Frankenstein A Hero Essay

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the main character, Victor Frankenstein, may not exactly qualify as a “hero,” but is still a fitting figure for a piece of literary advice. Thomas Foster advises to “never stand next to the hero,” well, in this case, the characters in Frankenstein should, “never stand next to the main character.” The characters in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein play a pivotal role in the life of Victor Frankenstein by shaping the person he is at a young age, giving him reasoning to be concerned with his actions, and by being the reasons he can personally grow and bring about change in himself.

It is notable in Frankenstein that the characters other than Frankenstein and his monster are not fully developed and elaborated on, this

Before the death of William, Frankenstein was very unconcerned with the actions of his creature. He feared him yes, but his days were not spent agonizing over the creature’s daily habits. Once he realizes, however that the creature he has put life into has taken the life of another, a life he loved so dearly, it spurs him into action. A death needed to occur for Frankenstein to care, and the death of innocent William was simple for Shelley to enact. Her audience was not emotionally devoted to the child, but the relationship between that child and Frankenstein was shown just enough for the audience to feel for Frankenstein and understand why he reacted the way he did. Additionally to using the deaths of characters to make Frankenstein invested, certain actions have to happen to get the story to the point Shelley wants it. Without the death of William, and Justine, Frankenstein never would have been desperate enough to agree to making a companion for the monster; “His power and threats were not omitted in my calculations...I should comply with his request” (Shelley 113). After realizing the capacity for misery this creature could create, Frankenstein is determined to do anything to stop him. Foster’s advice again shows because if William and Justine had never been acquainted with Frankenstein, had never stood next to the hero, their deaths would not have been significant to his story development and would have been