If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched.
Chapter 12 · The Creature
Context
The Creature reflects on the De Laceys' sadness despite their mutual affection and material comforts, trying to make sense of why they suffer when he finds them so admirable.
Analysis
The comparative logic here—'if such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I…should be wretched'—reveals the Creature reasoning from appearance to deservingness, as if beauty should guarantee happiness. He has internalized the same hierarchy that will exclude him: 'lovely' beings deserve joy, while he, 'imperfect and solitary,' deserves suffering, a belief he states as self-evident rather than questioning.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that the Creature learns prejudice by observing human society—even before anyone rejects him, he has absorbed the idea that physical imperfection justifies misery, showing how deeply appearance-based judgments shape his self-concept.