Victor Frankenstein Character Analysis

Frankenstein removes himself from friends, family and society in order to absolve himself from responsibility of morals. Through efforts to maintain control and an acute fascination, Frankenstein alienates himself at an early age in the name of science. Victor is not entirely ignorant of the dangers of his self-satisfying obsession as he first regrettably reflects, “I was, to a great degree, self-taught with regard to my favorite studies. My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child’s blindness, added to a student’s thirst for knowledge” (Shelley 28). Rather than recognizing that his isolation is self-induced, Victor blames his alienation on his father’s ignorance. By controlling his relationships, he gains greater confidence in his own abilities, instead of relying on others’ companionship. Notably, evidence for Victor’s disregard toward “domestic affection” is reintroduced as he remarks, “I must absent myself from all I loved while thus employed. Once commenced, it would quickly be achieved, and I might be restored to my family in peace and happiness” (Shelley 138). With selfishness at the core, Victor controls his chaos by distancing himself temporarily, so that he might reunite with his family at a later date. He is being inundated by the common belief that glorious scientific achievement comes at the cost of moral and ethical sacrifice. Victor justifies his self-alienation by means of the creature; however readers

Character Analysis: Give your ideas about the main characters(s). Include what you like and dislike about the characters and why they deserve praise or criticism. Does the author intend for you to like/dislike them? How do you know?

Victor Frankenstein finds himself exploring the world of science where “it was the secret of heaven and earth… the outward substance of things or the inner spirits of nature and the mysterious soul of man” that attracted him (Shelley 18). Victor thirst for knowledge comes from his study of chemistry with a zeal for the antiquated world of alchemy. It was the alchemy books that convinces him to go beyond what the normal human limits can do, that is, the answer to life. Through the books he thrives on learning about natural science and looked upon the alchemists works and “took their word for all that they averred, and became their disciple” (Shelley 25). His readings direct him toward the study of forbidden knowledge which ultimately set him up for failure as he became addicted to create life to the point where he robbed graveyards for limbs and committing many unholy acts to create his monster. His unchecked ambition proves to have devastating consequences as his irresponsibility causes the death of those he loves most and he himself falls under the ascendancy of his own

Friends will determine the direction and quality of your life. Loneliness is a battle that all people will once face at a certain point in their life; it is how they handle it that determines the outcome of that battle. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein loneliness is the most significant and prevailing theme throughout the entire novel. Shelley takes her readers on a wild journey that shows how loneliness can end in tragedy.

    In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley combines three separate stories involving three different characters--Walton, Victor, and Frankenstein's monster. Though the reader is hearing the stories through Walton's perspective, Walton strives for accuracy in relating the details, as he says, "I have resolved every night,...to record, as nearly as possible in his [Victor's] own words, what he has related during the day" (Shelley 37). Shelley's shift in point of view allows for direct comparison and contrast between the characters, as the reader hears their stories through the use of first person. As the reader compares the monster's circumstances to those of Victor and Walton, the reader's

In Mary Shelley’s 1831 novel, Frankenstein, there are several smaller characters that help to move the plot forward. Perhaps the most influential character to Victor Frankenstein’s life is Elizabeth Lavenza, his doomed fiancé. By the end of the novel, her character serves as the final tool for Victor Frankenstein to be able to understand his creature.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor neglects his family as he buries himself into his research to create life. Victor’s raw ambition stems from a hubristic desire for omnipotence raging with a thirst for the elixir of life without any consideration of consequences. By choosing to throw himself into the wildest realms of science, Victor forfeits his limited time with his family, a time of immeasurable value. This in essence proves advancement’s paradoxical ungratifying nature; in Victor’s attempt to uncover the secrets of life, he strains family relationships, something of much greater value than the pittance of knowledge he acquired. Similarly, in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the Mariner shoots the albatross associating the bird with a lack of wind. Neglecting to appreciate and love all life around him, the mariner’s decision to whimsically kill the albatross demonstrates his overreaching his role as a human ideally loves all living beings. Such audacity bears great misfortune and death, punishing not only himself, but his entire crew who suffer horrible deaths; the nature of overreaching and stretching the limits of knowledge exacts unexpected

carried on throughout the story and can be seen in the point of the De

Victor had an obligation to care for his creation, but chooses at first glance of his construction to abscond from its presence. The comparison of Victor as God-like highlights Enlightenment philosophers who have gone beyond the limits of humanity in order to attain knowledge. Victor is characterized then as a savant manipulating nature. The Creature acts as a balance for philosophers to stop and reflect upon their own enterprise and determine the fine line between acceptable and unacceptable knowledge as it pertains to nature. To this end, Shelley enforces that humanity must pay due respect to the limits placed in front of them by avoiding the Enlightenment philosophy that man is to find a definite definition for every phenomenon he encounters.

The word “knowledge” was recurring many times throughout Frankenstein novel and attracted or forced the reader to find out the true definition of it. Curiously, I decided to look up the definition of knowledge from the Webster 's Dictionary. It defines, “Knowledge: n. Understanding gained by actual experience; range of information; clear perception of truth; something learned and kept in the mind.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) I realized this word is very straightforward, but has many useful and different meanings to all of us. It is also powerful tool to determine and control the result of our judgment. “Knowledge consists in recognizing the difference between good and bad decisions”. (Knowledge Intellectual

Fictionally, the greatest-written villains in history possess attributes that give them cause for their behavior, with the most universal and essential of these core traits being a deep, personal backstory behind their acts. For instance, in classic stories like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Monster presents thorough reason to its Creator in terms of why it has turned to wickedness. The Monster does not kill purely for the sake of being evil, its actions are resulted from its desire to be loved by man, yet failing at every attempt to achieve it. Motivation behind monstrous acts is necessary in works of fiction because non-fictionally, people labeled as monsters by society possesses motivation behind their actions as well, whether it be

A family is the most important and fundamental processes of development in childhood. There are many examples of works that deal with family. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the reader sees how neglection from a family setting can invoke horrible events. In The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing, presents how Isolation and dislike can and will lead to unfortunate events. In Macbeth by Shakespeare, shows the betrayal of a family and how it affects the mind by playing with it in several different ways. Before a person can see effects of isolations, neglection, and betrayal of a family he/she must “climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Ambition is the foundation of success, it drives people to strive for something better, gives them the dedication to improve themselves and their circumstances. Mary Shelley’s character Victor Frankenstein in “Frankenstein” started off as a very ambitious kid yearning for knowledge. However, the line between ambition, obsession, and pride is oftentimes blurred as Victor’s was. Once ambition turns into obsession and pride, it can be a downwards spiral that leads to misfortune and isolation.

   In the novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, the characters have been portrayed effectively. Much of the interactions between characters, and characteristics of the characters have been based on events which have occurred in Shelley's own life, or they represent what she believes is important. For example, Victor is portrayed as having a strong passion for science, and a poor understanding of relationships. Elizabeth is shown as a stereotypical woman of the time, who is also very powerless. The monster is depicted as being both beautiful and ugly, and someone who the reader feels sympathetic towards. Through the portrayal of her characters, Shelley has created a very effective

Explore the ways Mary Shelley presents the character of the monster in Frankenstein We are prepared for the arrival of the monster in many different ways, before he is created we know the monster is going to be a repulsive figure of a human being, but the reader is still intrigued into reading further, and because of Shelley's descriptive language we already feel disgust towards victors creation, and in doing so, we our-selves become just as callous as those people in the book that neglect Frankenstein's monster. Also because the monster was created by Victor using parts dug up from graves and morgues, and we associate graveyards with horror and death, there is immediately something sinister about the monster and to a