Character Traits Of Victor Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein is one of the main characters from Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. As the novel progresses, he becomes more alike to his creation, a monster created with dead body parts put together and somehow brought to life. Victor Frankenstein seems to be the protagonist of the novel and his creature the antagonist, but as the novel develops his creature seems more like a mirror of Frankenstein. Still, they have their differences that give them their genuine personality.

Victor Frankenstein has many traits that make him contrast from how his creature is. One of them is that he is family-oriented, he cares about his family and keeps them in his mind throughout his life. This attribute is mostly mentioned in the first chapters when

When he is created he goes out to the world and finds so much beauty in it, but when he tries to interact with humans he learns that he is not as loved as others are. He constantly asks himself and his creator “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance.” (Shelley, 119). And for this reason, he finds himself alone in the world. He wants Frankenstein to create another monster to live with, to have someone who would like him and not reject him by his looks. The monster comes across Victor and tells him “I demand a creature of another sex, but as hideous as myself; the gratification is small, but it is all I can receive, and it shall content me.” (Shelley, 135). With this, the creature can be seen as caring in some way for others since he also promises to leave Europe after having his

When each character is introduced at first, they present a thirst for knowledge when they are self-taught. Victor demonstrates it when he talks about all the books he reads on the topics he finds interest in. He says “I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself.” (Shelley, 25). The monster reflects this desire to learn when he is not able to understand the cottagers, and he decides to learn the language so that he would be able to introduce himself, he says “I cannot describe the delight I felt when I learned the ideas appropriated to each of these sounds and was able to pronounce them.” (Shelley, 100). Another feature they have in common is that they gave life to each other at different moments of the novel. First, there is Frankenstein giving life to his creature, this is understood when he says “I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.” (Shelley, 43). And then the creature gives life to Victor, his creator in a different way. Victor is left alone since the monster had killed many of his loved ones, and instead of committing suicide, he decides to stay alive only to do something he should have done when he first gave life to his creature, kill him. He says “But revenge kept