Theme Of Victor Frankenstein Morally Ambiguous Character

Through Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton in the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley displays the ways in which Frankenstein’s disastrous story prevents Walton from the repercussions of his own ambitions. Ambition can be defined as a strong desire and the determination to achieve success. Both Victor and Walton display this trait, which as much as enhances their personalities, also portrays their deep flaws. The men possess unrealistic dreams of transforming society as well as obtaining glory through their individual scientific achievements, resulting in an undesirable way.

    In Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein suffers an extreme psychological crisis following his violation of what is considered a fundamental biological principle.  His creation of life undermines the role of women in his life and the role of sexuality, and allows existing misogynist and homosexual tendencies to surface.  Victor represses what he has uncovered about himself, and it merges into a cohesive whole in his psyche that becomes projected on the instrument of revelation, the monster.

At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.

From the first time Victor Frankenstein saw his creation standing in his bed chamber he was petrified of the seemingly harmful creature that stood before him and immediately flees, leaving the creature to fend for himself. He describes it as “the wretch- the miserable monster who I created” (Shelley 56). He then says “one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me” (Shelley 57). These statements lead us to believe that Victor’s creation is evil and wants to harm him but the monster is like a new born baby and we are not born into this world evil, we are influenced by the things around us that shape us to be who we are.

Words such as "daemonical corpse", "wretch" and "miserable monster" which Mary Shelley had used to describe the monster at this point portray an evil and malevolent monster. After the being has murdered Frankenstein's brother William, he is again presented as the evil malevolent monster by the words Mary Shelley chose for Frankenstein to use in his description of the 'wretch' he saw before him; "more hideous than belongs to humanity", "it was the wretch, the filthy daemon", "I thought of pursuing the devil". Now the monster seems to the reader even more evil than he did when he was first created. The lack of the being's feelings and emotions being included here doesn't let the reader see it from his point of view, and therefore understand and feel sympathy for him, or at least be able to form their own opinion of him.

It it conflict that controls the life of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - his relationships, work, and even his own thoughts are rife with it. Conflict between Victor and Elizabeth, Victor and Clerval, and the Creature are what drive the events of this film - conflict is integral to the plot, the development of characters, and conflict is what shows the director’s purpose, warning the viewer of the dangers of obsession.

Frankenstein is a story full of questions and excitement. What is interesting about Shelley’s novel is the absence of God and multiple female characters. She ignores the proper way of conception and birth. Due to this, the science of what Victor accomplished had gone awry. His goal while creating the monster was a perfect race in which they would help mankind, “even though the dream of the new race is...exploded” in the end (Levine 12). Victor Frankenstein

Who is the real monster?” acts as the dominant question throughout the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelly as the reader explores the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation. As the novel progresses, the reader notices how the relationship between the two characters goes far beyond a neglectful creature and resentful creation, for the two influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of each other. Furthermore, the creature’s physical appearance acts as his purpose throughout the novel as well as a mirror of Victor Frankenstein’s true identity. Additionally, the creature’s lack of identity begins to initiate Frankenstein’s shame towards his own identity, revealing the flawed character of Frankenstein and determining the resolution to the question “Who is the true monster? Who is the true catalyst of destruction?” During the novel, the reader is able to identify the creature as the most effective foil for Victor Frankenstein because the creature causes: Frankenstein to view the action of the creature as his own work, the shift between pride and shame in Frankenstein, and his physical appearance demonstrates his purpose to reveal the true character of Victor Frankenstein.

Shelley’s humanization of the monster lies in his imperfection and makes the reader question just why he has been cast aside by humanity. If the reader accepts the fall of man as punishment, for Adam and Eve’s mistake they can see that the monster’s creation itself is not for him to be punished, but for Frankenstein. The monster’s understanding of his place because of his outward appearance is apparent after he begins to compare himself to Adam who was created “from the hands of God as a perfect

Victor Frankenstein creates the monster through despicable means, assembling various body parts of cadavers to create his monster. In Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster acknowledges Victor’s wrongdoings, revealing that the monster is doomed to suffer as a “result of science without ethics” (Foster 104). Frankenstein shows no remorse for his actions until he is confronted with the unnerving sight of his creation, proving precisely how powerful appearances are. While as Victor fears the “wretch” due to it’s frightening exterior, he suffers no long-term repercussions aside from the creature’s existence. His monster, however, lives in misery, his body adorned with various abnormalities (Shelley 51). The monster’s intentions are defined by

A morally ambiguous character is a character whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as either purely good or purely evil. The creature brought into being by Victor Frankenstein is the principle morally ambiguous character in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" which is demonstrated through the sympathy that the reader feels at the moment of his creation and instantaneous abandonment, his present but questionable morals, and the feelings of immediate hatred that the reader has towards him as he slaughters everyone that Victor cares about. The creature, or monster as he is referred to in much of the novel, has guilt piled

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells the tale of the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Both Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s creation’s questionable actions lead them both to be considered morally ambiguous figures. Victor is ambitious with good intentions, but his ambition leads to bad results. The Creature is an innately kind and compassionate person who commits abominable actions due to how others treat him. Their moral ambiguity is significant, as it reveals that an obsession with ambition distorts one’s morals.

     There are many different themes expressed in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. They vary with each reader but basically never change. These themes deal with the education that each character posses, the relationships formed or not formed in the novel, and the responsibility for ones own actions. This novel even with the age still has ideas that can be reasoned with even today.

Character Analysis: Give your ideas about the main characters(s). Include what you like and dislike about the characters and why they deserve praise or criticism. Does the author intend for you to like/dislike them? How do you know?