Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was written in 1818. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who creates a Creature from body parts. Victor's story is tragic, as he abandons his Creature in horror, who is both sentient and grotesque, leading the Creature to seek revenge on Victor.
The characters in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein have a key role in developing the novel's central themes, including ambition, isolation, and the consequences of unchecked scientific advancement. Shelley's novel has a relatively small range of characters, focusing on Victor Frankenstein and his Creature.
This guide will explore the main and supporting character list in Frankenstein. Clear plot examples and key quotes will be given for each character. We will discuss their motives and how Shelley uses them to discuss humanity and morality. The article is suitable for GCSE English Literature revision across all major exam boards.
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Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist, and his actions drive the plot. He is introduced as an intelligent and ambitious young man who seeks to push the boundaries of human knowledge and medical science. Victor's interest in science becomes an obsession with the idea of creating life during studies at Ingolstadt University. This obsession is at the expense of his family and personal responsibilities.
The creation of Victor Frankenstein is made from body parts stolen from charnel houses (a vault where human remains are kept) and fresh graves. Victor spends two years building him, an imposing creature who is nearly 8 feet tall. Victor immediately rejects his creation, horrified at his grotesque appearance. In doing so, he rejects his responsibilities. It is a crucial moment in the plot, as it underscores his moral weakness and his failure as a creator. This contributes to the deaths of William, Justine, Clerval, and Elizabeth.
Victor's ambition is evident when he explains the motivation behind his experiment, implying that he feels he can surpass natural limits:
"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through."
Gradually, Victor becomes consumed by guilt. He also seeks revenge after the creature travels to Geneva and murders his younger brother William in the woods. When the Creature demands that he create a female companion, Victor agrees. However, he decides to destroy the incomplete female when he imagines his creations giving birth. This shows he finally recognises the dangers of his ambition:
"I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest."
Ultimately, Victor represents the dangers of unchecked ambition and the importance of responsibility.
The Creature
The creature is a complex character. Despite his description, Shelley presents the creature as emotional and capable of kindness. He is also clearly intelligent, as the monster learns to speak during the novel. He begins life with innocence and curiosity about the world. However, his interactions negatively affect his character as everyone rejects him due to his appearance.
He observes the De Lacey family while hiding in their cottage. From watching their interactions, he learns to speak, read, and understand emotions. He also learns about love and family, painfully highlighting his loneliness. When he reveals himself to the blind De Lacey, he is treated kindly. However, the family are violent towards him when they return and chase him away. This makes the creature believe that society will always reject him due to his appearance.
He explains that rejection has shaped him, feeding his anger and desire for revenge. The creature was not born evil, but rather this was fostered through isolation and mistreatment:
"I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend."
This is further clear from when he murders William Frankenstein after the child fears him. He then frames Justine, who is accused of murdering William, when she is discovered to have his locket.
The Creature approaches Victor and asks for a female companion in return for isolating himself from humanity forever. However, Victor has second thoughts and destroys his female creation, causing the Creature to kill Henry Clerval and Elizabeth in retaliation.
He shows remorse when Victor dies aboard a ship on an Arctic expedition, having become severely weakened from the Creature's pursuit of him. This shows he has a conscience. Shelley encourages us to feel sympathy for him, suggesting that his actions are caused by isolation and rejection:
"Polluted by crimes, and torn by the bitterest remorse, where can I find rest but in death?"
Robert Walton
Robert Walton narrates the novel and shapes how the story is told. Frankenstein begins with Walton's letters to his sister, Margaret Saville. It shows Victor's story through Walton's eyes. Walton is similarly ambitious and determined to achieve greatness through exploration.
Walton is the captain of a ship that is exploring the North Pole, searching for a new passage. He finds Victor, who is weak from exhaustion and hypothermia. After he rescues Victor, he learns about his life, which warns about the dangers of ambition. His experiences influence Walton's decisions, as he decides to end his expedition and turn back.
The quote below shows Walton's ambition. This closely mirrors Victor's attitude. However, while Victor quickly goes from having an interest in science to an obsession with creating life with no regard to the consequences, Walton learns. His crew are threatening to mutiny and wants to turn back due to dangerous conditions. Walton agrees to abandon the expedition, choosing safety over personal ambition:
"I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path."
Walton has changed considerably by the end of the novel. He listens to warnings and changes course, in direct contrast with Victor. We can see that his immediate future may have been very different if he had not learnt from this encounter.
