the humans he watches are able to enjoy. Like Satan, therefore, he
has been created with the ability to feel those emotions and to desire them, but his appearance
and character makes enjoying and experiencing those emotions himself impossible. Thus he is
envious as he witnessess the felicity of the De Lacey family.
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