The Character of Victor Frankenstein

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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

A. The Character of Victor Frankenstein

In order to understand the second problem formulation well, it is important to know the characteristics of Victor Frankenstein. The writer analyzes the characteristics of Victor Frankenstein to help the reader understand the points of the future discussion. The theory that is used to analyze the characteristic of the character is from Murphy‘s theory in his book Understanding Unseen. The writer uses personal description, character as seen by others speech, the thought the character has in mind and past life to analyze the character. Firstly Victor Frankenstein is the major character in the novel Frankenstein who has various characteristics. He also comes from the famous and rich family, because his father is really well known in town. Since he is young, he gets a lot of affection and love from his parents. That is why he is very close to his parents, mostly the mother: I was their play thing and their idol, and something better —their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me. I was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed but one train of enjoyment to me. My mother had much desired to have a daughter, but I continued their single offspring I: 27. Besides his condition that is comfortable, Victor Frankenstein is a man who is born in an educated family. Victor Frankenstein has is seen as a lovable son for his parents since he was young, so his parents put some faith and hope to their only child. Their parents want to lead him to be the same as theirs, so, when he was still young, he was taught of many things about being good to society. Mostly parents want to have a child whose personality and attitude are good as his parents, or even better. The ancestors of Victor had been for many years counselors and parts in a government. His father is respected by all for his integrity and his attention to public services. His mother comes from unfortunate family, so then, remembering what she had suffered before married, she feels a big concern towards the poor. His mother is full of tenderness that always spreads love to her surroundings. Because of Frankensteins family is full of love, he is absorbed by their attitude then becomes like them. With this deep consciousness of what they owed towards the being to which they had given life, added to the active spirit of tenderness that animated both, it may be imagined that while during every hour of my infant life I received a lesson of patience, of charity, and of self control, I was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed but one train of enjoyment to me I: 27. Besides that, Victor is also very attracted to study and have an ability to learn something new around him since he is five. Once he has a desire to learn or do something, he will undergo them passionately. He is focusing just in specific study he enjoys, but ignoring the ones he dislikes: My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately. I confess that neither the structure of languages, nor the code of governments, nor the politics of various states possessed attractions for me. It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world II:32-33. In some ways, it could be said that he is an irresponsible person. He has the ability and knowledge from his professor who is majoring in natural philosophy to make the dead body comes to be alive again by the power electric shock or the process of galvanization. It can be said that he could make the dead live again. He tries to make one using the unnatural components and after he finishes it, he just runs away because of scared of the outlook of the creature: The miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. Oh No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then V: 59-60. He leaves the hideous creature in his apartment, without explaining who he is, and why he is created back into live. But then, this kind of personality will make his story becomes a horror and sorrowful. The death of his brother, William, becomes unavoidable. The brother had been strangled and the accused leaves a hand mark print on the neck and the hand print is the size of gigantic person. And the wrongly accused murderer is be the babysitter of the victim, Justine, who is really close and be considered as part of his family. The irresponsible Frankenstein leaves horrifying memory because of what he has done. He can also be seen as a passive person after knowing about what he says in mind. After the death of William, he could tell the truth of what is really going on, to help the accused Justine. Instead, he just feels terrified and does nothing but is regretful. It could lessen the number of victim that his fiend creature causes. The story tells that Justine is being slandered by the fiend to revenge irresponsible Frankenstein. It would be nice to add the death of Frankenstein family member for being ignorant. It seems that Frankenstein is fearful to tell the real truth, but the ego represses it that he is not being fearful and creating a reason why he does not want to tell about his creation. His idea is if he tells the reality to everyone, no one will believe and he will be presumed as insane. But, it is worth to try, and the juries‘ decision might be different of death sentence. However, he is just being silent and accepting the tragedy: I had no fear, therefore, that any circumstantial evidence could be brought forward strong enough to convict her. My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar VII: 88. As the result of being passive, he, again, feels sorry to himself for what he does, which is nothing: And I the cause A thousand times rather would I have confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine, but I was absent when it was committed, and such declaration would have been considered as the ravings of madman and would not have exculpated her who suffer through me VIII: 90. When the trial is ongoing, the witnesses can report what they witness and many stories show up with different version of each person and different opinion about Justine. Some people prove that she is guilty because there is evidence. At the time, it is given a time for witnesses to tell what happen and may also defend the accused. Frankenstein just stays still and be passive, only hearing other witnesses speak while he knows everything that happened. After the time of witnesses giving explanation is over, he just keeps regretting of what he has done while cursing his creation: I believed in her innocence; I knew it. Could the demon who had I did not for a minute doubt murdered my brother also in his hellish sport have betrayed the innocent to death and ignominy? I could not sustain the horror of my situation, and when I perceived that the popular voice and the countenance of the judges had already condemned my unhappy victim, I rushed out of the court in agony. The tortures of the accused did not equal mine; she was sustained by innocence, but the fangs of remorse tore my bosom and would not forgo their hold VIII: 95. According to Murphy, we can acknowledge a person‘s characteristic through the explanation of past events. Victor Frankenstein also can be described as adventurous person. He enjoys going on an adventures from he was child and until old, he still goes to many places, even goes to dangerous places that rarely person visit. He enjoys travelling around the world and sightseeing the wild nature, the green of grass field, the dazzling sunshine, even the thunderous sound of ice avalanches. He tends to repress the pressure he has by travelling. After the death of Justine, he finds himself so desperate. He has sorry feeling of what has happened and also anger or even hold grudge to the fiend he created. Therefore, he represses it through travelling to Chamounix summit, a place which he had come to when he was young: Sometimes I could cope with the sullen despair that overwhelmed me, but sometimes the whirlwind passion of my soul drove me to seek by bodily exercise and by change of place, some relief from my intolerable sensations. It was during an access of this kind that I suddenly left my home, and bending my steps towards the near alpine valleys, sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, sorrows. My wanderings were directed towards the valley of Chamounix which I had visited it frequently during my boyhood IX: 106. He also could be described as an ambitious person. There are two significant times when he is persistently ambitious, it is when he creates the creature and after his creation murders the people he loves. He does not care of what happen to him, about his health, about his life, he has to get what he wants. Even before his last breath, he still holds grudge against the fiend he creates and wants to hunt it until death. If he could not finish the task he makes, he will not forgive himself. He wants to hunt his creation so that he can revenge the death of his beloved family. It can be said also that he is unforgiving. Nobody will not let the murderer of the family goes free. Do so, if you will; but I will not. You may give up your purpose, but mine is assigned by heaven, and I dare not. I am weak, but surely the spirits who assist my vengeance will endow me with sufficient strength XXIV: 268.

B. The Dynamic of Id, Ego, and Superego