How does Victor Frankenstein change throughout the novel?

Author: Martin Munyao Muinde
Email: ephantusmartin@gmail.com

Introduction

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is one of the most profound works in the history of literature, both for its thematic concerns and its deep exploration of human ambition, guilt, and responsibility. At the center of the narrative stands Victor Frankenstein, the ambitious scientist who creates life but fails to take responsibility for his creation. The question, “How does Victor Frankenstein change throughout the novel?” is important because it provides insight into the psychological, moral, and philosophical dimensions of the text. Victor is not a static character but one whose journey from youthful ambition to despair reflects the dangers of unchecked desire for knowledge, the consequences of moral neglect, and the tragic dimensions of human fallibility. His transformation is not only a personal journey but also a mirror for society’s confrontation with science, responsibility, and the pursuit of power. Understanding Victor’s evolution allows readers to grasp the moral weight of Shelley’s cautionary tale and the enduring relevance of the novel in modern times.

Victor Frankenstein’s Ambitious Youth

At the beginning of the novel, Victor is portrayed as a young man filled with intellectual passion, curiosity, and ambition. His early life in Geneva is marked by a privileged upbringing and an intense fascination with the mysteries of nature. He is deeply influenced by the works of outdated natural philosophers such as Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus, which spark his obsession with uncovering the secrets of life and death (Shelley, 1818/1993). Unlike other children, Victor becomes increasingly preoccupied with knowledge that transcends ordinary human limits, suggesting a personality inclined toward extremes. This youthful passion sets the foundation for his later obsession with scientific discovery.

Victor’s ambition is particularly evident when he enrolls at the University of Ingolstadt, where his education exposes him to modern chemistry and natural philosophy. The young scientist quickly becomes consumed with the idea of conquering death and creating life, a goal that represents his aspiration to transcend natural boundaries. In this phase of the novel, Victor is portrayed as an embodiment of Enlightenment ambition and Romantic rebellion, a figure who believes he can harness the forces of nature to achieve greatness. His change begins here, as his ambition shifts from healthy curiosity to dangerous obsession, a transformation that foreshadows the tragedies to come (Mellor, 1988).

Victor as the Obsessive Creator

Victor’s most significant transformation occurs during the period of creation, where his intellectual ambition develops into an all-consuming obsession. Once he resolves to create life, he becomes entirely detached from his family, friends, and social responsibilities. Shelley vividly describes Victor’s isolation, as he spends months collecting body parts from graves and charnel houses, constructing his creation in secrecy. His pursuit of knowledge turns into a destructive mania, where he neglects his health and relationships in favor of his experiment (Shelley, 1818/1993).

This stage highlights a critical change in Victor’s character, as he moves from ambition to alienation. His obsession demonstrates the dehumanizing effect of unchecked scientific pursuit. In his desire to rival nature and even God, Victor loses sight of the ethical implications of his actions. Shelley emphasizes this transformation to warn readers of the dangers of divorcing science from morality. Victor’s obsession culminates in the climactic moment when he animates the Creature, but instead of triumph, he is immediately horrified by his creation. This sudden reversal marks another shift in his character: from obsessive creator to terrified and irresponsible avoider of consequences (Baldick, 1987).

Victor as the Irresponsible Parent

The moment Victor beholds the Creature, he undergoes a profound change from ambitious scientist to an irresponsible parent who rejects his creation. Shelley emphasizes the irony that Victor, who devoted immense time and energy to bringing life into existence, abandons his Creature the moment it becomes animated. His immediate revulsion shows that his obsession was driven not by a sense of responsibility or empathy but by a selfish desire for glory. This rejection sets the stage for the novel’s central tragedy, as the Creature’s suffering and eventual violence stem directly from Victor’s abandonment (Shelley, 1818/1993).

Victor’s transformation at this stage underscores his moral weakness. Instead of taking responsibility for the being he has brought into existence, he flees, leaving the Creature to navigate the world alone. This change reveals Victor’s immaturity and inability to accept the consequences of his ambition. Shelley uses this stage in Victor’s development to highlight the theme of parental responsibility and the destructive consequences of neglect. Victor’s failure as a parent becomes a central moral lesson in the novel, demonstrating that ambition without responsibility leads to ruin not only for the individual but also for others (Levine & Knoepflmacher, 1979).

