ipl-logo

Character Development In Frankenstein

470 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Frankenstein literary analysis

Throughout Chapters 17–20 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor and his creation experience character development. Victor’s character develops a sense of responsibility while trying to fulfill the creature’s enjoined request. Chapters 6–10 also showed slight development in Victor’s character, but nothing as significant as this. The creature's request is for Victor to create a female creation in order to vanquish the creature’s solitude. Victor acts selfishly in this situation and ultimately decides to protect his family, agreeing to satisfy the creature. “I consent to your demand, on your solemn oath to quit Europe for ever, and every other place in the neighbourhood of man, as soon as I shall deliver into your hands a female who will accompany you in your exile” …show more content…

“Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations?” (Chapter 20). Victor’s selfishness had become of such magnitude that he did not even understand that he was putting mankind under threat of destruction. Over the last four chapters, Victor has grown as a character in a positive direction. He stopped his selfishness and did what was right for future generations, no matter what punishments he would have to face from the creature. If readers thought that Victor was the monster after hearing the creature’s story then they would now think of him being a naive human who tried to do good for his family. On the other hand, the creature has lost his patience and reason. In Chapter 17, the creature acted with reason and gave purpose to his request: “I intended to reason. This passion is detrimental to me, for you do not reflect that you are the cause of its excess.” The creature responds to Victor’s initial refusal of the request with calmness and explains why Victor should do such a thing for him. This greatly differs after Victor destroys his progress in creating a female

Show More
Related
960 Words | 4 Pages

After the creature is finished explaining its story to Victor, there is a turning point in the novel. Victor realizes that he needs to take on some responsibility for his creation: “did I not as his maker, owe him all the portion of happiness that it was in my power to bestow?”(Shelley 148). Victor also thinks, “…the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request. ”(Shelley 150). Victor is finally understanding that he needs to take on some responsibility for this creature.

Read More
1845 Words | 8 Pages

Victor’s creation is described as a “monster” in the story of Frankenstein. He is immediately considered to be evil because he has committed murder, even though he meant no harm. He wrongfully forges his identity according to how others see him; as an evil monster. He forges his identity on how others view him, which is an evil monster (Lall 36). At this point, he is growing out of the mental stage of an infant and is beginning to learn how to take care of himself.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

Regrettably, this fails to be the case. The creature is spurned once more by the girl and shot by the father. The creation once again dejected says, “my daily vows rose for revenge- a deep and deadly revenge.” At this point, Victor’s creation was more resound in holding onto his bestial passions, but again he did not let them overcome his being. However, the fact that he refuses to let all of his monstrous passions flutter away exemplifies that the creature has taken the next step toward

Read More
798 Words | 4 Pages

Victor manifests hatred onto the embryonic creation, assuming the creature is programmed with evil nature. Instead, the creature, who desires affection, consumes his aversion and mirrors it. As Victor’s resentment becomes clear for the creation, he too forms animosity, forcing Victor to promise him happiness in the form of a female counterpart. Victor undertakes the promise, but reneges on it. He “destroy[s] the creature on whose future existence [the creation] depend[s] for happiness” and watches the creation, “with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdr[a]w.”

Read More
1436 Words | 6 Pages

Victor’s unwillingness to grant his own child with this wish shows his complete lack of sympathy as he is only willing to comply when he is sure that they won’t be a threat and that if he refuses he will be punished severely. Later in the novel, Frankenstein is in London working on the female creation and is coming close to finishing the companion. As Victor sits in his laboratory his mind is filled with thoughts of the creation and his companion breeding and unleashing “a race of devils” (155-156) onto the Earth. This thought makes Frankenstein destroy his work before he can finish, in doing so breaking his promise with the creation. Victor is

Read More
1720 Words | 7 Pages

But these are not thoughts befitting me; I will endeavour to resign myself cheerfully to death, and will indulge a hope of meeting you in another world”(24). Victor shows the strong love of family in his childhood “No human being could have passed a happier childhood than [me]. My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence” (Shelley,40), he raised with excellent conditions and with parents who loved their children, but we do not see that Victor gives this love to his creature and ignored him, notwithstanding the fact that the two figures shared many characteristics. As a result of Frankenstein 's darkness and ignorance toward his creature, he refused to accept the monster because of his physical appearance and Frankenstein sees the creature as if he were the monster when the creature

