In ordinary circumstances this would not seem so absurd a question. The fact that
the Creature lacks a national identity, however, throws into relief how deeply embedded
are national prejudices even among the enlightened. We have already witnessed in the
French reaction to Safie's father (II:6:3) and in his abuse of Felix's kindness (II:6:12)
how mean-spiritedness is served by national identity. Part of Volney's aim in Les
Ruines is to eradicate such defining ideological concepts. That the Creature is thus
born without them indicates his superiority and, ironically, is a further example
of how he does not fit into normative human society.