1 Undisputed masterpiece Frankenstein by Mary Shelley frankenstein characters analysis

2 Frankenstein characters analysis

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

The life story of Victor Frankenstein is the center of the novel Frankenstein. He is a young boy who grows up in Geneva. He always read ancient works and outdated alchemists. This background of knowledge does not serve him at all at the University of Ingolstadt. In Ingolstadt university, he studies modern natural science and soon becomes a leading figure in his field. He learns the “secret of life,” and with it, he creates a huge Monster.The Monster kills his brother, best friend, and newly wedded wife. The Monster also indirectly kills two other people: Justin Moritz and Victor’s father. Victor was highly ashamed of his act of creating the Monster; however, he does not tell anyone about the horror he has created even when it is getting out of control.Over the course of the novel, Victor changes from an innocent youth into a disillusioned man by the fascinations he gets from the prospects of science. He becomes the tormented man resolute to abolish the result of his arrogant scientific efforts. It is not clear what exactly made Frankenstein conduct this kind of act; either he wants to attain the God-like power to create a new life or his remoteness from the public life in which he conducted his scientific experiments.However, his act doomed him forever as it lacks humanness. He alienates himself from the world and eventually binds himself completely to the obsession of taking revenge from the Monster.At the end of the novel, Victor, after chasing the Monster, is trapped at sea and is rescued by Walton’s ship. Frankenstein narrates his story to Walton and then dies. As the novel has multiple narratives from multiple perspectives, the readers have a contrasting interpretation of the character of Victor. Some view him as a classic mad scientist who crosses all the boundaries without any concern of consequences, while some brave adventurer into a mysterious land and does not hold him responsible for the consequences of his actions.THE MONSTERIt is the mad scientific creation of Victor Frankenstein. Victor creates him from the old body and parts and chemicals. When he is born, he is eight feet tall and immensely strong; however, he has a mind of a newborn. Victor abandoned him for his horrifying looks. He is highly confused and tries to assimilate into the society of humans, but society also rejected him. When he looks into the mirror, he realizes his ugliness that prevents society from looking deep into his inner goodness.To seek revenge from his creator, he kills the younger brother of Victor Frankenstein. Moreover, when Victor diminishes his creation of the female counterpart of the Monster at his request, he also kills Victor’s best friend and his newly wedded wife.Though the Monster shows pure hatred for Victor, he is not evil and wicked by nature. When Victor provides the Monsters’ narration of the experiences, it is revealed that he is highly kind and sensitive to human actions. He helps the poor peasants and saves a drowning girl. However, the people beat him for his looks. He is doomed between compassion and hatred and ends lonely and grief-stricken in his life. Even when Victor dies, he has a mixed feeling of joy and sorrow. He is happy because Victor is the source of his suffering and grief because he is the only one who has some association with.ROBERT WALTONHe is the main narrator of the story. He narrates the story through letters to his sister. He is the captain of the ship bound to the North Pole. The ship is entrapped between the ices. When they are waiting for the ice to melt, he and his crew members rescue Victor, entrapped in the braking ice, while chasing the Monster for revenge. When Victor recovers from his illness, he tells his account of his life to Walton and then soon dies. Walton’s meaningful and strong friendship with Victor is about to form that he dies, and he laments over his death.The job of the Walton is of a channel through which the story of Victor and his Monster is narrated to the readers. His role is somewhat parallel to Victor Frankenstein. Walton, like Frankenstein, is adventurer and explorer; he is chasing after the “country of eternal light.” The influence of Victor of Walton is ironic.Before he meets Victor, his ship is in control, moving smoothly without any danger; however, afterward, he becomes a miserable object of the dangers of a reckless scientific drive. However, he immediately turns down his treacherous pursuit and serves as a foil to Victor. ELIZABETH LAVENZAShe is the adopted sister of Victor Frankenstein. She turns into his best friend, confidant, lover, and, ultimately, his wife. In the novel, she is the mother figure. When the mother of Frankenstein is dying, she wishes for Elizabeth to replace her place.In the life of Frankenstein, Elizabeth plays a significant role. When the Monster kills her, he deprived Victor of his beloved and the only female companion he has. For some critics, Elizabeth is unrealistic and obscure who is not as developed as the male characters of the novel. The character of Elizabeth is also obscure because the narrator, Frankenstein, is not able to see her clearly. Whenever he sees her, he considers her as his procession.At a crucial moment in their life, Frankenstein overlooks her, and ultimately she dies. Though the Monster warns him that he will be with him on his wedding night, he is reluctant to realize that the Monster is threatening Elizabeth’s life.HENRY CLERVALClerval is the best of Victor