Frankenstein: Viktor, the Monster and the Monstrosity

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a story about a man who questions science, life, death, and the unknown. The man, Victor Frankenstein, is the oldest son of Alphonse and Caroline Beaufort Frankenstein and lives a sheltered life filled with love and happiness. However, the unexpected death of his mother, combined with being sent away from home to attend University, causes him to delve into the teachings of the physical sciences. With his newfound knowledge, Victor finds himself yearning to "infuse life into an inanimate body" and soon becomes obsessed with the quest to do so (56). Soon, Victor's sole concern becomes his creation and he is unable to function normally within society and he abandons reality and succumbs to a world filled with exaggerated thoughts and ideas. Victor's obsession with his creation and the consequences of his behavior destroys his family, his marriage, and eventually leads to the demise of Victor himself.

He arduously works toward his goal and became infatuated with finding the right 'building material.' Victor "collect[ed] bones from charnel houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame" (52). He goes on to say that:

"No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me [Victor] onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light onto our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; maybe happy and excellent natures would own their belonging to me." (51)

It seems as if Victor envisions himself as God. He sees himself as the sole creator and source of the life that he is constructing and feels that he should, and will be, rewarded for his efforts. Therefore, upon completion, Victor finds himself in awe of his creation; which is described with vivid in detail: