Characters And Characterization In Frankenstein And The Modern Prometheus

Plot Summary

The novel starts with Robert Walton, an explorer whose ship is stuck by ice in the Arctic, who writes letters to his sister. In his letters, Walton notes a gigantic man of size whom he and his crew witnessed. A few days later, however, they discovered another, smaller man yet in miserable condition. After he regained his health, the man starts to tell Walton an unbelievable story which is recorded in written form.

The rescued man’s name is Victor Frankenstein, a scientist born in Geneva, Switzerland. As a boy, he was fascinated by science and alchemy, and eventually, Frankenstein decides to study in Ingolstadt, Germany. There, he focuses all his attention to create a new life being by collecting and connecting various parts of

For this reason, are two major characters worth describing and analyzing: Victor Frankenstein and the creature.

Victor Frankenstein

First and foremost, as the title alludes to his name, Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist of the novel. As he is one of the three first person narrators, he is mostly described indirectly by other characters such as Robert Walton. Each reader therefore has to draw an individual conclusion after reading his thoughts and feelings. Some features of direct, also named explicit, characterization can be found; nevertheless, the indirect, also called implicit, characterization outweighs far more in the novel. A description of Frankenstein’s physical appearance is not given in detail because only a few verbal illustrations are provided, e.g.: “He was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European.” (p. 26) The previously mentioned quotation indicates that he is presumably a white male