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Victor As A Hero In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is a well known story about a scientist who creates a monster that then turns on the town and him. The story is quite harsh, with death and back stabs happening frequently. However, it has a good story all in all. A common question that is asked, is who’s the hero? Obviously the hero would have to be Victor, the scientist. Even though he may not have all the qualities a regular hero has, he certainly has more than a monster who murders others for his own pleasure.
Victor follows a lot of the classical hero traits. For example, he dies in the end, he has a battle against something, he ventures on an emotional quest, and he has a strong ability which is his unnatural intelligence. In the end of this classic …show more content…

If Victor didn’t have the mental capacity that he did, the creature would not have been created because Victor clearly wanted to make the creature for good and his scientifical deeds. Additionally, Victor’s intelligence is shown through his advanced thinking of problems. A normal person would’ve went along with the creatures demands for a wife, however Victor thought about the town more than what he wanted, and an average person would not have been able to conjure this decision. Along with this, Victor makes his way through an emotional quest relating to the creature. At first, Victor is happy that he created the creature and that he could continue his quest to get rid of diseases in his black plague ridden town. However, when he sees the creature face to face he notices the monstrosity that he had created and his rapidly overcome with fear and runs away. He is then overcome with determination as he is working on other scientific projects. Once he hears of Williams death, he is then overcome with sadness. Finally, he periodically switches between anger and sadness as he meets the creature, learns of his wish, and when he discovers the creature murdered Elizabeth. Obviously, Victor is the hero because how could a creature who murders innocent people possibly be the

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960 Words | 4 Pages

He learns from his previous rash actions. But still, Victor doesn’t take on complete responsibility. Victor isn’t at Mary Shelly’s ideal yet. Taking on full responsibility would mean either taking the creature into his own arms as a father would a son, or killing the creature. Instead, Victor sets out to make a female companion for the creature, so that Victor doesn’t have to see the creature ever again.

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The more we understood the creature, the more we were supposed to feel bad for him. No one is to blame for the creature’s actions, but Victor. Instead, he blames anyone he can other than himself. As for Victor, he never changed, showed no emotion towards the creature, just so blank. I feel as if the creature thought he needed Victor, when he really didn’t because he didn’t need him in order to gain his own form of

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1281 Words | 6 Pages

Victor would stop at nothing to finish his project and became so obsessed that he was isolated from his family and friends. His way of collecting lifeless matter for his creation is unethical and morally wrong. Eventually, he is punished for his actions: “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.” (pg.56) Additionally, extreme devotion to the building of his creation caused Victor mental distress due to the fact that he neglected his own needs in order to work exclusively on the creature: “I had deprived myself of rest and health.”

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1281 Words | 6 Pages

Victor had two loving parents that gave him everything he ever needed or wanted to fulfill his physiological and emotional needs. Since Victor did not do this for his monster, the monster would kill all of Victor’s family and friends that he loved which would bring destruction to Victor’s life. For the rest of his days, Victor would go on a search for his monster to destroy it or die trying. Unlike Victor, the monster was never loved because of the way he looked. He was left alone, even by his creator, and lived a miserable life always escaping people that would “attacked [him], until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons” (Shelley).

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609 Words | 3 Pages

Young Victor belonged to a very happy family and had an amazing life. He was smart and had many that loved him. From a young age, everyone saw potential in him due to how much he loved to learn. Instead of taking in the beauty of nature, he would first want to find out what made things tick. Everything was great for him and then one day he went to go study at Ingolstadt.

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Finally, Victor shatters his life when he ultimately causes his own death. As a result of his mind being consumed with grief and revenge, he becomes morose, melancholy, and eventually lifeless. Victor allows the monster to rummage his head, and he permits his creation to drive him crazy; consequently, he slowly kills

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Although the Creature evolves throughout the novel, Victor is ultimately more human. Being human truly means that you have complex emotions, thoughts, a moral sense, and

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Victor mentions how he had to make the creature large so it didn’t slow his work. Then when the creature comes to life, Victor doesn’t explain how actually large it was (Clark 257). One can then see that Victor only uses physical characteristic in describing the creature. Victor then continues to run out of the room and is seen that he is a coward. When he runs one sympathises with the creature because it is similar to a newborn child.

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The monster that Victor Frankenstein created was a Byronic hero. A Byronic Hero is a charismatic, broken, dark individual often in exile with a troubled past. The hero has flaws that make him more human like and attainable to the audience. He is a vulnerable and imperfect being and in these traits we find Victor Frankenstein’s monster. Lord Byron penned the first Byronic hero in 1812 and when Mary Shelly wrote, “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus,”(1823)

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Frankenstein’s Monster as a Tragic Hero Aristotle once said that "A man doesn 't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall" (Carlson). In Frankenstein, many argue that Victor Frankenstein himself is indeed the tragic hero of the novel. I believe that the creation of Victor Frankenstein (the monster) is the actual tragic hero. There are several components to being a tragic hero, two of the most important are their tragic flaw, and the component of a tragedy or a tragic ending to the story. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is without a doubt tragic through many characters in different ways, but in my eyes, the creature is the character that sticks out with the most characteristics of a tragic hero.

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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.

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766 Words | 4 Pages

He starts his own plan to for revenge against the creature, but this makes him just as beastly as the monster. Victor makes it his life goal, to make the monster pay in any way he can. He wants him to feel lonely and isolated forever. The beast takes a lot out on Victor and makes him feel exactly the way he feels

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A common definition of a hero is one who defies the given law and creates their own storyline through his or her actions. However, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we see Victor Frankenstein go under a complete mentality change due to his curiosity in science, which leads him to becoming what is known as a byronic hero. Shelley shows Victor’s descent into madness by exploiting certain byronic characteristics such as a destructive passion, self-doubt, and loneliness. Victor’s passion ultimately proves destructive as it only causes him and his surrounding people pain and grief. Knowing he is causing said grief, Victor plummets into a self-loathing and lonely period where he must remain isolated.

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918 Words | 4 Pages

Victor and the Creature are both social outcasts. Since Victor is so intelligent and interested in science he often does not relate to other people and he does not have many friends. Since the monster cannot be around people without scaring them to death he tends to also act as an outcast around

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1029 Words | 5 Pages

“The more I saw them, the greater my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed toward me with affection” (Shelley 86). These are the motivating words that a hero needs to hear to encourage him to embark on his journey. These are the words that prepare the hero for what is to come as he takes this leap of faith. Frankenstein's monster is the true hero of this story in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He is the true hero because he, like a hero develops a monstrous amount of courage to do something terrifying, he is extremely determined to reach his goal in order to be happy, and he is willing to risk certain aspects of his life that he values

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