Lady Macbeth and Frankenstein's creature both act violently and experience mental and emotional disturbances. Lady Macbeth becomes mentally unstable after murdering the king, while Frankenstein's creature acts violently after abandonment and living in isolation.Continue Reading
The two characters are inverse examples of violence. Lady Macbeth shows the result of violence and Frankenstein's creature shows the cause of violence. Lady Macbeth's emotional difficulties are a result of horror at or fear of her own actions, while Frankenstein's creature is distraught and becomes cruel because of Frankenstein's rejection. Lady Macbeth demonstrates that extreme pain can result from avarice and evil action, while Frankenstein's creature demonstrates that emotional pain can impair the victim's capacity for ethical action.
Both characters provide very different character studies of crisis in solitude. Frankenstein's creature returns to society as a threat only after living alone against his will in a desolate, frozen mountain range. Although members of her household surround Lady Macbeth, and even though she shares her murderous intentions with her husband, she performs the actual violence alone and continues to see blood on her hands long after washing them. Thoughts of her own guilt lead Lady Macbeth to speak as if alone while among her suspicious and hostile peers. She disregards the company around her and refers to the murder in cryptic, self-condemning language.Learn more about Classics