Mr. Boggan
Literature 10 P4
7 December, 2016
Character Analysis: Victor Frankenstein
Victor is the main character of this book, Frankenstein. He is from Geneva, and he is the son of Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort. He has an adopted sister Elizabeth Lavenza, who eventually becomes his future wife. His brother is William Frankenstein, and his best friend is Henry Clerval. Since young, he was mostly self-educated. As he gets older, he is fascinated by modern science; he goes to the University of Ingolstadt and desires to learn new knowledge so that he can create a “human”, which ends up becoming a creature.
Victor Frankenstein not only could be considered as the protagonist of the story but also the tragic hero because he has tragic flaws that led to his downfall. Firstly, he is alienated from the society. When he was in university, he spent most of his time on his studies. He did not make friends nor write letters or contact his family; he had “chosen” to isolate himself. However, after he constructed his creation, he was “forced” to separate himself from the society because he had to destroy the creature for revenge of his family and friend. The author Mary Shelly had written, If for one instant I had thought what might be the hellish intention of my fiendish adversary, I would rather have banished myself forever from my native country and wandered a friendless outcast over the earth than have consented to this miserable marriage. But, as if possessed of magic powers, the monster had blinded me to his real intentions; and when I thought that I had prepared only my own death, I hastened that of a far dearer victim. (292) “Friendless outcast” in the quote has hinted that Victor has been isolated from the society, which describes his miserable and melancholy life. Secondly, he is too prideful. He had believed that if he brings life, he will be honored and be respected; however, the creature had brought nothing but death. Victor had lost his brother, wife, friend, and a servant. Not only did his hubris destroyed the people he loved, but also Victor himself. Lastly, his stubbornness led him to the downfall. Victor had only saw the “positive side” of his creation and not the negative side; thus, after he brought the creature into existence, he regretted and did not take any responsibility …show more content…
In the beginning of the story, Victor was just an innocent and naive boy. Mary Shelly has expressed, "While my companion contemplated with a serious and satisfied spirit the magnificent appearances of things, I delighted in investigating their causes. The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember" (35); this reveal that Victor is getting interested in science. As he gets older, he searches for miracles of the world and becomes obsessed in discovering the secret of giving life. in the end of the story, he becomes mad. "I had resolved in my own mind that to create another like the fiend I had first made would be an act of the basest and most atrocious selfishness, and I banished from my mind every thought that could lead to a different conclusion” (Shelley 259) shows that his actions were culpable, especially when he does not take responsibility for what he have