Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me.
Chapter 15 · The Creature
Context
Continuing his meditation on Paradise Lost, the Creature shifts from comparing himself to Adam and instead identifies more strongly with Satan. Watching the De Lacey family's happiness from outside triggers feelings of envy.
Analysis
The phrase 'fitter emblem' treats his identity as a literary problem requiring the right symbol, showing how thoroughly books have shaped his self-understanding. The physiological metaphor 'bitter gall of envy rose within me' makes emotion a bodily fluid, something that wells up involuntarily when he witnesses others' happiness—it is a visceral, uncontrollable response, not a reasoned choice. This turns envy into a symptom of his condition, not a moral failure.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that the Creature's violence is less a choice than an inevitable response to exclusion—by comparing himself to Satan, he is not embracing evil but recognizing that his structural position (cast out, envious, watching joy he cannot share) will produce satanic outcomes.