This excerpt is probably one of the best in the novel to describe the actual appearance of the creature. Victor has already gone and selected features off of dead bodies that he thinks are the most appealing to both himself and the society around him. And yet he is disgusted when he actually sees what he has put together, all of the pieces do not make any pleasant features about the monster.

“His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!—Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of his muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness, but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seems almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and straight black lips.”

The image that is now created in the mind of the reader is not a very pretty one. Because of the popularity o the movies based on this novel the preconception of how this monster usually looks is very common amongst the population. However, during a time when television was not available these descriptions serve as a way not only to view the monster but also to show the way in which Victor does not love his creation unconditionally and to set the tone for future references.

The constant repetition as words such as “dim,” “yellow,” and “ugly” that are used to describe the monster and his complexion and countenance serve not only as imagery but also as a kind of reinforcement that allows the reader to visually see the monster but also as a way to get a feel for the attitude. Everything that is going on around the two of them is unknown, dingy, and horrifying and Shelley does an excellent job of conveying these ideas.

While the majority of the imagery in this excerpt is visual, there is also the appearance of tactile imagery when Victor tells “my pulse beat so quickly and hardly that I felt the palpitation of every artery.” This imagery allows the reader to rely on their own insight of a time when they too felt this very feeling (maybe not to the same extent). It also shows again the way in which Victor reacts to his creature and sets the tone for the rest of the novel.