Frankenstein. The story of Clerval is placed parallel to the story of Frankenstein in the novel. It illustrates the comparison between the outsized ambitions of Victor and the ordinary ambitions of Clerval, an ordinary man.Initially, Clerval is portrayed as a boy who adored hardships, enterprise, and even danger. Clerval, like Walton, also shares the desire of Victor to achieve great things in his life. He also made a discovery at his university.At this discovery, he claims to find the “means of materially assisting the progress of European colonization and trade” in other countries. Victor makes a comparison between his own findings and creation of the monster and the discovery of Clerval. With the comparison, he asserts that it is because of ambitious men like Clerval that give rise to colonialism. The friendship between Frankenstein and Clerval also illustrates the significance of friendship and companionship. Being a friend with Clerval, Frankenstein feels strengthened and comfortable and shares his feelings with him. Frankenstein says these words for Clerval: “Excellent friend! how sincerely you did love me, and endeavor to elevate my mind until it was on a level with your own!”ALPHONSE FRANKENSTEINHe is the father of Victor and is a very sympathetic man. He consoles Frankenstein when he suffers from pains and motivates him to realize the importance of family.WILLIAM FRANKENSTEINHe is the youngest brother of Frankenstein. He is dear to everyone in the family. He is killed by the Monster in the woods outside Geneva to seek revenge from Frankenstein for creating him and then abandoning him. The death of William makes Frankenstein very guilty for creating the Monster.JUSTINE MORITZShe is the young girl adopted by the Frankenstein family like other children. She is wrongly accused of murdering William and is imprisoned and then executed.CAROLINE BEAUFORT She is the mother of Frankenstein and the daughter of Beaufort. When her father dies, she is taken by Alphonse Frankenstein and then marries her. When Frankenstein leaves for the University of Ingolstadt at the age of seventeen, she dies of scarlet fever. BEAUFORTHe is the merchant and father of Caroline Beaufort. He is also a friend of Victor’s father.PEASANTSIt is the family of peasants that also include a blind man. The Monster learns to read and speak by observing them. They beat the Monster when he reveals himself to them, thinking that they might help him.WALDMANHe is a professor of chemistry at the University of Ingolstadt. He ignites Victor’s interest in science. He dismisses the knowledge of alchemy that Victor has and makes Victor read the science that will enable him to search for “big questions.”KREMPEHe is a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Ingolstadt. He also dismisses the study of Victor of alchemy and calls it a waste of time. He encourages Victor to study something new.MR. KIRWINHe is the magistrate at the shore who wrongly accuses Frankenstein of murdering his friend Henry Clerval.THEMES IN FRANKENSTEINTREACHEROUS KNOWLEDGEThe central theme of the novel Frankenstein is the pursuit of knowledge. The protagonist of the novel, Frankenstein, tries to rush to the knowledge to know the secret of life that is beyond the limits of humans. Similarly, Robert Walton also tries to go beyond the exploitations of humans by struggling to reach the North Pole. This merciless hunt for light, of knowledge, proves to be dangerous.For instance, with his high knowledge of science, Victor creates a monster that kills his dear ones; likewise, Walton entraps himself between the sheets of ice. Though both of them were obsessive to explore new things, the obsession of Victor to avenge the monster overwhelms, and he eventually dies; whereas, Walton soon realizes, and he withdraws his obsession for the treacherous mission.SUBLIME NATUREThe late 18th century and early 19th-century movement of Romanticism embraced the sublime natural world as a source of unlimited emotive experience. It also offers the feasibility of the spiritual renewal of the characters. Victor goes to the mountains to elevate his spirits after being caught up in depression and guilt after the death of Justine and William.Similarly, when the Monster encounters the cold of winter and abandonment, his heart lightens when the spring arrives. Throughout the novel, the influence of nature on the moods of characters is very evident.However, the power of the natural world to console him vanishes when he realizes that he cannot get rid of the monster no matter wherever he goes. Moreover, at the end of the novel, Victor hunts the Monster and natural functions only as the representative setting for his primitive tussle against the Monster.MISCREATION AND MONSTROSITYThe theme of miscreation and monstrosity is another central theme of the novel Frankenstein. Victor, using his knowledge of natural science, creates an eight feet tall monster with a horrifying appearance. Victor abandoned his creation and so as a society.However, his monstrous behavior does not result from his strength and looks, but his miscreation in an unnatural way. Victor creates him from mixing the stolen body parts and chemicals. He is not a product of science, but supernatural workings.The Monster is the only apparent entity of all the monstrous entities in Frankenstein. These include the monstrous knowledge of Victor that he used to create the Monster.The readers can also say that the way Victor is selfish, secretive, and ambitious, he himself ⁴is a monster who is alienated from his society. Man on the outside, “monster” from inside. He is consumed by the “monstrous” obsession