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Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character, the protagonist of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley.

In Shelley's novel

He is the son of Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort, the latter of whom died of scarlet fever when he was young. Victor had two younger brothers — William Frankenstein, the youngest, who was killed by Victor's creation, and Ernest Frankenstein, the middle child, who wants to join the Foreign Service like a "true Genevese". Victor fell in love with his adoptive sister, Elizabeth Lavenza (in the 1818 text, his biological cousin; in the 1831 revision, a blonde among Gypsies whom his mother doted upon).

As a young man, Frankenstein was enamored with alchemists such as Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus, and he longed to discover the fabled elixir of life. He loses interest in both these pursuits and in science as a whole after seeing the remains of a tree struck by lightning. However, at the University of Ingolstadt, Frankenstein develops a fondness for chemistry. Unfortunately, he becomes obsessed with the idea of creating life in inanimate matter through artificial means, dropping out of school to pursue this goal for the next two years.

Assembling a humanoid creature perhaps by stitching together pieces of human corpses, perhaps by the use of a chemical, apparatus or a combination of both (he avoids the question three times when asked, though the fact that he noted lightning striking down a tree in his childhood is a prominent clue), Frankenstein successfully brings it to life only to be repulsed and terrified by its monstrous ugliness. He abandons and flees his creation, who disappears and soon embarks upon a journey of vengeance that results in the deaths of several of Frankenstein's family and friends. When the monster demands that Victor create a companion for him, Victor agrees, but upon considering it, he destroys the half-created monster.

Frankenstein pursues the "fiend" or "demon" (as he calls his creation) to the Arctic with the intent of destroying it; he ultimately fails in his mission, however, and after relating his tale to the captain of a ship of explorers that has picked him up, he dies of pneumonia. His creature, upon discovering the death of its creator, is overcome by sorrow and ends the novel by vowing to commit suicide by burning himself alive.

Characterization

While many subsequent film adaptations (notably the 1931 movie Frankenstein and the Hammer Films series starring Peter Cushing) have portrayed Frankenstein as insane (the prototypical "mad scientist"), Shelley's original novel depicts him more as a man tragically driven by ambition and scientific curiosity, unable to deal with the consequences of his actions in "playing God" (not Shelley's words), or being an irresponsible, neglectful parent.

It is also important to note that Victor Frankenstein of the novel was not a "Doctor" as he is typically portrayed in adaptations, but a college dropout. Nor is he a "Baron"--and no title is given to his father, either, although they are clearly a wealthy family. Even so, while it is a stretch to call him a "doctor", he may still be considered a Baron due to his family's status, and nationality, even though he is never directly referred to by the title in the original novel.

In the novel, Victor promises Walton three times that he will explain later by what process he brought his creature to life, and never does. This indicates that he was deliberately reticent about his techniques that became a showpiece in adaptations, rather than simply Shelley's lack of knowledge of laboratory work. Our clue to the use of lightning is Frankenstein's mention of a tree being struck by lightning at the time of his mother's death, a detail he gives otherwise undue significance.

In other media

While Victor Frankenstein first appeared on screen in a 1910 film produced by Thomas Edison, in which he seemed more a magician, the character's first significant film appearance was in Universal Pictures' 1931 film adaptation, directed by James Whale. Here, the character is renamed Henry Frankenstein and is played by British actor Colin Clive opposite Boris Karloff as the Creature. Clive would reprise his role in the 1935 sequel, Bride of Frankenstein, which reunited Clive, Whale and Karloff, as well as first giving Frankenstein the official title of Baron. Although not present in the following sequels due to Clive's death in 1937, Henry would make a cameo appearance in 1939's Son of Frankenstein, as an oil painting in the Frankenstein family library, and was the title character, in spite of having only a cameo, in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942).

The character would gain new life in 1957 when Peter Cushing first essayed the role in Hammer Films' The Curse of Frankenstein, opposite Christopher Lee as the Creature. Cushing would go on to star as Victor Frankenstein, now identified as a Baron, in five more films for the studio.

Unlike most adaptations and sequels to the novel, Hammer decided to focus its Frankenstein franchise on the Baron rather than the Monster, to distance itself from the Universal series, and to perhaps remind audiences that Frankenstein is the name of the Creator, not the Creation.

After 1969's Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, in which Cushing had temporarily retired from the role, Hammer had decide to reboot the series for the 1970's. The Horror of Frankenstein was a tongue-in-cheek black comedy, which featured Ralph Bates as a younger, "hipper" Baron in the sinister mold of Peter Cushing's interpretation. After the film failed to be the success Hammer had hoped for, they brought Cushing back for one final film, in 1974's Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.

The character would be featured in several films throughout the years, usually portraying him as a sinister madman, rather than the complex character of the original novel. Udo Kier played the Baron in 1973's Flesh for Frankenstein, while Leonard Whiting played him in Frankenstein: The True Story, and Robert Foxworth played him in another television adaptation all in the same year. Sting appeared as "Charles" Frankenstein in 1985's The Bride, and stage actor Raul Julia portrayed the good Baron in Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound (1990). Four years later, Kenneth Brannagh would re-interpret the character along the lines of Shelley's portrayal in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

In Mel Brooks' 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder portrays Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of Victor, who inherits the family estate but is at first repelled by his grandfather's work (to the point of insisting that his name is pronounced "FRONK-en-steen"), but is led to take up the work, culminating in success.

In the 2004 film Van Helsing, Victor Frankenstein is hired by Count Dracula to create the monster for Dracula to use to bring his offspring to life. When Victor refuses, Dracula kills him, only to be attacked by the monster. The monster takes Victor's body to the wind mill. An angry mob outside of the castle sees the monster and chases it to the wind mill. They set fire to the wind mill in order to kill the monster, but are chased off by Dracula and his brides. The monster survives when the floor on top of the wind mill caves in. The monster is later used to bring Dracula's offspring to life, only to escape from the castle with help from vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing.

The 2007 film Frankenstein introduces Victoria Frankenstein. Instead of making the creature out of corpses, Victoria uses stem cells, intending to use her experiment to save her dying son. The experiment goes wrong, however, and the Creature escapes. When Victoria catches up with the monster, she comes to love it because it is her only remaining link to her son, who has since died.

See also

• Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
• Frankenstein in popular culture

• Fictional scientists
• Fictional alchemists
• Characters in British novels of the 19th century
• Frankenstein characters