Frankenstein: Sympathy For The Villain

Before I get started, just stop and think. In majority of the books and movies that have been made, the hero always defeats the villain and everyone celebrates. With this in mind, have you ever stopped and thought about how the villain feels, what their backstory was, why they became evil? Did anyone ever show sympathy for the villain and not just the hero in a book, or a movie. In the next few paragraphs, I will be talking to you about why the reader might feel sympathetic for Dracula, who is the blood sucking villain in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Frankenstein, who is the horrid, murderer of many, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

To begin with, let’s talk about how the reader might feel sympathetic for the appalling, blood-sucking vampire,

Dracula. Dracula was originally a king named Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler before he became a vampire due to the death of his wife. Moving forwards, the Christians were at war, and Vlad the Impaler’s wife was somehow tricked by the enemy convincing her that her husband was dead. Due to this, she took her own life because she could not bear to live without her beloved husband. Furthermore, when Vlad the Impaler returned after fighting for the Christians, he found his wife lying on the ground lifeless. The priests had said that his wife would go to hell for taking her own life. For this reason, he became furious with the priests and Jesus for not taking his side, even when he was fighting for the Christians. He took out his sword, stabbed the stone crucifix in the center, and blood slowly leaked out from all around the crucifix onto the floor where his wife was lying down. He had fiercely grabbed a cup and drank the blood, which leaked out. With this intention, after that specific day, Vlad the Impaler turned into a vampire (dracula), and he needed to feed off of blood in order to survive. With this in mind, I feel sympathy for Dracula because it wasn’t his fault he faced this tragedy of his wife dying. Everyone gets furious when things don’t go as we planned, and we all have temper tantrums, and we do things we don’t intend to do. If I had suffered the same situation Dracula had, I also would be upset and I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions either. To end that, this is why I believe the reader should feel sympathetic for Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Moreover, now that we have covered why the reader might feel sympathetic for Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, let’s talk about how the reader might feel sympathetic for the abhorrent monster Frankenstein, in a well written novel.

In this novel, the hideous looking monster named Frankenstein was created by different body parts of dead humans, and brought to life by the power of electricity. Victor Frankenstein had done the impossible by bringing new life from the dead by using the power of electricity. However, the monster was lonely as he had no friends or family on planet earth. Frankenstein (the monster) decided to ask Victor Frankenstein the mad scientist, if he could make a horrific looking bride for him so he wouldn’t be lonely. Unfortunately for the monster, Victor said he would never create another monster like him ever again, especially because the monster had murdered his younger brother. In the story, the monster had tried to help a drowning child, but when the child looked at his face, she started screaming terrified. The monster was hurt, and all he wanted was someone to talk to. In the condition of Victor not creating a bride for him, the monster murdered everyone Victor knew and loved so he could feel the pain of being lonely. I can definitely understand how the monster was feeling because humans need someone to talk to. It’s hard to survive alone with no friends or family. Imagine you had just entered a new planet with no one to talk to. I would be upset and scared because I am all alone. Correspondly, this is how the monster felt, so I can understand why he murdered everyone Victor

loved.
To come to a conclusion, after reading both classic, gothic novels, I felt sympathy for both Dracula and Frankenstein. In addition, in wasn’t Dracula’s fault his wife died, and it wasn’t Frankenstein’s fault he was a dreadful monster that had been created. Furthermore, Dracula wanted justice for his wife, and Frankenstein just wanted someone to talk to. I think that when you think about the two villains, you need to put yourself in their shoes and see how it feels to have everyone against you even if it wasn’t your fault. In conclusion, I felt sympathy for both Dracula in Bram stoker’s Dracula, and Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.