- Describe each of the main characters and categorise their role in the novel. For each:
- Describe their most significant personality traits
- Determine their strengths and weaknesses
- Comment on what each character helps the reader to understand throughout the novel.
Victor Frankenstein’s most significant personality trait is his ambition and intelligence. He is hard-working and dedicated. His strengths are that these personality traits led him to work hard for his education and his thirst for knowledge allowed him to do and create things that have never been done before. His weaknesses, which ironically are the result of his ‘strengths’, are that he becomes arrogant and closed-minded, unable to see things from others point of views. This ‘close-mindedness’ also makes him less caring. He refuses to take responsibility for the Creature, and shows him no care. While he is able to feel guilt and grief, he will not tell anyone about the Creature, which makes things worse for him and his family. His secrecy isolates himself from his friends and family. The character helps the reader to understand the consequences of blind ambition, thirst for dangerous knowledge and the importance of taking responsibility for your actions and creations. They see Victor’s guilt ultimately drive him to madness, and can make judgments about where his choices have led him. Note to self: Victor Frankenstein has similar personality traits to Macbeth.
The Creature’s most significant traits are his awareness and ability to learn quickly. This could be because he has more acute senses than humans, (eyesight, smell etc.) This also applies to him both physically and emotionally. He is physically much stronger, and it could be argued that the same applies to his emotion. He is more intelligent than most, as he can learn very quickly. He ‘feels’ at a much larger capacity, so his anger and sadness that he feels are much greater than humans, leading him to act out. His feelings of loneliness are also greater. When he becomes aware of his neglect, it takes over him. He becomes angry at the human race, and actively tries to hurt Victor and others to gain attention from him. I think that the Creature helps readers to understand the effects of neglect and loneliness, and how someone with good intentions can be driven to become a ‘monster’. The Creature also gives the readers perspective. They are forced to change their judgment as the narration changes, and gain sympathy and understanding for the Creature.
Robert Walton is the third main character in the novel. He is another narrator but is not a part of the story. He represents the reader’s most, as he is being told the story by Victor. He has many similar personality traits to Victor, such as ambition and thirst for knowledge. By meeting Victor, he has the ability to make the decision to turn around and not pursue his dangerous journey. He does not let his strong personality traits create weak ones, and has the ability to learn from others and not make the same mistakes. He can reflect on what he is trying to achieve and is no longer fooled by his blind ambition. He takes the safety of his crew on board and realises the danger he could be getting himself and others into. His biggest strength is his ability to learn from Victor, reflect, and then make the decision to turn around. Robert Walton helps the readers to make judgments by learning from others, and readers can see a big change from him from the start of the novel to the end.
- The three main characters form a triangle of key relationships. Comment on how significant the relationships between Walton-Frankenstein, Frankenstein- Creature and Creature-Walton are to the development of the texts core themes.
The relationship between Walton and Frankenstein is significant. Walton is intrigued by Frankenstein, and notices they both have similar personality traits and interests. They both carry (or carried) thirst for knowledge and discovery, and are/were blinded by ambition. As Walton is told Frankensteins story, he is similar to the readers, as it is being narrated by someone else, and he has the ability to make his judgments around his own journey when learning Victor’s story. To me, it seems like Walton’s visit from Frankenstein is like a future Walton coming back to the past to warn him. Walton was still at the ‘blinded by ambition’ stage of his journey, and Frankenstein had dealt with the consequences of his ambition already. By telling Walton his story, he could warn Walton and persuade him to not follow and make the same mistakes as he did.
The relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature is significant. It develops the theme of abandonment, as well as perception and perspective. Frankenstein neglects the Creature out of fear, as in his perspective, the Creature is a monster. The Creature, however, despite looking ugly, had good intentions and meant no harm. The Creature was hurt by Frankenstein’s abandonment of him. The Creature expected a father-and-son relationship with Frankenstein, but Frankenstein wanted nothing to do with him. Both the Creature and Frankenstein felt very isolated, as the result of each other. Frankenstein was isolated as he felt he couldn’t tell anyone about the Creature, so had to keep it a secret, while the Creature was isolated as he felt outcast and alone. Their relationship is mixed with feelings of hatred, loneliness, fear and anger.
The relationship between Walton and the Creature is similar to the relationship that readers have with the Creature. Readers and Walton both know Frankenstein and the Creature’s perspectives and make their own judgments based around this. Walton meets the Creature, and the creature confesses Walton his feelings, and Walton can see the Creature’s honesty. It also is proof to Walton that Frankenstein’s story was the truth, and he can see in person the consequences of Victor’s actions. With evidence, Walton can change his mind over his journey.
- Reflect on the characters’ connections to society- what experiences do they have that possibly shape them? How much a part does society play in influencing the characters decisions in the text?
Victor Frankenstein’s chooses to isolate himself from society once he creates the Creature. He refuses to tell anyone about it, and as a result of his secrecy, he drives himself out of society. No one can relate or understand Victor. Despite having plenty of family and friends who support him, Victor becomes very lonely as he can’t tell anyone about the Creature. He fears that firstly no one will believe him and that they would be horrified once they found out. If Victor believed that society would be more understanding and less judgmental on his creation, he may have told people about the Creature, and the events in the novel may have changed significantly as a result of this. Another interesting aspect is Victor’s relationship with his father. Victor grew up with a good fatherly figure, who remained present and supportive throughout his life. As readers know that Victor grew up with a good relationship with his father, it is more surprising to see how he treats the Creature. His lack of fatherly affection to the Creature contrasts his life experiences and upbringing. Readers would expect Victor to mirror his fathers affection but instead, he shows none of it to the Creature.
The Creature’s connection to society is significant. He feels outcast and misjudged. People are fearful and disgusted by him. They only judge him based on his looks. His abandonment from Victor only makes him more upset and his feelings of loneliness are greatened. He becomes aware of the fact that there is no other Creature’s out there, which makes him even more alone. His experiences from society are him being abandoned by Victor, being forced out of places, people being scared of him, the DeLaceys not accepting him, him being shot at etc. All of these experiences show how society judges him and how outcast he is from it. It can be argued that these experiences have turned the Creature from something with good intentions into a monster.
The idea that the Creature is judged only on his looks is confirmed when the Creature talks to the blind man. The blind man does not have the same reaction to the Creature as people who can see him. It is not until the children see the Creature that they all react to him. The blind man was the only character that the Creature met who saw who he was, as he could not judge him by his appearance. If the rest of society was able to see the Creature the way that the blind man did, without judging by appearance, the Creature would have felt accepted and the events of the novel would be very different. The Creature might have lived up to his good intentions, instead of becoming a monster.
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