Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” has become an iconic element of pop culture. Next to vampires, zombies, and werewolves we often see the novel’s monster. Unlike the rest, this story doesn’t have centuries of myth as it’s foundation. It stands alone, thought up by a single mind. Many people know the story in passing, but I know few that have read it. Those who have love to declare the correction “Frankenstein is not the monster, he’s the scientist”. I think it is a disservice to the novel to say Victor Frankenstein is not a monster.
Despite the lengthy and sometimes outdated text of the novel, I think “Frankenstein” is a valuable read. Within it is the framework for much of modern horror and sci fi, but as much as I obsess over the evolution of fiction, is greatest value is in its depictions of morals, accountability, and consequences. The novel is written as a story the titular character relays to a ship Captain that found him at the end of his journey. Victor Frankenstein is haunted by his actions and riddled with guilt, but even in his recounting he can never truly acknowledge his fault. He so thoroughly hates the creature he created, thinking he must be something from hell, but both he and the audience know where the creature comes from. Victor knows his hands are the ones that made him. He is to blame for all the havoc the creature wreaks. Still, he sees the tragedy of his story as something that happened to him, rather than something he made.
The best part of the novel, in my opinion, is when the creature finds Victor. He is confronted with the physical evidence of all his faults and must face the creature as he explains how thoroughly he is to blame. The creature killed Victor’s brother because of their relation. A woman was executed for the crime despite Victor knowing who was responsible. The creature tells Victor he will kill again and does. Everything leads Victor Frankenstein, a story told in blood. I will not deny that the creature is a killer— each person is responsible for their actions, but the creature is debatably a person. Victor created a crime against nature and turned his back on him. The novel does not set up the creature as something predisposed to violence. From the creature’s own mouth, he says he is the way he is because he was hated and alone. The creature craved above all else companionship. That is the one thing he requests of Frankenstein; to not be alone, for him to make another creature. He does not even wish for his creator’s death, he does not crave revenge— he uses it as a bargaining chip.
In the final act of the novel, Victor turns his back on the creature again, believing it is better to be killed by him then create another monster. This is one final example of Victor’s self-centered nature, because it is not him the creature kills in his revenge; it is his wife. He so rarely considers how his actions could affect others. Even in the moments those around him suffer, he thinks of their suffering in relation to himself.
I do not believe it would be an exaggeration to say Victor Frankenstein is the origin of the mad scientist. He pushed the boundaries of the natural world and played God. The full and often forgotten title of the novel is “Frankenstein, or; the Modern Prometheus.” Prometheus is the Greek Titian that gave life to humanity in the form of fire and was punished for his gift. Victor Frankenstein too created life, but his sin was not creation. It was hubris and neglect. The novel ends after Victor concludes his story with his attempts to hunt the creature and how pursuing him put him in the path of the Captain. We return to the perspective of the Captain as he relays the final moments of this story in a letter. Victor Frankenstein is killed by the creature with only this Captain and his men as witnesses and mourners. He dies alone and with nothing to lose by the hands of his creation. I could not think of a more fitting end.
Reading this novel is a valuable exercise in how narratives are twisted and people are remembered. Frankenstein’s monster is an iconic figure permanently embedded in our culture, but I find Victor Frankenstein much more interesting, and much more monstrous.
Works Cited
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein or the Modern Promethus. Dent, 1951.
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