I beheld a countenance of angelic beauty and expression. Her hair of a shining raven black, and curiously braided; her eyes were dark, but gentle, although animated; her features of a regular proportion, and her complexion wondrously fair, each cheek tinged with a lovely pink.
Chapter 13 · The Creature
Context
The Creature describes Safie, the woman who has just arrived at the cottage, as Felix unveils her face for the first time.
Analysis
The catalogue of conventional beauty markers—'angelic,' 'raven black,' 'regular proportion,' 'wondrously fair'—reads like a checklist from romance novels, and the Creature dutifully ticks every box. His description is so saturated with clichéd praise that it reveals more about his limited cultural references (he is learning beauty standards from books) than about Safie herself. The piling-on of adjectives also shows how desperately he wants to participate in human admiration, mimicking the language of desire even as he is excluded from it.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that the Creature has internalized the same shallow standards of beauty that condemn him—he describes Safie in purely visual, idealized terms, which shows he has learned to value appearance over substance, the very prejudice that makes his own life unbearable.