As the story of the creature’s nurturing progresses, he describes the moment when he becomes known to his first human family, those living in the cottage. Some of the family fled, some fainted, and the male family member “struck [the creature] violently with a stick” (110). Shelley’s diction during this brutal scene portrays the intense cruelty and abuse the creature receives from other human beings. Shelley deliberately chooses the word fled, making sure that the reader gets the full sense of how terrified these humans were of the creature. Additionally, the statement that some fainted, simply by looking at him, allows the reader to understand how fearful this family truly is. This devastating situation reinforces the creature’s awareness of his lack of nurturing