Elizabeth Lavenza
Elizabeth Lavenza is Victor's adopted sister. She is an orphan who is brought into the family. In the original edition of Frankenstein, she was technically Victor's cousin, while she is adopted by the Frankenstein family more fully in the 1831 edition.
Victor later proposes to and marries Elizabeth. She is kind, compassionate, and stable, contrasting sharply with Victor's obsessive, destructive ambition. She acts as a moral guide to Victor, reminding him of his responsibilities.
While he is studying at university, Elizabeth writes a series of letters, telling him about his family and worrying for his well-being. Victor ignores these messages due to his scientific obsession, pushing away a loved one with his neglect.
She defends Justine after she is wrongly convicted of William's murder. The quote below shows her sense of justice and a belief in the goodness of people. Justine is executed for the crime, which stresses that innocent people suffer due to the actions of others:
"She was the most amiable and benevolent of human creatures."
When Victor refuses to create a female companion for the Creature, he focuses on protecting himself after he is threatened. Tragically, he doesn't realise that Elizabeth is the true target. She is murdered on their wedding night, representing the destruction of Victor's personal happiness and highlighting what he has lost through ambition: love, family, and a peaceful life.
Henry Clerval
Henry Clerval is Victor's closest friend. While Victor is driven by ambition and obsession, Henry values humanity, culture, and connecting with others. Shelley uses Henry as a foil against Victor, showing what could have been.
When Victor falls ill after creating the Creature, Henry looks after him. Victor is physically and mentally broken, and Henry's kindness and patience nurse him back to health. It shows Henry's loyalty and his caring, selfless character.
Victor's description of Henry shows that he appreciates beauty, language, and human experience. Unlike his friend, Henry wants to use knowledge to help others, rather than dominate:
"He was a being formed in the very ‘poetry of nature’."
Henry follows Victor from the European mainland to Britain, where Victor establishes a laboratory in Orkney to create a female companion for the Creature. While Henry doesn't realise the danger he is in, Victor is fully aware that the Creature is nearby. As with Elizabeth, Victor is unable to protect his friend, who is killed in revenge for Victor aborting his female creation:
"I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval."
Henry's murder is a significant moment in the story, as he was one of the few positive influences on Victor. When he dies, Victor reflects that Henry was "the image of my former self." This shows he represents Victor before his ambition took over, and his death symbolises the loss of Victor's moral anchor.
Supporting Characters
William Frankenstein
William is Victor’s youngest brother. He represents innocence and vulnerability. He initially believes a child won't judge him by his appearance. However, William is afraid and calls him a monster. When the Creature realises he is related to Victor, he murders William. This is a key point in the novel, as it is the first direct act of violence the Creature commits.
William’s death also shows the consequence of Victor's actions. The Creature partly kills William to hurt Victor emotionally. It serves to move the plot forward, leading to Justine's false accusation when she is framed by the Creature.
William is described as "the smiling and happy child". This shows his innocence and underlines his tragic fate.
Justine Moritz
Justine is the servant of the Frankenstein household. She is falsely accused of William's murder when his locket is found in her possession, planted by the Creature. Shelley uses her to highlight social injustice during the early 1800s.
Victor knows Justine is innocent. He stays silent to protect his own reputation, showing his moral failure. Her trial and execution imply the corruption of justice when she is forced to confess to the crime by the religious authorities. It also underscores the powerlessness of individuals in society:
"I did confess, but I confessed a lie."
Alphonse Frankenstein
Alphonse Frankenstein is Victor’s father. He is a wealthy, powerful man from Geneva who represents traditional values, family responsibility, and moral guidance. He encourages Victor to live a balanced life and warns him against obsession:
"Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught?"
Alphonse urges Victor to return home after William’s death, believing that being with family will help him to recover. However, Alphonse doesn't understand the true cause of Victor's distress, due to Victor's isolation and secrecy around his creation.
The quotation below shows his belief in emotional strength when he advises Victor. He contrasts with his son's behaviour, who allows grief and guilt to consume him on multiple occasions:
"Excessive sorrow prevents improvement or enjoyment."
Alphonse is destroyed by the death of Elizabeth. He dies of grief days later, showing how Victor's ambition has destroyed the entire family.
