That idea pushes both characters past the point of no return. Gray, believing in his own immortality, tests the strength of magic in art. The results are disastrous. Gray's actions warp his soul, the image in the painting, and society's image of him. Gray's fear after seeing the painting again reflects the artist's desire not to exhibit it: "the reason why [he] will not exhibit the painting is that [he is] afraid of [having] shown in it the secret of [his] ] own soul" (Wilde 9). This fear is rightly taken for granted, for as the painting corrupts itself to mirror Gray's actions, it further resembles the twisted and monstrous nature of his soul. Victor Frankenstein's creature similarly reflects Frankenstein's soul and his sins for others to see. The hatred we feel towards the creature also reflects the disgust we feel in the face of sin and corruption. These signs both show Frankenstein's desire to become a god and his inability to fully fulfill that desire. He isolates himself and cuts himself off from all human contact, resulting in a loss of emotion and an obsession with creating life. Frankenstein continues to dabble in an art reserved for God, thus corrupting his soul. The result is the hideous, disfigured and monstrous creation. Like the painting, the creature resembles Frankenstein's real soul and