Parallel Characters: Victor and his Creation

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Throughout the novel, Shelley includes a multitude of parallel character pairs, the most striking of which being Victor and his abomination.  As much as Victor may hate to admit it, both he and the creation share several key personality traits.  First, just as Victor hungered for knowledge and pursued it throughout his life, so did the creature.  Such an intrigue with learning novel information appears most vividly in the creature's early years.  Second, the creature shares Victor's sentiments when Victor says, " . . . no creature had ever been so miserable as I was," (Shelley 146).  Both beings believe themselves to be the most wretched life forms to ever exist.  Furthermore, both characters believe the other to be the cause of their misery.  The most important parallel between the creature and Victor, however, lies in their obsessive natures.  In secluding himself indefinitely to create the creature, Victor displayed his obsessive side and the creature first showed his in observing the DeLacey family.  Additionally, the creature explicitly acknowledges his obsessive nature when he states, "The completion of my demoniacal design became an insatiable passion," in referring to his pursuit of all that Victor loved (Shelley 164).  The parallelism between these two dynamic characters helps reinforce the detriment in their character flaws.  As both Victor and the creature progress throughout the novel and consume themselves with different passions, be they academic pursuits or murderous rampages, they slowly deteriorate toward death as a result of their obsessions.