An Exploration of Victor Frankenstein’s Character

A great deal of insight into a character can be gained by examining their primary character traits. Victor Frankenstein has three primary characteristics that shape his overall personality: he is passionate, determined, and devoted. Victor’s passion stems primarily from his desire to create a perfect human being, free from disease and invulnerable to death. He wishes to have a strong purpose in his life. He wishes to be remembered for succeeding at something great. On page 23 of Frankenstein, he states: “Wealth was an

A final way to gain valuable insight into a character is to examine the changes that they undergo throughout a novel. At first, Victor is a stable vibrant young man with a bright future. He is intelligent and knows where he is going and what his life’s purpose is. He sets himself on a course for success at Ingolstadt and is very devoted to his purpose. However, he begins to deteriorate both physically and mentally while he is creating his perfect human being. He shuts everything else out and devotes all of his time to his experiments. He becomes frail, ill, and his mental stability begins to fade, but he is determined to continue. He states on page 41: “Sometimes I grew alarmed at the wreck I perceived I had become; the energy of my purpose alone sustained me…” Once he has created the creature, his life begins to fall apart as he begins loosing everyone around him. He is no longer a stable passionate young man. He is now an ill, exhausted person on the verge of insanity. He tries to repress his emotions by not dealing with his problems, but all in vain since the creature finds and confronts him. He tries to undo his wrongs himself by not revealing his secrets to others. He makes himself believe that he is a failure, when in fact he did accomplish what he set out to achieve. The story ends with Victor recounting all the events of his life. He has a moment of clarity where he realizes all of his ills and mistakes and in a way redeems himself. He dies peacefully, having confronted, if not directly, the problems and afflictions of his life. He is able to achieve closure.

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