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D’Elia Chandler
The Role of Fatherhood in Frankenstein
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was raised by a single parent, her father
William Godwin. She acknowledges the mentally stimulating role a father plays in the
development of a daughter, presumably speaking from personal experience. She declares, "There
is a peculiarity in the education of a daughter, brought up by a father only, which tends to
develop early a thousand of those portions of mind, which are folded up” (Veeder). Shelley
offers in Frankenstein a portrait of how children’s minds are shape, and ultimately their fates
sealed, due to influences from their fathers. Alphonse, Victor’s father, made mistakes in his
parenting that negatively shaped the development of Victor’s mind and how he treated other
living things. These developmental flaws caused Victor to abandon his creation, consequently
leading the monster to destroy Victor’s family and friends. In this paper, it will be argued that
Alphonse laid the seeds of destruction in Victor, creating a snowball effect that would ultimately
lead to the downfall of the monster and Victor himself.
Alphonse Frankenstein plays a significant part in the development of Victor, his oldest
son. Alphonse is a leader in the town of Geneva and is very old fashioned in his thinking. During
the 19th century, fathers took on a patriarchal roll and made most, if not all, of the household
decisions. Alphonse made decisions that greatly impacted Victor’s development. When Victor
was a young child, his father took in Elizabeth, his sister’s daughter, and presented her to Victor
almost as if she were a present. Victor mentions, “I loved to tend on her, as I should on a favorite
animal” (Shelley 20). Victor admits, "I looked upon Elizabeth as mine" (Shelley 35). He sees
Elizabeth as a possession, which was not an abnormal thing at the time, and proposes that she
must be “owned” because she is weak or vulnerable. This is suggested again, when Victor
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confides, "till death she was to be mine only” (Shelley 36). This exemplifies how Alphonse
showed Victor, at an early age, how women were to be treated in society. Victor was displaced
twice during his adolescence when his father allowed two nonmembers of the family into the
house—first Elizabeth, then Justine. Although Victor was not outwardly agitated, these two
displacements instilled within him a feeling of loneliness. In short, Alphonse’s dominating role
as father led Victor to feel isolated. Alphonse did not think deeply about the impact that adding
more members to the family would have on his son. This dominating role can be seen again
when Victor is sent off to Ingolstadt, right after his mother, Caroline, died. Victor idolized his
mother and was very attached to her. Instead of letting Victor grieve with the family, Alphonse
sends him away, leaving Victor to feel more secluded than ever. Victor is isolated from his
family and best friend Clerval, which fuels his obsession with creating the monster.
On one level Alphonse is a loving father. He created something – Victor – and did his
best to nurture his creation. He tries to care for his family and looks out for their best interest.
He routinely worries about Victor when he is at Ingolstadt because he has not heard from him for
some time. In his letters to Victor, he emphasizes his hopes that Victor is doing well and wishes
him to not forget his duties to his family. Alphonse reminds Victor that happiness and family are
just as important as books and learning. As Victor is working on his “great object” he reads the
letters and states that he “knew well therefore what would be my father’s feelings; but I could
not tear my thoughts from my employment, loathsome in itself, but had taken an irresistible hold
of my imagination” (Shelley 33). This shows that Alphonse developed a conscience within
Victor. Victor is choosing deliberately not to make use of it here.
Alphonse misreads his son and sends him, at times, even deeper into despair. After the
death of William, Victor’s younger brother, Alphonse notices his son’s health greatly decline. He
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remarks, “Don’t you think Victor, that I do not suffer also? … Excessive sorrow prevents
improvement or enjoyment, or even the discharge of daily usefulness, without which no man is
fit for society” (Shelley 59). Alphonse does not realize that Victor feels totally responsible for
the death of William. Alphonse scolds his son and makes him feel as though he is acting
childish. Victor is forced to hide his feelings even more, causing himself even greater pain.
Again, Alphonse misread Victor’s emotions after the death of Clerval. Victor cries out, “Alas my
father, how little do you know me. I am the cause of this – I murdered her [Justine]. William,
Justine, and Henry – they all died at my hands” (Shelley 128). Alphonse casts this exclamation
off and tells Victor that he is deranged. Victor does not reveal any more to his father, feeling that
his father will not listen.
Victor attributes his passion for science to his father. As Victor grows older, he begins to
become fascinated with science, especially Agrippa, which was an outdated science that
combined alchemy, magic, mysticism, and astrology. With delight and enthusiasm, Victor brings
his findings to his father, hoping to receive praise and admiration. He receives the complete
opposite when his father exclaims, “Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your
time upon this; it is sad trash” (Shelley 21). Perhaps, as with children and parents throughout
time, the mere fact that the parent was against something made the offspring want to embrace it.
Alphonse had a duty as a father and an educator to explain to Victor why Agrippa was not worth
his time in learning. Instead, he dismissed Victor’s inquisitions, leaving Victor to fend for
himself and delve deeper into this strange brand of science. Alphonse tries to salvage his ties
with his son a few pages later when he describes, in detail, the workings of electricity. Although
his father tries to promote other aspects of science, such as natural philosophy and other
contemporary scientific teachings of the day, Victor is now beyond his father’s control. Yet he is
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in many ways the “monster” his father has made him: one possessed of great scientific skill but
stunted emotions, a warped sense of what it means to care for others and a sense that he alone
sits at the center of creation.
