How does Mary Shelley present De Lacey?

STRUCTURE
Mary Shelley presents the De Lacey as unprejudiced and benign through the use of characterisation.

• The Old Man says he is "blind" and will not be able to see the monster's "countenance". 
• The adjective "blind" suggests the Old Man can not see and is therefore unable to judge the monster by his "hideous" looks. Therefore, the Old Man may not be considered as judgemental by the audience like William Frankenstein who let out a "shrill scream" when he saw the monster. Shelley may be suggesting that the poor were not prejudice and may be attempting to remove the derogatory image the destitute often held. Mary Shelley was an advocate for equal rights between men and women and would have known how poorer men did not have the vote which would have stopped women from gaining political equality. Wollstonecraft's influence on Shelley's ideas of what a modern audience would call: feminism was grand as she adopted a great deal of her mother's views on equality between the two genders and thus may have channelled her views through the kind and gentle nature of the poor man. 
• Moreover, Felix De Lacey "kissed the hand of" Safie's who is described as a "Turk". The welcoming nature Felix evinces too, shows how he is unprejudiced and gentle which presents the De Lacey's as benevolent and unprejudiced despite being "deprived" from their "fortune". Thus the audience, like Shelley, would understand that the poor people of society were filled with kindness which opposes the contemporary view that the poor were poor as a result of their faults. 

FORM

Mary Shelley presents the De Lacey as powerful through the use of the Chinese-box form.

• De Lacey is spoken of by the monster who's narrative follows from Victor's which follows from Walton. 
• Thus, one might suggest the monster is at the heart of the novel and stabilises it. Moreover, one might suggest the Monster's narrative is synonymous to Pandora's box which Victor opens. The turmoil and horror unleashed could be the great truth of the monster's narrative. Thus, the audience may feel as though they need to reflect upon the bias of Victor's story and the monster offers an alternative side. 
• The monster mentions the De Lacey family which makes them apart of the backbone of the novel. 
• Shelley may have caused the monster to mention De Lacey and his family as  they were "deprived" from their "fortune" due to the long "trial" meaning they were poor. Their poorness may reflect the events of the French Revolution (1789 – 1799). Shelley may be addressing the 'people power' creating by ordinary working class families in France and their power to rid of the monarch. The De Lacey family influences the monster as they have "made me what I am". 

STRUCTURE

Shelley presents De Lacey as symbolic of hope through the use of juxtaposition. 

De Lacey is from "a good family in France" which opposes the monster's "solitary" state. 

• The juxtaposition may cause the audience to feel a sense of hope and sympathy for the monster as the contrast of having companions and being lonely is made clear and allows the audience to compare his situation to other humans and Victor Frankenstein amplifies his loneliness. Victor Frankenstein also came from a "distinguished" family. 
• The De Lacey family may be allusive of Shelley's support received from her friends: Lord Byron, Clair Clairmont and Percy Bysshe Shelley in Geneva. Her lack of parental support, for her mother died and father would not accept Percy Shelley as her love is synonymous to the lack of parental support the monster receives  from Victor Frankenstein. 
• Thus, from Shelley experience, she may want the audience to feel as she did: hopeful that the abandoned monster will find decent companions. Thus, the juxtaposition shows that there is a wide range of possibilities and solutions to the monster's peril as suggested through the De Lacey's background which gives the audience and characters a good outlook to the monster's life and perhaps a sense of empathy for him, as Shelley's fame would have lead to great controversial views as to why she went abroad with her friends.

LANGUAGE

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