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Victor Frankenstein
The doomed protagonist and narrator of the main portion of the story. Studying in Ingolstadt, Victor discovers the secret of life and creates an intelligent but grotesque monster, from whom he recoils in horror. Victor keeps his creation of the monster a secret, feeling increasingly guilty and ashamed as he realizes how helpless he is to prevent the monster from ruining his life and the lives of others.
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The Monster
The eight-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation of Victor Frankenstein. Intelligent, eloquent, and sensitive, the Monster attempts to integrate himself into human social patterns, but all who see him shun him. His feeling of abandonment compels him to seek revenge against his creator.
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Robert Walton
The Arctic seafarer whose letters open and close Frankenstein. Walton picks the bedraggled Victor Frankenstein up off the ice, helps nurse him back to health, and hears Victor’s story. He records the incredible tale in a series of letters addressed to his sister, Margaret Saville, in England.
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Elizabeth Lavenza
An orphan, four to five years younger than Victor, whom the Frankensteins adopt. In the 1818 edition of the novel, Elizabeth is Victor’s cousin, the child of Alphonse Frankenstein’s sister. In the 1831 edition, Victor’s mother rescues Elizabeth from a destitute peasant cottage in Italy. Elizabeth embodies the novel’s motif of passive women, as she waits patiently for Victor’s attention.
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Henry Clerval
Victor’s boyhood friend, who nurses Victor back to health in Ingolstadt. After working unhappily for his father, Henry begins to follow in Victor’s footsteps as a scientist. His cheerfulness counters Victor’s moroseness.
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Alphonse Frankenstein
Victor’s father, very sympathetic toward his son. Alphonse consoles Victor in moments of pain and encourages him to remember the importance of family.
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William Frankenstein
Victor’s youngest brother and the darling of the Frankenstein family. The monster strangles William in the woods outside Geneva in order to hurt Victor for abandoning him. William’s death deeply saddens Victor and burdens him with tremendous guilt about having created the monster.
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Justine Moritz
A young girl adopted into the Frankenstein household while Victor is growing up. Justine is blamed and executed for William’s murder, which is actually committed by the monster.
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Beaufort
A merchant and friend of Victor’s father; the father of Caroline Beaufort.
De Lacey
The blind patriarch of the De Lacey family that the monster observes, and of which he grows very fond. De Lacey, blind to the monster’s appearance, treats him with humanity. He represents the inherent goodness that exists in human nature, unimpeded by prejudice.
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Felix
Son of De Lacey, brother to Agatha, and fiancé to Safie. The monster observes that Felix often looks forlorn until his beloved Safie finally arrives at the De Lacey cottage. It is through Felix’s lessons with Safie that the monster learns to speak and to read.
Agatha
Daughter of De Lacey and sister to Felix. She is a young woman with a “gentle demeanor” who is devoted to her father, brother, and future sister-in-law. She tries to remain in good spirits but is often saddened by her family’s impoverished state.
Safie
Felix’s fiancé. She is a young woman of Turkish descent who longed to marry Felix against her father’s wishes. She was eventually able to escape and traveled to live with the De Lacey family in their cottage.
Caroline (Beaufort) Frankenstein
The matriarch of the Frankenstein family. She is a devoted wife and mother who tragically dies of scarlet fever when Victor is a young man.
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Margaret Saville
Sister to Robert Walton and the intended recipient of his letters. Margaret provides the context for Frankenstein’s framed narrative because the entire novel is essentially being written to her.
M. Waldman
The professor of chemistry who sparks Victor’s interest in science. He dismisses the alchemists’ conclusions as unfounded but sympathizes with Victor’s interest in a science that can explain the “big questions,” such as the origin of life.
M. Krempe
A professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt. He dismisses Victor’s study of the alchemists as wasted time and encourages him to begin his studies anew.
Mr. Kirwin
The magistrate who accuses Victor of Henry’s murder.
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