Novel. The Monster made his first appearance in the 1818 novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. He is described as having wrinkled skin which barely hid the blood vessels, black lips, black hair, and yellow eyes.

The fable of the alchemically-created homunculus may have been central in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818). Professor Radu Florescu suggests that Johann Konrad Dippel, an alchemist born in Castle Frankenstein, might have been the inspiration for Victor Frankenstein.

The only thing relevant in these chapters to how the homunculus was created is this: it notes that blood was taken from Hohenheim to create the homunculus. The notion that they have blood relation is repeated later in chapter 75, but this is the main thing we ever get as to the origin of the Dwarf in the Flask.

The monster is Victor Frankenstein’s creation, assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, animated by a mysterious spark. He enters life eight feet tall and enormously strong but with the mind of a newborn.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster explains that he killed William after the boy’s rejection of him and frames Justine because he seeks to inflict destruction on a world which only brings him suffering.

Immediately after killing William, the creation is filled with a sense of joy and power. He realizes for the first time that he, too, has power. He has the power to inflict pain and misery on man, specifically Victor.

The story of Adam’s creation made the monster question the whereabouts of his creator and wonder if his creator abandoned him like God cast down Satan. The monster, based on what he had read, believed that just as God created Adam, so had Frankenstein created him; in that sense he was similar to Adam.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, perhaps the most notable of all the many themes of this supernatural tale is man acting like God. It is Victor’s hubris that eventually destroys the lives of almost everyone he cares for and consequently leads to Victor’s death. Victor, like God, has created life where there was none.

Victor’s anger towards the monster seems to be a vent of his own anger towards himself as he realises the time he has wasted, the relationships he has missed out on and his family’s tragedies. He blames the creature for his obsession with success.