Victor Frankenstein Tragic Hero Essay

As Adam Philips once said, “Tragic heroes are failed pragmatists, their ends are unrealistic and their means are impractical.” In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, the obsessed scientist Victor Frankenstein becomes fascinated with natural philosophy and undergoes a journey trying to manipulate the laws of nature. Victor is a great demonstration of a tragic hero and displays all the characteristics necessary throughout the novel. To begin with, Victor had excessive pride at the beginning of the novel, a characteristic of a tragic hero. Victor was obsessed with science and reading textbooks from the young age of 13 and as he ages, he becomes fascinated with alchemy and the decay of life, concerning his father. Victor's father tries to warn him that

As soon as Victor’s creation came alive, Victor turned his back on the creature, leading to it lashing out at the world around it. When Victor sees his creation, he thinks to himself, “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” (Shelley 48). Without considering what the Creature was going through, Victor immediately starts judging it, calling it disgusting names such as “catastrophe” and “wretch”. Victor’s irresponsibility led to the Creature holding feelings of hatred against the human race. After the Creature escapes and is forced to grow up on its own, it learns basic needs and emotions, and how society treats people like him. The Creature being shunned away by everyone, including his creator, takes a toll on his mental health and self-esteem, and he expresses his depression when he tells Victor, “You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me” (Shelley 147). The Creature feels no remorse for his actions, as he deals with the immense emotions he feels about being abandoned. Victor's tragic flaw is that he never accepts he made a mistake until it was too late. He turns his back on the creature which ultimately causes his