Characters (Frankenstein)

This section explores the key characters in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a richly complex novel with a variety of characters that serve to explore themes such as ambition, creation, responsibility, and isolation. The characters are essential in portraying the novel’s moral and philosophical questions about the consequences of unchecked scientific ambition and the nature of humanity. Below is an analysis of the key characters in the novel.

Victor Frankenstein

Role in the Novel:

Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist and the tragic hero of the novel. He is a young, ambitious scientist who becomes obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge and power, culminating in his creation of life from inanimate matter. His reckless ambition and refusal to take responsibility for his creation are central to the novel's plot and moral lesson.

Key Characteristics:

Ambitious and Hubristic: Victor's ambition leads him to defy natural laws in an attempt to "play God." His desire for glory and intellectual triumph blinds him to the potential consequences of his actions.

Guilt-ridden and Regretful: After creating the Creature, Victor is consumed by guilt and horror, leading to physical and mental deterioration. His refusal to confess his actions to others exacerbates his torment.

Isolationist: Victor isolates himself from family and friends, both in his quest to create life and in his later quest to destroy the Creature. His isolation mirrors that of his creation and reflects the consequences of excessive ambition.

Key Quotes:

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge."

"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body."

Thematic Function:

Victor embodies the dangers of unchecked ambition and the consequences of trying to transcend human limitations. His tragic flaw is his inability to foresee the repercussions of his actions, a cautionary tale about the dangers of playing God. His downfall highlights the novel's moral concern with responsibility and the ethical use of science.

The Creature (Frankenstein’s Monster)

Role in the Novel:

The Creature, often mistakenly referred to as "Frankenstein," is the product of Victor’s scientific experiment. Though born as an innocent being, he becomes vengeful and violent after repeated rejection and isolation. His development from a well-meaning creature to a malicious figure raises questions about nature versus nurture and what it means to be human.

Key Characteristics:

Innocent Yet Outcast: Initially, the Creature has no ill intentions and desires companionship and love. However, due to his hideous appearance, he is shunned by society and even his creator.

Intelligent and Articulate: Despite his monstrous appearance, the Creature possesses intelligence, self-awareness, and an eloquent command of language. He reads works such as Paradise Lost and understands complex moral ideas.

Vengeful: The Creature’s experiences of cruelty and rejection lead him to seek revenge on Victor. His transformation from victim to villain illustrates how societal rejection and isolation can corrupt an individual.

Key Quotes:

"I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend."

"I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel."

Thematic Function:

The Creature represents both the consequences of Victor’s hubris and the novel’s broader commentary on the nature of monstrosity. He is often seen as a victim of society’s superficial judgement, as his monstrosity is defined more by his treatment by others than by his inherent qualities. His character also raises ethical questions about creation and responsibility—whether Victor had a duty to care for the life he brought into the world.

Robert Walton

Role in the Novel:

Robert Walton serves as the frame narrator of Frankenstein. His letters to his sister, Margaret Saville, open and close the novel, and it is through Walton that Victor’s story is told. Walton is an Arctic explorer, whose ambition mirrors that of Victor, and he forms a crucial parallel to Frankenstein.

Key Characteristics:

Ambitious and Idealistic: Like Victor, Walton is driven by a desire for glory and discovery. His quest to reach the North Pole shows a similar passion for transcending human limitations.

Sympathetic and Reflective: Unlike Victor, Walton learns from the cautionary tale of Frankenstein’s life. He heeds Victor’s warning about unchecked ambition and ultimately turns back from his dangerous Arctic expedition.

Lonely: Walton’s isolation at the start of the novel parallels the isolation experienced by both Victor and the Creature. His longing for friendship and companionship emphasises the theme of human connection.

Key Quotes:

"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been."

"I bitterly feel the want of a friend."