to avenge the Monster and eventually die.For most of the critics, the novel itself is monstrous as it is the combination of the multiple texts, voices, and tenses.SECRECYFor Victor, science is a mystery that must be investigated; once the secrets of science are discovered, it must be resentfully protected. When he meets the natural philosopher M. Krempe, he considers his model scientist who is “an uncouth man, but deeply imbued in the secrets of his science.” The entire life of Victor Frankenstein after creating the monster is masked in secrecy; likewise, his animalistic obsession with avenging the monsters is also secretive until he narrates his story to Walton. As Victor does not reveal his creation because of the guilt and shame, the monster is also living a forceful life of isolation because of his horrifying appearance. Both of them confess their secrets to Walton, and Walton immortalizes their tragic experiences in the letters to his sister. Victor confesses before him that he has destroyed his life; similarly, the Monster takes benefit from the presence of Walton, someone who will understand him and sympathize with him.FAMILY, SOCIETY, ISOLATIONIn the preface of the novel, Shelly claims the novel to be a pleasing representation of “domestic affection.” In the novel, full of tragedy, murder, and despair, this claim seems to be strange and weird. In fact, in the novel, all these murders, despair, and tragedy occur because of the lack of association with both family and society. In other words, the real evil in the novel is neither the Monster nor Frankenstein; it is the alienation and isolation. Victor isolates himself from his family and society in the pursuit of knowledge; therefore, he does not realize his responsibilities towards the society and the consequences of his actions.Similarly, the evil nature of the Monster is nor by birth but by his abandonment by society. He is filled with anger and hate and wants to isolate Victor the way he is isolated. Therefore, isolation from society and family is the worst fate that a person can have and is the root cause of evilness in the world.DETERMINATION AND FAILUREIn the novel Frankenstein, the characters of Walton and Victor illustrate the deep determinations of humans, as well as their flawed nature. Through scientific achievement, Victor and Walton try to change society; however, it is their ambition that marks their failure.They become blind with their ambitions and cannot realize the consequences of their actions. Victor creates the Monster and tries to attain God-like power.However, he fails to fulfill his responsibility as a creator, thus highlighting his failure. He thinks to be like a god; however, he ends up being the father of a devil. Walton soon realizes the danger of his determination and prevents himself and his crew from dying; however, he does not give up on his ambition in a positive mood but says that his glory is robbed. This suggests that all people who try to seek ambitions above anything, they are nothing but “unfashioned creatures” who have faulty and weak natures. REVENGE When Victor creates the Monster, he has horrible looks but is innocent and has an open heart. When he receives the mistreatment from his creator Victor and from society, he becomes angry and vengeful. This behavior of the Monster is understandable as he gets hurt by the unfair treatment and rejection and wants to hurt them back. When Felix attacks the monster and escapes with the peasants, he says that his heart is now filled with the feeling of hatred and revenge, and “I bent my mind towards injury and death.” The monster wants to isolate Victor from society as he is isolated. For him, revenge is more dear to him than food and light.In the novel, revenge is not also consumed by the monster, but also by the protagonist of the novel, Victor Frankenstein. When the monster murders his brother, friend, and wife, he vows revenge against the monster. The desire for revenge turns both the Monster and human into true monsters that lack any feeling and emotions.PREJUDICE Prejudice is one of humankind’s everlasting and destructive flaws. Almost for every character, the Monster is dangerous and destructive because of its horrible outward appearance. However, nobody knows the inner reality of the monster, which is warm and kind hearted. Despite his efforts to help the people and peasants, the Monster finds himself beaten up and rejected by the villagers. He becomes convinced that humans, by nature, are barbaric and brutal. The only character in the novel who befriends the Monster is De lacy, a blind man. This suggests that humans are blinded by their own prejudice and barbaric LOST INNOCENCE The novel Frankenstein is the illustration of the loss of youthful innocence. The most apparent case is Victor, the protagonist of the novel. Victor is a highly ambitious man and wants to change the world with his creation. He wants to explore the mysterious powers and gain knowledge of the hidden mysteries of creation.However, he lost his innocence in the course of gaining this knowledge. Victor creates the Monster that shows him the inherent corruption and wickedness of him and his own species. In return, the barbaric nature of Victor also destroys the innocence of the Monster.The loss of innocence by both Victor and the monster leads to the death of William, Justine, Clerval, and Elizabeth. These four characters in the novel are portrayed as kind, innocent, and gentle. Through this, Shelley highlights the fact that innocence is never static; humans lose innocence at some stage of life. However, some lose it early while some late.⁵