The Power Of Mind Versus The Power Of Appearance In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein The so-called monster in Frankenstein demonstrates, through his own problems with understanding and being understood by the world, the importance and power of language on the one hand and of outward appearance on the other. As this essay will show, the novel shows these two factors to have very different functions indeed. First, let us look at the function of appearance as the monster perceives it. From the first time he views himself in a pool of water, he knows t ....