Victor Frankenstein
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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. He is the scientist who, after studying chemical processes and the decay of living beings, gains an insight into the creation of life and gives life to his own creature.
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[edit] In Shelley's novel
He is the son of Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort, the parents of victor died of scarlet fever when he was young. Victor has two younger brothers — William, the youngest, who is killed by Victor's creation, and Ernest, the middle child, who wants to join the Foreign Service like a "true Genevese". Victor falls in love with Elizabeth, who became his adoptive sister.
As a young man, Frankenstein is interested in the works of alchemists such as Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus, and he longs 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, and becomes obsessed with the idea of creating life in inanimate matter through artificial means, leaving university to pursue this goal for the next two years.
Assembling a humanoid creature perhaps by the use of a chemical, apparatus or a combination of both (he avoids the question three times when asked), Frankenstein successfully brings it to life only to be repulsed by its monstrous ugliness. He abandons and flees his creation, who disappears and soon embarks upon a journey of vengeance that results in the death of his younger brother, William. The creature approaches Frankenstein and begs him to create a female companion for him; Frankenstein agrees, but ultimately destroys this creation, aghast at the idea of a race of monsters. Enraged, the creature swears revenge and, on Frankenstein's wedding night, kills Elizabeth, his creator's new bride, as well as his best friend, Henry Clerval.
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, when he falls through an ice flow and contracting severe pneumonia. He is rescued by a passing freighter, but dies after relating his tale to the ship's captain. His creature, upon discovering the death of its creator, is overcome by sorrow and vows to commit suicide by burning himself alive in "the Northernmost extremity of the globe"; he then disappears, never to be seen or heard from again.
[edit] Characterisation
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"), the novel portrayed him as a tragic figure, ultimately destroyed by his own hubris.
It is also important to note that Victor Frankenstein of the novel is 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.
In the novel, Victor promises Walton, the ship's captain, three times that he will explain later by what process he brought his creature to life, but never does.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Film
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 1970s. 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 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 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 "FRAHNK-en-schteen"). He is ultimately inspired to take up the work, eventually creating his own creature (Peter Boyle).
In the 1999 animated film, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein, Victor (referred as "Dr. Frankenstein") is the main antagonist. After secretly creating the monster in a roller coaster, his lab is discovered by the Chipmunks and sends his creation after them. After the creature had not returned, he goes to the Chipmunks' house and kidnaps Alvin. He then uses a formula that makes Alvin go out of control. After Alvin is returned to normal, Victor tries to electrocute him, but is electrocuted by his own creation, causing the suit he was using to become stuck on him. Later near the end of the film, he appears as the theme park's entertainer.
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 windmill. An angry mob outside of the castle sees the monster and chases it to the windmill. They set fire to the windmill 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 windmill 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, she 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.
[edit] Theatre
The 2007 Off-Broadway musical, Frankenstein - A New Musical portrays Victor as to the naïve young student of Mary Shelley's original novel.
[edit] Computer and video games
Victor Frankenstein is played by Tim Curry in the 1995 graphic adventure computer game Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster, in live-action footage that is integrated into the gameplay graphics.
