Main Characters

Victor Frankenstein

In his early life, Victor is obsessed with the fields of science in alchemy. He creates a huge body from human parts and using the knowledge he has acquired, brings life to this monster. On creating the monster he realizes the evil that he has done and abandons his creation.  He had hoped that the monster would dissolve out of his life, but the monster is determined to bring misery to Victor, and as a consequence, Victor spends the rest of his life trying to destroy his creation.  Victor is the main narrator of the tale to Robert Walton.

The Monster

Created by Victor Frankenstein as an experiment whilst studying at Ingolstadt University, he is hideous and of gigantic proportions.  He is abandoned by his creator, and rejected by all those he comes into contact with.  He is intelligent and is able to converse eloquently, and soon understands how he came into being. The only purpose of his existence is to bring misery to his creator, Victor, and this he succeeds in doing. The monster represents the conscience of Victor, and there is a supernatural link between the two. They are both aware of each other’s presence.  The monster narrates part of the tale to Victor Frankenstein.

Henry Clerval

He is Victor’s lifelong friend who is always there when Victor needs help or care.  The monster kills Henry as part of his campaign of vengeance. He represents the main romantic character, and he studied languages at Ingolstadt University.

Elizabeth

Acquired by Victor’s parents as a playmate for Victor, she becomes his wife and is killed by the monster on their honeymoon.

Alphonse Frankenstein

Victor’s father, who indulged his son, he died of a broken heart on the death of Elizabeth.

Robert Walton

He forms the framing to Victor’s narration through letters to his sister, Margaret Saville.  He is a sea Captain and Arctic explorer who tries to find a North-west Passage from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans.  He rescues Victor from and ice flow and delays his eventual death, during which time he makes an account of Victor’s tragic tale.

Caroline Frankenstein

Victor’s mother died of scarlet fever when Victor was 17.  She was involved in charity work, just as Mary Shelley and her mother were.  It is on one of her visits to the poor that she discovers Elizabeth and adopts the child as a playmate for Victor.

William Frankenstein

The monster strangles Victor’s youngest brother and this is the turning point of the novel, and engulfs Victor and his family in a spiraling cycle of misfortune.

Justine Moritz

She is accused of William’s murder unjustly, and is hanged.  She goes to her death with dignity and becomes a martyr for the Frankenstein family who hold her in high esteem.

The De Lacey family

They are the monster’s adopted family with whom he resides undetected for some months, helping them to avoid starvation and degradation. The father of the family is blind and the monster is able to converse with him, but when the rest of the family sees the monster, they beat him and drive him from their home.