Victor Frankenstein takes on a father-creator role and sets out to create something that
will change the world. He is doing it to satisfy his own wants and needs and does not think
through his situations rationally. As he is in his laboratory, he thinks to himself that “a new
species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe
their being to me” (Shelley 32). Victor sets out to play God. He does not think of the
consequences of his actions and the dependency this “new species” would have on him. “With
great power comes great responsibility.” This theme can be seen throughout literature and plays
a significant role in the novel Frankenstein. Victor has a responsibility as a father now, a
responsibility that he will choose not to accept; he plays the role of creator, but not of father.
Even as his creation takes its first breaths he uses words such as “demonical corpse,”
“monstrosity” and “hideous guest” to describe this being. He does not view it as his child, or as
something deserving of love or other human emotion.
The monster’s “infancy” can be seen in its first few hours of life as it wanders up to
Victor as he sleeps. He holds up his hand to his father and mumbles something inarticulately,
wishing for approval and love. Instead, the being gets rejected and is left alone. This rejection
from its creator, its father, this early in the monster’s life will set the wheels in motion for the
downfall of this newly formed creature. Development begins at a very early age in a child.
Therefore, this betrayal is very detrimental and will weigh on the monster forever.
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Victor’s neglect for his creation leads his monster to learn the ways of the world for
himself. Because the monster does not have anyone to look up to, he must learn language,
mannerisms and habits by stalking a family that lives in a cottage. He grows attached to this unit
of humanity, hoping to finally have a family to call his own. When this family also rejects him,
he spirals into an irreversible hatred for the human race.
Victor’s actions towards his creation continue to be harsh and unloving. When William is
found murdered, Victor suspects the monster. When he encounters the monster for the first time
after abandoning him, the monster anticipates that he will be hated by his creator because all of
mankind has shown him hatred. The monster reads Victor’s journal to learn that Victor is his
creator. The monster notes that Victor refers to his creation as a “filthy type” of himself. This
plays on the thought of Victor as creator and father – since man is thought to be made in the
image and likeness of God. He pleads with Victor to remember that he is his creator and he, the
monster, “ought to be thy Adam” (Shelley 66). This implies that Victor should show his creation
mercy just as God showed Adam mercy. The monster begs Victor:
How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee a favorable eye upon thy creature,
who implores thy goodness and compassion. Believe me Frankenstein: I was benevolent;
my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my
creator, abhor me…I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable and they shall
share in my wretchedness. Yet it is in your power to recompense me, and deliver them
from an evil which it only remains for you to make so great, that not only you and your
family, but thousands of others, shall be swallowed up in the whirlwinds of its rage. Let
your compassion be moved and do not disdain me (Shelley 66).
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Victor still had an opportunity, it is in his power, to salvage his creation and turn him
into something to be used for good. His monster, his child, pleads with Victor to show him
mercy. He does not want to turn into this wretched being, but Victor’s absence and outward
hatred towards this lonely being will cause him to lose all hope in mankind. Victor continues to
use harsh words against the monster and send him away, cursing his existence. The monster
warned Victor that he would release his hatred on all of mankind – and that is exactly what he
did.
Every death in the novel is attributed to Victor’s initial betrayal of his creature. William’s
death was attributed to the fact that, because he was a Frankenstein, the monster took out his
revenge on the boy. Justine died because the monster, realizing no beautiful creature would ever
love him – not even his own father, framed her out of spite. Clerval died because the monster,
who was lonely, did not want his creator to have any friends either. The monster wanted to make
his master feel isolated. The death of Elizabeth was attributed to the fact that the monster had no
one to love. The monster could not stand his master having a relationship with a female –
something that would never happen for the monster because he was the only one of his kind.
Victor had not followed through on his promise to make a companion for the fiend, thus fueling
the monster with even more hatred. The death of Victor’s father is the last straw of sanity for
Victor. Victor, in essence, drove himself insane with the creation of this monster.
Victor declares at the end of the novel, “Even where the affections are not strongly
moved by any superior excellence, the companions of our childhood always possess a certain
power over our minds” (Shelley 147). This shows that Victor’s father – the superior excellence –
was instrumental in the development of the mind of Victor. Victor’s primary companion, his
father, retained power over him until the end. Alphonse made sure that Victor was educated and
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taught him the ways of society. Although he showed Victor unconditional love and cared about
his well-being until his death, his parenting can be seen as overbearing and lacking in true
caring—the kind of parenting that isolates instead of embraces. It was this faulty fathering that
ultimately led Victor to become the “mad scientist,” capable of creating life but with no capacity
to love what he had created.
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Works Cited
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Norton, 1996.
Veeder, William. “The Negative Oedipus: Father, “Frankenstein”, and the Shelleys”. Critical
Inquiry 12.2 (1986): 265-390. September 2010 <http://jstor.org/stable.1343479>.