Human Autonomy

In chapter 12 it talks about how the monster, who’s place of refuge was “constructed of wood, but so low, that I could with difficulty sit upright in it.”(pg. 83) He observes his neighbors through a crack in the wall. While observing them for a while he notices that they seem often unhappy and is unsure why. He soon realizes that their despair is a result of their poverty which he had been contributing to by stealing there food. Torn by his guilty conscience, he stops stealing there food and gathers wood at night and leaves it by their home to reduces there hardship.  He also observes them for quite a while and even learns how to speak their language.
    This reflects the Enlightenment idea of Human Autonomy in which people "humans develop (become “mature”) through the use of their reason." People can seek knowledge and use their own reason in order to think for themselves, such as the monster did when he met these people. He first stole there food and noticed that this gave them grief and annoyance so he stopped and even tried to help them by supplying them with wood.