Shrivelled Complexion Quote by Mary Shelley
““His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!--Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 1818
The passage describes a creature whose physical beauty masks a grotesque, unsettling inner reality, highlighting the tension between appearance and underlying horror.
In simple terms: Beauty hides horror.
Key Takeaway
Look beyond appearances.
Themes
appearance
duality
monster
beauty
horror
Mood
uneasy
reflective
Type
literary
descriptive
When to use this quote
- art critique
- ethical debates
- psychology
- medical anatomy
Key Concepts
Aesthetics
humanity
otherness
Questions to Reflect On
- What does true beauty mean?
- How do we judge based on looks?
A Different Perspective
The creature’s allure may be deceptive, leading to misjudgment.
