How does Shelly develop the character of Victor in the early part of the novel,

Frankenstein?

Intro define character development as both indirect and direct; personality,

structure of the novel and relationships with other characters]

Indirect personality No childhood could have passed more happily than mine
Structure placing Waltons letters before story + Walton retelling the story
Indirect relationships - relationship with father (victor this is trash)

Direct personality - a vast sheet of fire Dantes inferno, against nature link
Direct relationships Relationship with mother

Character development can be considered as either direct or indirect, Mary

Shelly utilises both styles in her novel Frankenstein. Her characterisation of
Victor can be further categorised into three sections: his personality; the
structure of the narrative; and the relationships we are told about and develop
throughout the novel. This collection of factors can be argued to effectively come
together to develop the character of Victor.
A prominent way in which Shelly developed the character of Victor is through his
narrative and the language he uses which in turn allows the reader to develop an
understanding of Victors personality. We see this indirectly when Victor states
no childhood could have passed more easily than mine. This statement is
greatly exaggerated as Victors mother died and thus his childhood would have
been much happier if she was still alive. Therefore Shelly may have made Victor
exaggerate his to show his arrogance or more likely, that he had grown to terms
with his mothers death. This is because Victor has retold this story and thus as
the events have already happened in the novel, therefore Shelly has made Victor
appear as wise and present him as someone who has learned from his past.
Therefore Shelly may have used language to develop Victors character either to
indirectly show us that he is arrogant or more likely that he has learnt from his
experiences with the monster.
We can further see Shelly developing Victors character through his narrative
when he describes the scenery as a vast sheet of fire. Fire in many ways can
symbolise Hell however on a deeper analytical level, Shelly may have intended it
to link Victor to either Prometheus or the divine comedy. This is because in the
Greek story of Prometheus, the main character stole the ability to create fire
from the Gods and gave it to the Humans. This in turn can be related to Victor
who stole the ability of giving life however to describe himself as such would
make Victor appear as proud of his actions in improving the status of mankind
like Prometheus did so. Therefore it is more convincing to interpret this quote as

being related to The Divine comedy, specifically the seventh ring in Dantes
inferno as it is described as being for the blasphemous and those who have
committed acts against nature. This related to Victor when he created the
monster and instantly regrets it but also to Branaghs film adaptation as the
creature is held up, as if to declare the act of creation to the concept of God that
Victor believes in. Thus Shelly may have made Victor use the symbolism of fire to
relate to the scenery in terms of Prometheus in order to present Victor as proud
however it is more convincing to argue that Shelly has linked the imagery of fire
to Dantes inferno in order to show how Victor has been guilt ridden since
creating the creature.
Another way that Shelly has developed the character of Victor is through his
relationships with other characters. We can see this through his seemingly
unnatural level of affection for his mother. This is because his desire to reanimate
the dead was inspired by his desire to be with his mother again. This links to
Freuds theory on development where he describes the development of sexuality
as starting as a sexual attraction to ones parent of the opposite sex. This relates
to Victor as he may have a sexual attraction to his mother which would be why
he wanted to reanimate the dead, this is more plausible than a simple wish to
better mankind. This allows us to sympathise with him by separating his role in
creating the creature from Victor himself, Shelly may have done this in order to
allow us to realise how people may do immoral actions from good intentions or
more interestingly that how children develop is highly important. Therefore
Shelly has used Victors relationship to his mother to create a sense of sympathy
and pity for Victor in the readers minds.
Another interesting relationship that Shelly has crafted is between Victor and the
creature. This relationship is in many ways the same as a parent who has
abandoned their child however it shows how little Victor develops as a character
morally throughout the novel. We see this as when he abandons the creature in
Ingolstadt, he maintains the same mentality that the creature is an immoral
creation that needs to die rather than it is his responsibility to care for it. This
leads the reader to associate the creature with a child yet associate Victor as
irresponsible which may be interpreted as Shelly intending for the creature to be
related to Victor when he lost his mother and to commit similar sins however it
can be argued that the creature even though it is a murderer, just wanted a
companion and love. Therefore we as readers become desensitised to Victors
failing health and begin to feel greater compassion for the monster. Thus we can
argue that Shelly has used the relationship between the monster and Victor to
develop the latter as irresponsible even after creating the monster and allegedly
repenting.
Structure is the final way in which Mary Shelly develops Victors character. We
see this in the conscious choice she made to place Waltons letters before the
main events of the novel as it links Walton to Victor in various ways for example:
the limitless ambition seen in both; that they are both white middle class
scientists; that they want to do good for mankind; and the fact they self-taught
themselves. Shelly may have done this in order to show how those with moral
intentions can commit immoral actions however it is more convincing to argue
that Shelly has placed the Walton letters before the main events in order to
foreshadow Victors characterisation. This is likely as we are not told anything

about Victor until after the letters and yet as a first time reader, we can pick up
on various signifiers that lead us to link the two characters together and
hypothesise what will happen to Victor. Therefore Shelly has used structure to
indirectly develop Victors personality by placing Waltons letters before the main
narrative to show Victor and Walton to be similar if not the same to foreshadow
Victors development in terms of personality.
In conclusion Mary Shelly has cleverly developed the character of Victor through
his narrative, structure of the novel and the relationships that he uses, to weave
together a mutually reinforcing foundation that the reader uses to predict and
assume what will happen to Victor and how he will react throughout the novel.