Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He was born in Naples and led a very troubling life after the death of his mother. As he delved deeper and deeper into his studies, his mental state began to deteriorate and he became a recluse. His clear obsession then engaged him into the creation of a monster who soon became the culprit of many murders. Thus arguing that the crimes committed by the creation are not a result of Victor's negligence but rather out of the Creation's lack of ability to control his revengeful nature and therefore Victor's innocence on accountability for the Creation's crimes.
From the start, the home of the Frankenstein's was filled with protection, and love. From the time Victor Frankenstein was born his parents, Caroline and Alphonse. They both felt, "their child, the innocent and helpless creature to bring up to good, and whose future was in their hands". Only love could bring a child "up to the good,to the Heavens" and his parents did everything in their power to make sure that happened further revealing their love to Victor. Additionally, Caroline showed love for people as a
Throughout the book, Victor shows signs of mental problems and obsession because of the death of his mother, his departure to Ingolstadt, and his seclusion. Before his mother's death, Victor views the study of science as a "possessed attraction" for himself. After Caroline's death, Victor views science as the true route to knowledge and found it as a supernatural addiction. His studies at Ingolstadt lead Victor toward a goal of finding himself, which has him yearning to find the secret of how the body transitions from "life to death, and death to life”. This year is turning into an obsession on con...
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...eation had everything plotted out and exactly how he was successfully going to get his revenge on his creator Victor. Conclusively when the creation believed to have fulfilled his task, he mocked his creator with the grin he gave him upon the death of Elizabeth, showing the creation's cold heart. With that one can take and realize the higher level of intellect the creation had knowing exactly what he was doing directly hurt affected his creator. Victor can not be accountable for his Creation's actions. The acts committed by the Creation was out of choice, not by his lack of knowledge. The Creation was able to decipher between what was right and wrong without a doubt. Therefore, Victor shouldn’t be excused from any and all accountability on behalf of the Creation's terrible crimes, due to his lack of capacity to control his behavior resulting from his mental illness.
When Victor Frankenstein breaks his promise to the monster, it threatens him by saying that he’ll return on Victors wedding. Victor assumes that it’s his life that’s being threatened but the night of the marriage, Victor finds his Elizabeth. “She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and… running with the swiftness of lightning, plunged into the lake.” (Chapter 23) This quote conveys that the monster didn’t feel bad for killing Victor’s bride, he believed that it was a justified murder because he was repaying the heartache that he felt for his lost mate. This act of cruelty helped develop the monsters sense of right and wrong. The monster was born innocent but after being treated so cruelly for so long, his moral compass was corrupted. He felt as if it was his right to do this to this to Victor.
In Frankenstein, everyone treats Victor’s creation like a monster, including Frankenstein himself. This leads to the creation accepting that title and going on a murder spree. His creation says “When I reflect on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation” (69). Victor’s creation shows that he did not ask to be created, and his existence is miserable.
When a crime is committed, the blame is usually placed on the criminal. This is because a crime cannot take place without a criminal. However, a lawbreaker generally has reasons for his misdeed. For a crime to occur, a criminal must have incentive. Consequently, the causes of a wrongdoer’s motivation are also responsible for the offence. In addition, crimes can be avoided if the proper precautionary measures are taken. Therefore, anyone who could have stopped a crime from happening is partially accountable for it. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature created by Victor Frankenstein kills several of Victor’s loved ones. These murders could be blamed on the creature, but he is not solely responsible for them. The root cause of the murders is Victor’s secrecy. His concealment causes his obsession, a lack of preventative measures against the creature, and his fear of appearing to be mad.
Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that follow the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being. This is obviously something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and finding out what he is doing. At the end of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor says:
because of the way he is just abandoned by Victor and the way in which
All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course, the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein. Victor’s life starts with great potential. He comes from a decently wealthy family whose lack of love towards each other never existed. He is given everything he needs for a great future, and his academics seem to be convalescing.
...as made of different people, so he had different personalities, and therefore could not be expected to act as a normal person. Upon his creation, he was left not receiving the protection and guidance he desperately needed. His feelings were the same as any other humans: grief, and distress, anger. But, instead of calmly diffusing his anger, he chose to destroy that which made his “enemy” happy. There was never a good reason to bring the dead to life, despite all of Victor’s claims. Because of his arrogance, and lack of a functioning human heart, he disregarded everyone’s opinions and advice and sought to do what was right for himself and not even attempting to protect his family, regardless of how he claimed he did. His incompetence cost his entire family’s life, but fortunately, saved that of Walton and his crew mates. So, at least, he did one good.
The creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein is a man full of knowledge and has a strong passion for science. He pushes the boundary of science and creates a monster. Knowledge can be a threat when used for evil purposes. Though Victor did not intend for the being to be evil, society’s judgement on the monster greatly affects him. As a result he develops hatred for his creator as well as all man-kind. Victor’s anguish for the loss of his family facilitates his plan for revenge to the monster whom is the murderer. While traveling on Robert Walton’s ship he and Victor continue their pursuit of the monster. As Victor’s death nears he says, “…or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, swear to me Walton, that he shall not escape, that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death…Yet, when I am dead if he should appear, if the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live-swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes and survive to add to the list of his dark crimes” (pg.199). Victor grieves the death of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth and his father. Throughout the novel he experiences the five stages of grief, denial/ isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Victor denies ...
Although there are many people who think that Victor Frankenstein was a person who conducted justice since the beginning of the story, in reality, Victor was one of the characters that mainly contributed to an injustice. Many people were punished that they did not commited. For example, Victor’s selfishness causes an innocent women, Justine, to die. Justine was accused of killing someone when in reality, the monster killed him. This was an act of selfiness that Victor made in order for him not be get trouble with his father. Over all, not only does Justine get affected by Victor’s injustice, many other people did as well. However, this proves that Victor was injustice since the beginning of
His ugly features made it hard for people to see him as anything more than a creature. This fueled his outrage and motivated him to destroy all who posed a threat. This shows that the creature was at fault, since he chose to act like this. Although Victor set him up for failure, the creature had the ability to turn the failure into success. With a family, bad or good, the creature would have responded the same way. He allowed other people to influence his decisons and later motivate him to destroy all who were acquianted with his creator,
he brings his creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however,
Victor definitely sees the Creature as a “demoniacal corpse” (Shelley, 59), and after the death of each person whom the monster kills, he reflects on how it is truly his fault for the outcome. However, what he fails to recognize is the negative consequences of testing the boundaries of science, and sees himself as innocent because he feels that the things he did had to have been done by someone, even if it had not been him. He calls the state in which he was in a “nervous fever” (Shelley, 79) and even “a fit of enthusiastic madness” (Shelley 219), but he does not acknowledge that he allowed that state to take control of him, and even elected to have the whole scenario take place. He even excuses people’s perception of the Crature as a monster by saying that “the different accidents of life are no so changeable as the feelings of human nature” (Shelley, 58) Although it is true that he does wish that he had not created the Creature, and therefore he is not innocent for the murders that occurred by will of the Creature, he deeply convinces himself that the creation was not his intention, and that the excitement of science essentially forced him to do it. He knows he is not wholly innocent in the entirety of what happens, but by holding on to the thought that he was
As a romantic novel Victor is responsible, because he abandoned his creation. As an archetype novel, Victor is the villain, because he was trying to play god. Finally, Victor as a Gothic novel, Victor is at fault, because, he and the creature are two different parts of the same person. If Frankenstein is looked at as a romantic novel, Victor, not the creature, is truly the villain. When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. The creature was miserable, and just wanted a friend or someone to talk to. On page 115, the creature said, "Hateful day when I received life! Accursed the creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust." This line shows the agony the monster was in, because of how he looked when he was created which led to even Victor running away from him. If Victor didn't run, he could have taught the monster and made his life happy. After the creature scared the cottagers away he said, "I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter ...
At a certain point, Victor says, "another species would favor me as its maker and source; numerous cheerful and brilliant natures would owe their being to me. I may in procedure of time (in spite of the fact that I now thought that it was outlandish) restore life where demise had clearly dedicated the body to defilement." This quote demonstrates knowledge into Victor's inspiration: he needs to make
In the film Victor starts off as a positive, smart and determine young man. Always hungry for knowledge as shown by the dialogue of "you were so hungry for knowledge, such a serious. Little boy" as said by Victors mother. It shows that Victor truly was hungry for knowledge and that he is willing to drive science to the limits. By catching fire flies and putting them into a jar in order to keep gaining the knowledge stored in writing. It shows Victors true passion for Knowledge and how he wants to make a difference in the world. But not knowing how his intelligence would bring him into a world of trouble and heart break. Kenneth Branagh portrays victor as a negative character as he is essentially “trying to play God” by recreating life Victor’s arrogance takes over shadowing the true effects of his creation, willing to risk anything and everything to reach his goal an example of this could be in the start of the film where Captain Walton’s ship collides with the iceberg, and his ship mate asks him “At the cost of how many more lives” and he replies arrogantly “as many as it takes”. These two pieces of dialogue show that the arrogance of one man can affect many good men around him. By becoming more secretive and obsessed with the creation Victor ...