In Mary ShelleyÆs Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is a scientist who creates a ôcreatureö from body parts in his science laboratory. In the novel, Frankenstein plays a variety of roles from husband and father to scientist and creator. However, he eventually abandons his family in order to create life in his ôcreature.ö Despite the multiple roles played by Frankenstein, his main roles are scientist, creator, and parent of the ôcreature.ö A conclusion will demonstrate ShelleyÆs purpose in focusing on these three roles for Victor Frankenstein.
One of the main roles of Frankenstein is, obviously, that of scientist. In his effort to discover the source and manifestation of life, Victor immerses himself in scientific research in his laboratory. In his role as scientist, Victor is both narcissistic and selfish. As Dickerson (79) maintains, ôIn this novelànarcissistic males like Walton and Victor tend to be the scientists.ö Such a portrayal of this role might be due to Victorian attitudes of gender roles and norms, but other critics, like Howard P. Segal (861), maintain that this role of Frankenstein is highlighted as ShelleyÆs way of demonstrating the often self-involved nature of a scientist like Victor who follows a ôsecretive, self-centered and finally self-destructive manner in which he pursues this primitive form of physiological engineeringàVictor works alone [and] confides in no one.ö
A second primary role played by Victor is that of creator of life. He pursues his role as scientist with such commitment in order to discover the nature and generation of life. He gives little thought to whether he should do so and he does not give consideration to the final appearance of his creation. VictorÆs pursuit of creating life is similar, according to L. J. Swingle (178), to the type of madness we experience as we pursue ôthe oppressive fantasies of our own creation.ö In his role of
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