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Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly, is among the most well-known gothic novels, combining scientific and fantastic elements. It is a story about the scientist Victor Frankenstein trying to conquer death and the tragic consequences. Every character in the novel has their role in showing the cost of ambition because the horrible experiment conducted by Frankenstein negatively influenced the lives of everyone around him.
The main character is Victor Frankenstein, playing the doomed protagonist or the mad scientist. He is obsessed with scientific achievement and glory, so it becomes his priority in life, separating him from those he loves. The creature can be considered the complicated antagonist or the outcast. He fails to find love and understanding, which results in cruel behavior. Captain Robert Walton serves as a proxy, connecting the reader to the main story. Henry Clerval is a foil character because apart from his friend Victor, he is a kind person looking for moral meaning in life. Elizabeth Lavenza is a beautiful and virtuous woman playing the protagonists love interest. Alphonse Frankenstein combines the functions of both parents and embodies the motherly archetype, caring for Victor and protecting him. Justine Moritz, the nanny, may be considered a victim of Victors actions, being accused of a crime she did not commit.
Frankenstein is often compared to Prometheus, who made people out of clay. Prometheus was a trickster, rebelling against the gods will, and so is Frankenstein, going against the laws of life and death. Victor started looking for the key to immortality after his mothers death, which brings him together with Mary Breckinridge, who began a career in nursing after the loss of her relatives. Some think of Frankenstein as a person overestimating his authority and mocking nature. However, after creating the monster, he feels bewildered with the multitude of miseries (Shelly, 1818, p. 197). The scientist is sorry for his deeds, being no longer a boss and a master of his destiny but a lost soul looking for salvation, making the reader feel compassionate with him.
The image of Frankenstein is complicated because he can be regarded both as an egoist doing everything to reach his goals and a lost soul unable to fix what he had done. Other characters surrounding the scientist depict various virtues and are easier to understand. They show that if Frankenstein appreciated them more than his scientific aspirations, the chain of horrible events would not occur.
Reference
Shelly, M. (1818). Frankenstein: or, the modern Prometheus. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones.
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