Read More
497 Words | 2 Pages

Vansh Raj Ms. McMahon ELA 8/2nd Period 13 February 2023 In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the character Victor is faced with a moral dilemma after creating a monster. As the creature begs for a companion, Victor is torn between his fear of what a second creature might bring and his sympathy, So Victor Should make a companion for the creature because it would fulfil the creature’s hunger for social interactions and provides a sense of responsibility for Victor for abandoning the creature. Victor owes the creature happiness because they both could live peaceful life’s if Victor Makes the creature a companion. So, when the creature tells Victor his demand he says “ What I ask of you is reasonable and moderate; I demand a creature of another sex, we shall be monster cut off from the world. Our lives will be harmless and free from misery Oh!

Read More
1136 Words | 5 Pages

Because Victor turns a blind eye to the creation, he vows revenge against him and all the people Victor loves. Even though the man receives little guidance and support, he becomes a monster similar to Victor because of his choices to do evil: murder and take revenge. Critic Magill explains, “His revenge, although excessive, is motivated” (322). The creation could have the decency to move on with his life, but one factor prevents him. His appearance restrains him from having a normal life despite the capacity for love and affection he harbors in his heart.

Read More
253 Words | 2 Pages

It is quite difficult to identify with the protagonist in Frankenstein because he comes across as quite cowardly and irresponsible, these are common traits one would not want to associate themselves with. It could be argued that Victor changes from an innocent young adult, curious about the ways of science into a guilt ridden man, constantly cautious about horrific creation. In terms of the main parts of the book, Victor has no apparent positive change but can still be considered a round character as he tries to come to terms with the terrifying creation of his past, which is the ideal element that the protagonist’s character in a Gothic novel upholds; “ I revolved in my mind the events which I had until now sought to forget: the whole train

Read More
1518 Words | 7 Pages

Victor’s job as a creator is to basically treat it like it is his son and raise him and teach him how to go through life. Rather than fulfilling his obligation as a creator, Victor is terrified by his own creation and runs from it, ignoring his mistake for years, until it comes back into its life in an unfortunate way. Purposely being oblivious to his being and the world around him, Victor did not begin to face his mistake until two years later when he lossed William, his younger

Read More
1215 Words | 5 Pages

This leads to Victor’s life to be filled with death and despair because he has created a monster

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

This unquestionably exhibits his egocentric conventions as he places himself above everyone else even in matters of life and death. Furthermore, if Victor himself is willing to take responsibility for her death then it becomes unambiguous as to whether he should be held accountable for the actions of his creation. Throughout the story, the monster struggles with the repercussions brought about by his creator which leave him in turmoil. He does eventually overcome these obstacles, although it is undoubtedly too late.

Read More
1921 Words | 8 Pages

The fictional horror novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is driven by the accentuation of humanity’s flaws. Even at the very mention of her work an archetypal monster fills one’s imagination, coupled with visions of a crazed scientist to boot. Opening her novel with Robert Walton, the conduit of the story, he also serves as a character to parallel the protagonist’s in many ways. As the ‘protagonist’ of the story, Victor Frankenstein, takes on the mantle of the deluded scientist, his nameless creation becomes the embodiment of a truly abandoned child – one left to fend for itself against the harsh reality posed by society. On the other hand, Walton also serves as a foil to Victor – he is not compulsive enough to risk what would be almost

Read More
790 Words | 4 Pages

In this, Victor brought up things that no mortal should know about, such as: cloning, stem cell research, and IVFs. Examples of these were shown when the author states, “It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn… my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical… the physical secrets of the world” (43). Victor is knowingly tampering with knowledge that is essentially too great for man. He is also essentially trying to be like God, which is the original sin, and as a result, he is put in eternal despair.

Read More
1335 Words | 6 Pages

Victor attended college and found a way to make his dream reality. After he created the creature is when everything went downhill. The monster was angry at victor and killed all of his loved ones and victor wanted to get revenge and destroy the creature. While reading the book I always asked myself who really is the monster is it Victor or the creature? I believe that

Read More

More about Character Development In Frankenstein

Related Topics

Open Document