The De Lacey Family
The members of the De Lacey family are De Lacey, Felix, Agatha, and Safie. The Creature secretly observes them, learning language, history, and moral values. They are crucial to the Creature's development and understanding of humanity. They represent the kindness and love that the Creature desperately desires.
The Creature views them with admiration, says they had "gentle manners and endearing qualities." This shows how much he values human connection.
He helps the family in secret by collecting firewood and performing small acts of kindness. He is treated with kindness by the blind De Lacey when he reveals himself. However, Felix attacks him in fear when he returns home. This rejection turns the Creature towards anger and revenge:
"The feelings of kindness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth."
Safie
Safie is the beautiful daughter of a Turkish merchant and a Christian Arab slave. She represents independence and the desire for freedom.
Safie wants to escape her father's control and follow her love, Felix De Lacey. She follows Felix and is taken in by the De Lacey family, learning language and customs. She is courageous and independent when she "spurned her father’s threats", contrasting with the other, more passive female characters in the novel:
"The arrival of the Arabian excited in me the hope of being set at liberty."
The Creature learns secretly alongside Safie. Her lessons give him access to books like Paradise Lost, which shape his understanding of himself and humanity
Felix De Lacey
Felix is an emotionally driven character. He represents kindness and devotion to his family, as well as passion in his love for Safie. However, he also shows the flawed nature of humanity in his violent reaction to the Creature.
When Felix sees the Creature for the first time, he attacks it. This is an instinctive reaction, despite the Creature's peaceful intentions. It destroys any chance for understanding or acceptance:
"Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father."
Creature observes Felix's "gesture of despair" at the poverty and hardship his family are faced with as a result of helping Safie's father escape from prison. This shows Felix’s sensitivity.
Agatha De Lacey
Agatha is a member of the impoverished De Lacey family. She is a kind, virtuous young woman who cares for her father and is supportive towards Felix:
"Agatha listened with respect, her eyes sometimes filled with tears."
When she sees the Creature, Agatha faints. This underscores that appearance alone can cause fear and rejection. Her reaction is not aggressive, yet furthers the Creature's feeling of deep isolation.
She is described by the Creature as having "a gentle demeanour", reflecting his admiration and need for acceptance.
De Lacey (the Father)
De Lacey is the blind head of the household. He can't see and judges the Creature on his words rather than his appearance. He is the only person to treat the Creature with kindness, making him a symbol of fairness and true humanity:
"I am blind, and cannot judge of your countenance, but there is something in your words which persuades me that you are sincere."
The Creature speaks openly about his loneliness and desire for friendship. This shows the possibilities for a better outcome if society had judged him differently. He reflects on this sadly later on, showing that prejudice is often rooted in appearances rather than actions:
"listened to me with interest and compassion."
Caroline Beaufort
Caroline Beaufort is Victor Frankenstein’s mother. She appears briefly in the novel, yet has an important influence on her son. She represents compassion, self-sacrifice and parental responsibility.
Caroline takes in Elizabeth when her father dies, raising her as her own child. This shows her nurturing nature and her belief in family dies. Caroline dies of scarlet fever when Victor is a young man. She catches this when caring for Elizabeth despite being ill, showing how deeply she values others:
"She attended her sickbed; her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of the distemper."
Victor describes her as "the angelic guardian of our home." This shows her role as the moral centre of the Frankenstein family. Her death leaves a lasting impact on her son, removing a guiding influence on his life. Victor's loss of his mother can also be argued to contribute to his emotional isolation and obsession with science and controlling the giving and taking of life:
"My mother’s death was the first misfortune of my life."
Conclusion - Characters in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
When studying Frankenstein, it is essential to consider the background, personality, and motives of each major character. Mary Shelley uses her character list to explore powerful themes, including ambition, responsibility, isolation, injustice, and the consequences of our actions. We see that Victor's choices lead to widespread suffering.
For further reading, the Stanford Daily has an interesting article exploring the differences between the various editions of Frankenstein. You can also memorise key quotes from Frankenstein in this article by SparkNotes.
When preparing for your GCSE exams, remember to support your analysis of key characters by referencing the novel. Describe plot examples and key quotations to justify your conclusions, linking them back to themes in the novel and Shelley's message.
If you need support revising Frankenstein, TeachTutti has top GCSE English Literature tutors. Lessons can be online or inperson and tutors will tailor lessons to your specific needs, such as a further exploration of supporting characters, like Ernest Frankenstein.