Thematic Function:

Walton serves as a reflection of Victor’s ambition but also provides a foil to Frankenstein’s tragic end. His decision to abandon his mission contrasts with Victor’s refusal to recognise the limits of human endeavour. Walton’s narrative structure also frames the story, providing an additional layer of perspective and shaping how readers view Victor’s tale.

Elizabeth Lavenza

Role in the Novel:

Elizabeth is Victor’s adopted cousin and later fiancée. She is portrayed as the idealised woman—beautiful, gentle, and passive. Elizabeth represents domesticity, love, and the opposite of Victor’s world of science and ambition.

Key Characteristics:

Loving and Supportive: Elizabeth is devoted to Victor, even though he often isolates himself from her. She represents the moral centre of the novel, embodying kindness and family values.

Passive and Vulnerable: Elizabeth’s character is largely defined by her passivity. She is often portrayed as a victim—her murder on her wedding night is the Creature’s ultimate act of revenge on Victor.

Idealised: Shelley paints Elizabeth as the quintessential ‘angel in the house’, a Victorian ideal of womanhood, often lacking complexity beyond her role as Victor’s moral compass and eventual sacrifice.

Key Quotes:

"I have a pretty present for my Victor—tomorrow he shall have it."

"You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being."

Thematic Function:

Elizabeth represents the domestic sphere that Victor continually neglects in favour of his scientific pursuits. Her death serves as the culmination of Victor’s failures—his inability to protect those he loves from the consequences of his reckless ambition. Through Elizabeth, Shelley comments on the vulnerability of women in a male-dominated society.

Henry Clerval

Role in the Novel:

Henry Clerval is Victor’s best friend, a foil to Victor’s character. Where Victor is obsessed with science and ambition, Henry embodies the ideals of compassion, humanism, and a love of nature. He serves as a reminder of the life Victor could have led had he not pursued his dangerous ambitions.

Key Characteristics:

Kind and Compassionate: Henry is a loyal and caring friend to Victor. His positive outlook and love of nature contrast sharply with Victor’s morbid fascination with death and reanimation.

Romantic and Idealistic: Henry’s passions lie in literature, poetry, and the arts, aligning him with Romantic ideals. His love for beauty and nature offers a counterbalance to Victor’s cold rationality.

Victim: Despite his virtuous character, Henry ultimately becomes a victim of Victor’s actions, murdered by the Creature as part of his revenge against Victor.

Key Quotes:

"He was a being formed in the 'very poetry of nature.'"

"I could pass my life here, and among these mountains I should scarcely regret Switzerland and the Rhine."

Thematic Function:

Henry’s death represents the loss of innocence and the destructive consequences of Victor’s unchecked ambition. His character provides a contrast to Victor, showing what a life focused on beauty and human connection could have been like. Henry’s tragic fate reinforces the theme of responsibility, as his death is a direct consequence of Victor’s choices.

Alphonse Frankenstein

Role in the Novel:

Alphonse Frankenstein is Victor’s father, representing traditional values of duty, honour, and family. He is a loving but somewhat distant figure, offering moral guidance to Victor throughout his life.

Key Characteristics:

Supportive and Loving: Alphonse is a caring father, supportive of Victor’s education and career, but ultimately unaware of the extent of his son’s torment.

Traditional: Alphonse represents the stability and values of family and social duty, often contrasting with Victor’s isolated pursuit of scientific achievement.

Thematic Function:

Alphonse serves as a reminder of the importance of family and societal bonds. His character reinforces the novel’s theme of responsibility, showing that Victor’s rejection of his family in favour of scientific pursuit contributes to his downfall.

To Summarise

The characters in Frankenstein are essential for exploring the novel’s central themes of ambition, responsibility, isolation, and the consequences of creation. Victor Frankenstein and the Creature are particularly significant as they represent two sides of the same coin—creator and creation, both doomed by their respective actions. Characters like Elizabeth, Clerval, and Walton provide contrasting values, emphasising the moral and ethical concerns central to Shelley’s work.