Victor’s Experience of Guilt and Suffering

After the Creature begins to act violently, Victor’s character changes once again as he becomes consumed by guilt, grief, and self-recrimination. The murder of his younger brother William and the wrongful execution of Justine Moritz mark the beginning of Victor’s descent into suffering. He knows the true cause of these tragedies, yet he remains silent, unwilling to expose his secret. His guilt becomes a defining feature of his character, as he realizes that his ambition has unleashed a force he cannot control (Shelley, 1818/1993).

Victor’s transformation into a guilt-ridden man demonstrates his growing awareness of the consequences of his actions, yet his guilt does not translate into meaningful responsibility. Instead of confronting the Creature with empathy, Victor continues to see him only as a monstrous adversary. His grief isolates him further from his family and intensifies his obsession with revenge. Shelley portrays this stage of Victor’s transformation as a warning about the corrosive effects of guilt when combined with pride and denial. His refusal to admit the truth or take responsibility deepens his suffering and accelerates his decline (Punter & Byron, 2004).

Victor as a Vengeful Pursuer

As the novel progresses, Victor’s grief and guilt evolve into a new transformation: from a passive sufferer to an active seeker of vengeance. The deaths of Clerval and Elizabeth drive Victor to dedicate the remainder of his life to pursuing the Creature. His initial ambition to create life is replaced by an equally obsessive ambition to destroy the life he created. In this phase, Victor mirrors the Creature in his relentless pursuit of revenge, demonstrating the extent to which his character has been transformed by despair and hatred (Shelley, 1818/1993).

This transformation underscores the theme of doubling in the novel, where Victor and the Creature become reflections of each other. Just as the Creature is consumed by resentment toward Victor, Victor is consumed by vengeance against the Creature. Both are defined by obsession, isolation, and a refusal to reconcile. Victor’s change into a vengeful pursuer illustrates the destructive cycle of revenge, which perpetuates suffering rather than resolving it. Shelley uses this transformation to critique the futility of vengeance and the tragic consequences of allowing ambition and obsession to dominate human behavior (Botting, 1996).

Victor’s Final Transformation and Death

Victor’s final transformation occurs in the concluding stages of the novel, as he recounts his story to Captain Walton. Near death and consumed by exhaustion, Victor reflects on his life with a mixture of remorse and self-justification. While he acknowledges his suffering and the destruction caused by his ambition, he never fully accepts moral responsibility for the Creature’s fate. Instead, he urges Walton to avoid the dangers of ambition while still portraying himself as a tragic figure ruined by forces beyond his control (Shelley, 1818/1993).

This final transformation reveals Victor as a tragic hero, a man destroyed by his flaws and obsessions. His death on the Arctic ice symbolizes the futility of his pursuits and the ultimate cost of his choices. Yet Shelley ensures that Victor’s story remains a cautionary tale, as Walton, the outer narrator, learns from Victor’s downfall. Victor’s final state reflects both his inability to achieve redemption and the inevitability of destruction when ambition is pursued without ethical responsibility. His transformation from ambitious youth to ruined man embodies the novel’s central themes and provides its most enduring moral lesson (Stableford, 2010).

Conclusion

In addressing the question, “How does Victor Frankenstein change throughout the novel?” it becomes clear that his transformation is central to the meaning and significance of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor changes from an ambitious youth fascinated by the secrets of nature, to an obsessive creator blinded by ambition, to an irresponsible parent unwilling to accept responsibility for his creation. He then becomes a guilt-ridden man haunted by the consequences of his actions, a vengeful pursuer consumed by obsession, and finally a broken figure who dies without redemption. Each stage of his transformation highlights the dangers of unchecked ambition, the consequences of neglecting responsibility, and the futility of vengeance. Shelley’s portrayal of Victor’s transformation is important because it speaks to broader human concerns about science, morality, and the pursuit of knowledge. Victor Frankenstein’s journey is not merely the story of one man’s downfall but a universal cautionary tale that continues to resonate with readers in the modern era.

References

• Baldick, C. (1987). In Frankenstein’s Shadow: Myth, Monstrosity, and Nineteenth-Century Writing. Oxford University Press.

• Botting, F. (1996). Gothic. Routledge.

• Levine, G., & Knoepflmacher, U. C. (Eds.). (1979). The Endurance of Frankenstein: Essays on Mary Shelley’s Novel. University of California Press.

• Mellor, A. K. (1988). Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. Routledge.

• Punter, D., & Byron, G. (2004). The Gothic. Blackwell Publishing.

• Shelley, M. (1993). Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818 Text). Oxford University Press.

• Stableford, B. (2010). Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia. Routledge.