As a horror fan, one of my favorite classic novels is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The story explores dark parts of the human soul and raises questions about good and evil.
Since the story is told in Victor Frankenstein’s point of view, his monster is the antagonist, but which character is of a more villainous nature?
Victor Frankenstein certainly has desirable and even admirable qualities. He’s intelligent, motivated, innovative and inquisitive, yet these are qualities often shared by villains as well as heroes. He is also cruel, self-centered and initially irresponsible–generally characteristics of a villain.
Frankenstein’s obsession with creating life brings forth a new type of being who is scorned by everyone, but most importantly by his own creator. Frankenstein coldly rejects his creature from the moment of its birth, partly out of fear but also because his creation isn’t the beautiful being he had imaged it would be.
Completely alone and ignorant, the creature becomes an outcast–scorned, abused and driven to become as monstrous as his appearance. Eventually Frankenstein faces his creature and for the first time is able to feel compassion for him, but ultimately they become bitter rivals.
Unfortunately, their relationship might have been different.
The creature shares many qualities with Frankenstein. He’s tenacious. He’s certainly motivated and he’s also intelligent. He learned to read and speak through careful observation, but he also learned that he would never be accepted by others. He reaches out to people in friendship only to be abused and rejected until in his rage and frustration, he turns to murder.
Although the creature commits several horrible crimes, he is far more sympathetic than Victor Frankenstein. The creature is vulnerable at first, longing for companionship, and he endures extensive abuse from others before his heart hardens and he turns to evil. Truly he has no responsibility to the human race, unlike his privileged creator. All he wants is to be accepted. The one thing he asks from his “father” is for Frankenstein to make him a companion, so that he won’t be completely alone in the world.
Victor Frankenstein is like a neglectful parent and the creature is like a child when left to its own devices eventually turns to a life of crime. Both are villains in a sad, compelling story.
What’s your opinion of Frankenstein and his creature? Is Victor Frankenstein a villain? Is the creature a victim of his maker’s neglect?