Frankenstein Characters
Name – Janvi Nakum
Paper – Literature of the Romantics
Roll no- 11
Enrollment no –4069206420210020
Email id – janvinakum360@gmail.com
Batch-2021-2023(M.A. Sem – 1)
Submitted to – S.B. Gardi Department of English Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Victor Frankenstein
Victor’s life story is at the heart of Frankenstein. A young Swiss boy, he grows up in Geneva reading the works of the ancient and outdated alchemists, a background that serves him ill when he attends university at Ingolstadt. There he learns about modern science and, within a few years, masters all that his professors have to teach him. He becomes fascinated with the “secret of life,” discovers it, and brings a hideous monster to life. The monster proceeds to kill Victor’s youngest brother, best friend, and wife; he also indirectly causes the deaths of two other innocents, including Victor’s father. Though torn by remorse, shame, and guilt, Victor refuses to admit to anyone the horror of what he has created, even as he sees the ramifications of his creative act spiraling out of control.
Victor changes over the course of the novel from an innocent youth fascinated by the prospects of science into a disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to destroy the fruits of his arrogant scientific endeavor. Whether as a result of his desire to attain the godlike power of creating new life or his avoidance of the public arenas in which science is usually conducted, Victor is doomed by a lack of humanness. He cuts himself off from the world and eventually commits himself entirely to an animalistic obsession with revenging himself upon the monster.
At the end of the novel, having chased his creation ever northward, Victor relates his story to Robert Walton and then dies. With its multiple narrators and, hence, multiple perspectives, the novel leaves the reader with contrasting interpretations of Victor: classic mad scientist, transgressing all boundaries without concern, or brave adventurer into unknown scientific lands, not to be held responsible for the consequences of his explorations.
The Monster
The monster is Victor Frankenstein’s creation, assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, animated by a mysterious spark. He enters life eight feet tall and enormously strong but with the mind of a new born. Abandoned by his creator and confused, he tries to integrate himself into society, only to be shunned universally. Looking in the mirror, he realizes his physical grotesqueness, an aspect of his persona that blinds society to his initially gentle, kind nature. Seeking revenge on his creator, he kills Victor’s younger brother. After Victor destroys his work on the female monster meant to ease the monster’s solitude, the monster murders Victor’s best friend and then his new wife.
While Victor feels unmitigated hatred for his creation, the monster shows that he is not a purely evil being. The monster’s eloquent narration of events (as provided by Victor) reveals his remarkable sensitivity and benevolence. He assists a group of poor peasants and saves a girl from drowning, but because of his outward appearance, he is rewarded only with beatings and disgust. Torn between vengefulness and compassion, the monster ends up lonely and tormented by remorse. Even the death of his creator-turned-would-be-destroyer offers only bittersweet relief: joy because Victor has caused him so much suffering, sadness because Victor is the only person with whom he has had any sort of relationship.
Robert Walton
Walton’s letters to his sister form a frame around the main narrative, Victor Frankenstein’s tragic story. Walton captains a North Pole–bound ship that gets trapped between sheets of ice. While waiting for the ice to thaw, he and his crew pick up Victor, weak and emaciated from his long chase after the monster. Victor recovers somewhat, tells Walton the story of his life, and then dies. Walton laments the death of a man with whom he felt a strong, meaningful friendship beginning to form.
Walton functions as the conduit through which the reader hears the story of Victor and his monster. However, he also plays a role that parallels Victor’s in many ways. Like Victor, Walton is an explorer, chasing after that “country of eternal light”—unpossessed knowledge. Victor’s influence on him is paradoxical: one moment he exhorts Walton’s almost-mutinous men to stay the path courageously, regardless of danger; the next, he serves as an abject example of the dangers of heedless scientific ambition. In his ultimate decision to terminate his treacherous pursuit, Walton serves as a foil (someone whose traits or actions contrast with, and thereby highlight, those of another character) to Victor, either not obsessive enough to risk almost-certain death or not courageous enough to allow his passion to drive him.
Elizabeth Lavenza
Elizabeth is Frankenstein’s adopted sister and his wife. She is also a mother-figure: when Frankenstein’s real mother is dying, she says that Elizabeth “must supply my place.” Elizabeth fills many roles in Frankenstein’s life, so when the Monster kills her, Frankenstein is deprived of almost every form of female companionship at once.
