While reading Frankenstein I noticed that the word “wretch” was used repeatedly to describe either the monster or Frankenstein. Wretch can either mean “a deplorably unfortunate or unhappy person” or “a person of despicable or base character” (dictionary.com). I think the first definition is seen more as to take pity on, while the second seems more degrading. Wretch is used twenty-five times throughout the novel as well as other forms of the word such as “wretchedness,” “wretched,” and “wretchedly.”
Throughout the novel, the monster is given no name which gives him no sense of self or identity in the world he is created into. Frankenstein first calls his creation “wretch” after he is horrified and disguised by what his experiment has created (47). I think Frankenstein uses the “wretch” more as the second definition of the word. Frankenstein sees his creation as a monster because of the murders he has done, saying that nothing could “be so hideous as that wretch” he created (48). Once the monster begins his tale to Frankenstein, the monster, who has gained knowledge and eloquent speech, can only describe himself as a wretch. When the monster first leaves Frankenstein’s apartment, he calls himself “a poor, helpless, miserable wretch” (920. Here, he uses the word more as the first definition because he feels alone and unable to distinguish anything since Frankenstein has left him on his own.
Once Frankenstein has created the monster, he starts calling himself a wretch because he is so horrified by his creation. Foreshadowing the deadly consequences that come about due to his actions, Frankenstein realizes that he is “destined to become the most wretched of human beings” (65). Walton first describes Frankenstein “in so wretched a condition” which is when Frankenstein is still pursuing the monster (15). I think both Frankenstein and Walton use the word more as the first definition, to describe Frankenstein’s misfortune and unhappiness rather than degrading him.