Similarities Between Victor And Frankenstein

Nimish Garg
Thesis: The monster should be sympathized with more than Frankenstein because he is an unprivileged character who is shunned by society.
The monster had a much worse formative “childhood” than Victor. At the beginning of its life, when the monster, similar to a newborn in naivety, awoke in a desolate location, he exclaimed, “ I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides.” This monster was simply abandoned by its creator and left to fend for itself in a harsh, painful world. But the monster yearns for someone to take care of him and says, “ where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me

with smiles and caresses.” As a result, the monster had to learn from his own mistakes such as when he “thrust [his] hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain” in order to relieve himself from the bitters of the night. The reader should sympathize with the Monster because unlike most children, namely Victor, the monster had no parents to teach and love him; therefore in order to teach himself, the monster had to go through a trial and error phase in his childhood, and in his endeavours to survive and learn, he experienced great pains both physically and emotionally. If Victor had parented the monster, the monster would have felt accepted and not gone through such devastation in his childhood. On the other hand, Victor was loved by his parents, and he says, “My mother's tender caresses and my father's smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are my first recollections ..., the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, as they fulfilled their duties towards me.” This quote refers to Victor as “an innocent and helpless creature” similar to the monster during its beginning. However, the quote also serves as a direct contrast to the monster’s situation because the monster never experienced tender caresses or smiles, and Victor never fulfilled his duties towards the monster. Not only did Victor have loving parents, he had a strong bond with his sister. Victor describes his relationship, claiming that ,” No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to me -- my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only.” The reader should sympathize with the monster more than Victor because Victor had so many caring friends and a future ahead of him, which is something the monster wanted, but never given the chance to achieve. Ultimately though, against his family’s wishes, Victor forced himself onto the wrong path of life, and he wrongfully did not pass down any of the knowledge and love given by his family to his creation.

Although they both tried to take vengeance, by the end, the monster acknowledged and repented for his mistakes, but Victor still refused to acknowledge his mistakes of seeking glory and vengeance. The monster tells Walton that, “it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless”. Even though the monster has been unjustly treated and could claim to be seeking justice, he does not defend himself and admits his wrongdoings in a candid manner. Not only does he realize and admit his mistake, the monster does his best to repent. While talking to Victor’s dead body, he grieves “ what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst.” Because the monster was so broken, he decides that since he is “Polluted by crimes and torn by the bitterest remorse, where can I find rest but in death?” In a way, a reader can interpret this quote as portraying the monster’s repentance through an act of suicide. However, Victor stays static in his views throughout the novel. Till his last breath, Victor tries to take vengeance as he “must pursue and destroy the being to whom I gave existence; then my lot on earth will be fulfilled and I may die." This quote is especially ironic and makes Victor odious to many readers because fathers are meant to nurture and raise children, not to destroy them. Victor wants to destroy something which he abandoned and did not give a second chance to. In addition, Victor still does not believe that it is bad to seek glory at any cost. In fact, Victor goads the sailors to complete their mission, saying,” Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock... Return as heroes who have fought and conquered and who know not what it is to turn their backs on the foe" even though continuing the journey could cost their lives. He follows his previous tenets and does not learn that seeking glory at any cost is perilous, and his ambition was what led him to this situation.

The monster is an innately desirous of doing good and gaining approval from others, while Victor is innately narcissistic with ambitions that override any potential interest or concern he might have for those who love him and whom he ostensibly loves. Even though all humans run away from the monster, he wants to help Felix, a who is a complete stranger to the monster. He says that “ I thought (foolish wretch!) that it might be in my power to restore happiness to these deserving people.” It is truly laudable that this Monster, who was still at an early age of childhood, wants to help another human even though nobody has ever shown any kindness to the monster. The only possible way to explain the monster’s behavior is that he is innately nice. However, in return for his kindness, the monster is attacked by Felix, but the monster is so resilient and kind that even after being heavily betrayed by someone he considered to be his “friend”, he takes control of his emotions and saves a young girl as “[he rushed from my hiding-place and with extreme labour, from the force of the current, saved her and dragged her to shore.” All these actions are coming from a monster who was never even taught the difference between right and wrong. However, Victor always placed himself over others. Even though Victor realizes that Justine is innocent, his first instinct is to protect himself as he says, “ My tale is not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon with madness.”. Besides his reputation, Victor had nothing to lose, but because of his selfishness and recklessness, Victor causes the death of Justine. In addition, when the Monster tells Victor, that he will be with him on his wedding night, Victor immediately exclaims, “"Villain! Before you sign my death-warrant, be sure that you are yourself safe." Victor is so narcissistic that he does not notice that the monster has been attacking his family and friends, such as his “dearest Henry” and Clerval. To the reader, it is obvious that the monster will attack Elizabeth, but Victor places himself over even his fiance/sister, believing that the monster will kill him, and he does not even protect Elizabeth.

The monster became monstrous because his main desire, to have his basic needs met by society was impossible since society scorned him, while Victor became a monster he simply abandoned his responsibilities.

The monster simply wanted protection from loneliness and told De Lacey, “ Save and protect me! You and your family are the friends whom I seek.” However, the monster was accosted. Even though the monster was king enough to help another girl after being attacked by Felix, the monster was shot. Therefore, he declares “ as a recompense I now writed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone… I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.” The reader clearly has to sympathize with the monster because he only turns evil after society berates him to an extensive degree; the monster was treated as some kind of animal. However, even though Victor was surrounded by such a loving family and friends, he did not inherit their personalities and fulfill his long term obligations. In order to complete his creation, Victor had not written to his family for years. He even knew it would cause them pain, claiming, “I knew well therefore what would be my father's feelings, but I could not tear my thoughts from my employment”. All Victor wanted was glory and for “A new species [to] bless [him] as its creator and source.” He did not even write to his family once, who were constantly loving and wishing Victor well. But, when his monster was created, he simply abandoned it, declaring, “Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber.” He did not communicate with his family for several years for fame and glory, and just because his creation was not as beautiful as he expected, he simply left it out to rot. He abandoned a living, feeling, and potentially dangerous monster just because he did not like it. Because of his narcissism, he was reckless, and he hurt his own

creation, the monster, who hurt many others because of the monster’s feelings of neglect and loneliness.