Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein begins at the end of the actual story and the whole book proves to be a retrospective of past events. As the main character Dr. Frankenstein recalls the tradgedy that has befallen him he harps unendingly on his horror at the events that have transpired. This would be expected of any person who had had close friends and family murdered, but most striking in Frankenstein's particular circumstance is a staunch denial of his responsibility. As he struggles to come to terms with the hellish life he leads, he fails to realize some, if not all, of the blame rests with him himself. In this mindset he is never able to progress or move beyond his initial mistake. Shelley uses Frankenstein's inner torture to demonstrate that feelings of true guilt, which is to say contriteness, require taking a responsibility so that one may ultimately achieve peace of mind.
             While Frankenstein often refers to his guilt, he is actually referring only to simple regret and fails to take any responsibility, which compounds his problems throughout the book. This denial of culpability is shown by Frankenstein never telling anyone about his creation. As Shelly writes, "[the monster] might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night..."(Shelley 43) Frankenstein was quite right to interpret the outstretched hand as detaining him; this monster will dominate the rest of his life and he will be forever bonded to and defined by his creation. Upon realizing this, he quite literally, runs away from his problem, hoping that it will not find him crouching alone in the darkness. Frankenstein will continue this pattern of behavior throughout the book despite its obvious futility.
             Frankenstein's denial, not only of culpability, but that the monster e...