Table of Contents
Conflicts in Frankenstein
The book’s conflicts center around the controversial relations between the creator and his creation, responsibility, and revenge. It also questions the idea if a man has a right to follow his ambition and create living creatures in an unnatural way, or will he be punished for this. The first trouble arises when Victor does not want to be responsible for the living being he made and just leaves it alone. Then, there is a conflict in human society when people don’t want to accept anyone who looks ugly or frightening, no matter his intentions. There is also the question of free will, as the Monster did not ask Victor to make him live and was forced to exist without his consent. The lack of understanding and the immature emotional actions of the characters bring tragedy to them and to the unwitting people around.
Climax in Frankenstein
The conflict in the book reaches its climax when the Monster kills Elisabeth, the protagonist’s bride.
Characters of Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, the scientist who studied the ways to bring life to inanimate matter and eventually created and brought to life a nameless Creature, or the Frankenstein’s monster. For his ability to create a living being and challenge the existent state of things he is compared in the book subtitle to Prometheus, a rebellious Titan from Ancient Greek mythology.
The Monster, or Creature, a semblance of man created by the inventor Victor Frankenstein from the materials he gets from “the dissecting room and the slaughter-house” and then brought to life using some scientific process – it is not specified in the book what exactly the process involves; it could have been the use of electricity, chemistry, galvanism, or alchemy. The monster is ugly and people flee in terror when seeing him; however, he is not evil at first, but seeks company and sympathy of people, helps a poor family and learns how to speak and read books. Later, when he understands that people hate him and he would remain alone for the rest of his life, he starts hating his creator, Victor Frankenstein, and turns against him, killing his friend and family members in revenge. People often mistakenly call the monster “Frankenstein” while he is nameless in the book.
William – Victor’s young brother murdered by the Monster.
Elizabeth Lavenza – Victor Frankenstein’s bride, killed by the Monster on her and Victor’s wedding night.
Henry Clerval – Victor’s best friend since their childhood age. Another victim of the Monster.
Captain Walton – the captain of the ship which rescued Victor on the way to the North Pole.
Mrs. Margaret Walton Saville – Captain Walton’s sister, to whom he writes letters where he tells the story.
Other characters include Justine Moritz, accused of killing Williams, De Laceys’ family, the university professors M. Krempe and M. Waldman and a number of other people.