Some critics consider Elizabeth a vague, unrealistic character who is far less developed than the male characters in the novel. One reason Elizabeth may seem insubstantial is that Frankenstein, the narrator, doesn’t see her very clearly. When he does see her, it’s as a possession: “I looked upon Elizabeth as mine.” Elizabeth dies because at a crucial moment Frankenstein overlooks her entirely. The Monster tells him “I will be with you on your wedding night” but it doesn’t occur to Frankenstein that the Monster is threatening Elizabeth.
Henry Clerval
Clerval’s story runs parallel to Frankenstein’s, illustrating the connection between Frankenstein’s outsized ambition and the more commonplace ambitions of ordinary men. Clerval is first described as a boy who loved “enterprise, hardship and even danger, for its own sake.” Like Walton, Clerval shares Frankenstein’s desire to achieve great things at any cost.
Also like Frankenstein, Clerval makes a discovery at university. Clerval believes he has found “the means of materially assisting the progress of European colonization and trade” in India. Frankenstein suggests a parallel between Clerval’s discovery and his own creation of the Monster when he argues that colonialism is the work of ambitious men like him. Without ambition, he says, “America would have been discovered more gradually; and the empires of Mexico and Peru had not been destroyed.”
Frankenstein’s friendship with Clerval also shows the importance of companionship in the novel. Frankenstein draws strength and comfort from having a friend who shares his experiences and feelings: “Excellent friend! how sincerely you did love me, and endeavor to elevate my mind until it was on a level with your own!” Minor Characters
Minor Characters
Alphonse Frankenstein
Victor's father. A devoted husband and parent, and a well-respected public magistrate. Alphonse is a loving father to Victor, and a man who believes in family and society.
Justine Moritz
A young woman who the Frankenstein adopt at the age of 12. She is convicted of the murder of William Frankenstein on circumstantial evidence and executed. Though all the Frankenstein’s believe she is innocent, only Victor knows that the monster is the true murderer.
William Frankenstein
Victor's youngest brother, beloved by everyone. The monster strangles William in the woods outside Geneva in order to hurt Victor for abandoning him. William’s death deeply saddens Victor and burdens him with tremendous guilt about having created the monster.
Peasants
A family of peasants, including a blind old man, De Lacey; his son and daughter, Felix and Agatha: and a foreign woman named Safle. The monster learns how to speak and interact by observing them. When he reveals himself to them to them, hoping for friendship, they beat him and chase him away.
Ernest Frankenstein
Victor's younger brother by six years. He is the only Frankenstein to survive the novel.
Caroline Beaufort
Beaufort's daughter, Victor's mother, and Alphonse Frankenstein's wife. Caroline is an example of idealized womanhood: smart, kind, generous, and resourceful. Caroline dies of scarlet fever when Victor is seventeen.
Beaufort
Caroline's father and a close friend to Alphonse Frankenstein. Beaufort was a merchant who fell into poverty and moved to Lucerne with his daughter. He died soon thereafter.
Felix
The son of De Lacey and brother of Agatha. Felix falls in love with Safie and marries her in exchange for helping her father escape from prison. When the monster enters his family's cottage in Germany, Felix pelts it with rocks and chases it away.
Agatha
De Lacey's daughter. She represents an ideal of womanliness: kind, gentle, and devoted to her family.
Safie
The young Turkish "Arabian" whose beauty captivates Felix. Though raised as a Muslim, she longs for a freer and happier life with Felix, a Christian.
Margaret Saville
Robert Walton's sister and the recipient of his letters, which frame the novel.
M. Waldman
Victor's chemistry professor at Ingolstadt. He supports Victor's pursuit of "natural philosophy," especially chemistry, and becomes a mentor to Victor.
M. Krempe
Victor's professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt. A short squat conceited man, Krempe calls Victor's studies "nonsense."
Mr. Kirwin
The magistrate who accuses Victor of Henry’s murder and An Irish magistrate.
Reference
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/characters /
Frankenstein Character Analysis Lit Charts
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/frankenstein/characters
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