"I am malicious because I am miserable; am I not shunned and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me to pieces, and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me?...Shall I respect man, when he contemns me? Let him live with me in the interchange of kindness, and, instead of injury, I would bestow every benefit upon him with tears of gratitude and acceptance. But that cannot be; the human senses are insurmountable barriers to our union. Yet mine shall not be the submission of abject slavery. I will revenge my injuries: if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear ….If any being felt emotions of benevolence towards me, I should return them an hundred and an hundred fold; for that one creature's sake, I would make peace with the whole kind! But I now indulge in dreams of bliss that cannot be realized."

The monster in Mary Shelley's novel is explaining to his creator, Victor Frankenstein, why he's just so mad at people.

The monster that the scientist Frankenstein has created is rebelling. After all, he's been treated like crap by everyone: they're mean to him because he's so weird looking, and they just can't stand the poor guy. And all he wants is to be loved. Yes, he's ugly. Yes, he's awkward. But he has a good heart, and it's been hurt again and again.

He's had enough, and he's saying to you-know-what with everyone: "mine shall not be the submission of abject slavery." He will "revenge his injuries." They really want a monster? He'll become one. He'll "cause fear." The monster's words reflect that favorite of Romantic themes: rebellion. He sure won't take it lying down.

Romanticism is usually associated with poetry, since the most famous Romantic writers were poets. Frankenstein, of course, is a novel. Novels allow us to create and connect with characters in a way that most poetry doesn't. So the novel form works well for the story that Mary Shelley is telling because it allows her to overcome our biases: she makes us sympathize with and connect with this horrible-looking creature…who, in the end, may or may not be a real monster.