Frankenstein: Characters (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Frankenstein: Characters

In works of literature, authors often use characters to symbolise ideas in order to express views and communicate these to the reader. Shelley uses her presentation of characters and the interaction between them to explore and comment on society.

Below you will find character profiles of:

Main characters

• Victor Frankenstein  

• The Creature  

• Walton  

Other characters

• Henry Clerval  

• The De Lacey family  

• Elizabeth 

• Justine  

• The Frankenstein family

Victor Frankenstein

• Frankenstein Is the protagonist of the novel:

  • His actions drive the narrative

• He can also be perceived as an anti-hero:

  • He is the central character but lacks heroic traits

  • The creature he makes destroys everything he loves

• Frankenstein symbolises the upper classes:

  • This can be evidenced when he says his family is “one of the most distinguished” in Geneva (Chapter 1)

• He represents the romantic genius:

  • From his childhood, he says that “It was the secrets of heaven and earth that (he) desired to learn” (Chapter 2):

    • The biblical imagery emphasises his desire for otherworldly achievements

• Frankenstein is a motif of the calamity of defying nature:

  • He desires to penetrate the secrets of nature

  • This is shown to lead to the creation of a monster whose ugly appearance symbolises the grotesquenessof his pursuit

• He is self-centred: 

  • Elizabeth writes a letter beseeching him to “write, dearest Victor, — one line—one word will be a blessing to us” (Chapter 6)

  • Through his lack of correspondence, Victor causes distress to others

• Frankenstein lacks sympathy and empathy:

  • He remarks that Justine was “exquisitely beautiful” at her trial (Chapter 8):

    • This highlights that he is unable to see the tragic nature of the situation

• He fails to take responsibility for the creature and his actions leading up to its creation:

  • He claims his ambition was beyond his control when he says, it “ruled” his “destiny” (Chapter 4)

• Frankenstein is presented as isolated because of his ambitious personality: 

  • The place in which he makes the creature is like a “solitary cell” (Chapter 4)

  • The connotations of criminality foreshadow the destructive nature of unchecked science

• He is presented as controlling the narrative: 

  • Victor “corrected and augmented” Walton’s notes (Chapter 3): 

    • Here Shelley insinuates that the most powerful in society are those who succeed in getting their points of view across

The Creature

• The creature is the antagonist of the novel:

  •  His appearance is horrifying and disgusting:

    • “unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes” (Chapter 5)

• His behaviour is abhorrent:

  • He kills William, Henry and Elizabeth

• He is isolated and experiences intense loneliness:

  • He tells Frankenstein, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being” (Chapter 17)

• He symbolises the marginalised:

  • He is left alone after his creation: 

    • Victor “sought to avoid the wretch” (Chapter 5) 

• The creature is intelligent and articulate: 

  • He is described as having read books such as Paradise Lost:

  • The Romantics valued art, reading and imagination, so this would have had a great effect on Shelley’s reader

• The creature commits suicide at the end of the text:

  • This highlights the way in which society destroys the marginalised by isolating them and discriminating against them

• The creature is a tragic figure rather than just a malevolent force:

  •  He “abstains” from stealing from the De Laceys due to their poverty

  •  Once “benevolent and good”, he explains that “misery made me a fiend” (Chapter 24):

    • Shelley seems to be suggesting that people are shaped by their experiences, rather than being born bad

Walton

• Walton is presented as biased:

  • He is shown to agree with Victor’s narrative, as he calls the creature a “Hypocritical fiend!” (Chapter 24): 

    • This enables Shelley to highlight how the powerful can control the narrative, as the story we hear is told through Walton

• He is ambitious:

  • Walton is depicted as trying to reach the North Pole, desiring “glory” over ease and comfort (Letter 1):

    • This implies that the expedition is for his own personal benefit and prestige

• Like Frankenstein, Walton is used to highlight the corrupting nature of ambition and its human toll:

  • He says, “one man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge” (Chapter 4): 

    •  Again, Shelley presents the cost of unchecked ambition 

• Unlike Frankenstein, Walton is shown to have a conscience:

  • He admits that he “cannot lead his crew unwillingly into danger”: 

    • Here, Shelley seems to suggest that that people should remember the lesson of Frankenstein and unrestrained ambition

• He is portrayed as lonely:

  • In a letter to his sister Margaret, he writes, "I bitterly feel the want of a friend” (Chapter 20): 

    • This highlights the pain of being secluded and foreshadows the importance of this theme

Henry Clerval

• Clerval is Victor’s “closest friendship” and is presented as a caring person:

  •  His kindness is apparent when his visits Frankenstein when he is unwell:

    • Victor says to Clerval, “this whole winter, instead of being spent in study, as you promised yourself, (you have) been consumed in my sick room” 

• In contrast to Frankenstein, Clerval selflessly cares for Victor during his illness:

  • He "devoted himself to unselfish ministrations” (Chapter 19)

• It could be argued that Henry is a foil for Frankenstein, as he is shown to personify true friendship and a love of nature:

  • Victor says that Clerval “called forth the better feelings of my heart; he again taught me to love the aspect of nature, and the cheerful faces of children”:

    • The pleasure derived here suggests that Romantic values are able to bring forth happiness

• He has good morals:

  • Clerval is portrayed as highly respectful of the privacy of Frankenstein as he “never attempted to draw [Victor’s] secret from” him

    • Shelley could be suggesting that through relationships and companionship the tragedy of the novel could have been averted

The De Lacey family

• The De Lacey family are shown to be benevolent and cheerful:

  • The creature says that nothing could “exceed the love and respect” shown by them (Chapter 19): 

    • This demonstrates how they are kind and good-natured

• Their goodness is apparent inwardly and outwardly:

  • The creature describes how “their angelic countenances breathed smiles of consolation” (Chapter 15): 

    •  This contrasts with the creature’s own ugliness

• They are depicted as happy, despite their situation:

  • The creature says, “the setting of the sun did not put an end to the pleasure I experienced in watching my human neighbours” (Chapter 15): 

    • This suggests that companionship, not ambition, is the route towards happiness and fulfilment

• Felix is shown to be altruistic, helping Safie’s father get out of prison for a crime he did not commit and asking for nothing in return:

  • As a result of his actions, the De Laceys are banished from France and lose all their wealth: 

    • Shelley seem to be highlighting the unfairness of society here

• The creature is presented as looking for protection and help from the De Laceys:

  • The creature is presented as becoming a “fiend” when they reject him, and he goes on to burn down their house: 

    • Fire (a symbol of hell) is a metaphor for the creature’s own tragic demise

• Despite their benevolence, the De Laceys are unable to look past the creature’s appearance:

  • When Felix and the others return, they attack the creature: 

    • Shelley may present the De Laceys in this way to highlight that prejudicial ideas leave the marginalised isolated 

Elizabeth

• Elizabeth is an idealised character:

  • She stays with the Frankensteins after being adopted and is killed on the night that she is supposed to marry Victor: 

    • She is used to highlight what Victor could have had without his profound ambition and is used to challenge patriarchal views

• She is presented as an almost transcendent, heavenly figure:

  • This can be seen as Victor says, “The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home” (Chapter 1): 

    • The divine and light imagery creates a sense that Elizabeth is sublime and suggests that she has a profound and warm presence in the house

• Elizabeth is shown to provide unconditional and profound love to Victor:

  • She says to Frankenstein, “one smile on your lips when we meet... I shall need no other happiness” (Chapter 22): 

    • This could also be used to highlight how patriarchal views are internalised

• She is dehumanised and objectified:

  • The Frankenstein family consider Elizabeth a “pretty present” (Chapter 1): 

    • This implies that the Frankenstein family fail to see Elizabeth as anything other than an object for male gratification 

• Elizabeth is presented as a character without agency:

  • Frankenstein says that he viewed “Elizabeth as mine — mine to protect, love, and cherish” (Chapter 1): 

    • This indicates that Elizabeth is given no agency, as she is simply Victor’s possession

• She is intelligent and brave:

  • She speaks at Justine’s trial in Chapter 8 with “simple and powerful appeal”: 

    • This suggests that her speech was persuasive, indicating that she is highly intelligent

• She is shown to challenge Frankenstein:

  •  In Chapter 22, she asks Victor, “Do you not love another?” 

• Overall, however, Elizabeth is accepting of the patriarchy:

  • She is shown to accept that she must take over the caring roles of the house after Caroline dies: 

    • “Elizabeth, my love, you must supply my place to my younger children” (Chapter 3) 

Justine

• Justine is a servant who the Frankenstein family take in at age 12

• She is falsely condemned to death for the murder of William:

  •  Her death helps to highlight the dangers of unchecked ambition

• She is presented as benevolent and kind: 

  • Elizabeth notes that she is the “most grateful little creature in the world” (Chapter 6) for the Frankenstein family's help 

• She is shown to be intelligent and speaks eloquently at her trial:

  • This helps to convey the idea that Justine is profoundly logical: 

    •   Shelley is depicting women as intelligent beings, equal to men

The Frankenstein family

• Frankenstein’s parents are presented as traditional in their gender roles:

  • Victor suggests that his father “strove to shelter [Caroline] as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener”

    • This simile creates the impression that Caroline is weak and fragile, as she is compared to a plant

• Caroline asks Elizabeth to care for her children:

  • This reveals that Caroline believes that a woman's place is in the domestic sphere

• They are shown to be extremely caring and compassionate:

  • Alphonso helps Victor when he is put on trial and after the death of Clerval:

    •  He tries to “awaken in [Victor] the feelings of affection”

• They are shown to be affectionate towards Victor: 

  • This can be seen when Victor notes that they had a “deep consciousness of what they owed towards the being to which they had given life”:

    • It could be suggested that this portrayal is intended to contrast with Victor’s treatment of the creature, emphasising his maltreatment of him

• It could also be suggested that their deep care for Victor has created a superiority complex:

  • They are shown to overindulge Victor, gifting him Elizabeth as a “present”:

    • Shelley may be trying to show that many upper-class parents raised their children to have a sense of entitlement, perhaps leading to negative consequences