The doppelganger motif in the characters of victor and the creature in frankenstein a novel by mary

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.

My tourist guide took me to see the Jewish cemetery and the Jewish alley, which back then was a part of the Ghetto in Prague. When the Golem was not needed anymore — and because it caused some troubles that seemed to scare people — the rabbi took away life from his creation and the Golem returned to be the clay he had been before.

My guide showed me the little lot of clay in the synagogue that is believed to be the rests of the Golem. Later I became aware of the many adaptations this story had in literature and film. Often the image of the Golem was rendered into a vicious creature that cannot be controlled by his inventor anymore, causing death and illnesses where ever he appears.

Alike the story of the Golem the story of the Monster is one of a creation that gets beyond control. Frankenstein, in an attempt to play God, creates a thing that is supposed to make him famous and that will earn him the respect of the scientific world.

In that very process of creation he is not aware of the effects this could cause later; his only concern is to be the first to install the breath of life into a being he created on his own. It is an attempt that shows his great ignorance and also his arrogance towards god as the only creator.

This vanity is later to be punished be the hands of his own creation, and he realizes it only to late and only in retrospection: Frankenstein turns away from his creation and is thus to be the first human turning his back on the Monster. In fact, the Monster — very much like any child — is just looking for parental love, for friendship; but society abandons him repeatedly so he becomes a villain.

This is not only his fault alone. Frankenstein by turning his back on the creature he made is much more to blame. But the text can also be read differently. Nevertheless there is an even more interesting way of understanding the novel: He is a kind of Doppelganger to Victor Frankenstein.

These ghostly images are often reported to look like the original person, act like them, mock them or harm them; but still they are no physical appearances, just a mere shadow of the original person. Many persons, among them famous people like Abraham Lincoln Anonymous 1are reported to have seen their own image.

It is not a big surprise that even Percy Shelley seemed to have had one of those visions foreshadowing his own death. Under this perspective it can be assumed that Victor Frankenstein and the Monster is one and the same person, although distinct — and even opposite — in some points of their personal history.

They are thus very much like dichotomies: Victor has a loving and caring family, his parents give him any opportunity to gain knowledge; he is described to be a handsome man; he marries the woman he loves and he is a well-respected member of society.

Even though at first glance it might seem that the Monster is wholly responsible for his actions, it is Victor Frankenstein who provides the Monster with the actual possibilities do kill those people2.

He leaves traces of where to find his family so the Monster can go and kill his brother. Along with this goes also the death of Justine that Frankenstein fails to avoid. Thus it is demonstrated that Victor Frankenstein has an evil twin, a Doppelganger who ruins his life.

It is even possible, as shown above, that Victor Frankenstein and the Monster are two parts of the same person.

But to what conclusion does this lead us? One suggestion is that the whole novel can be read as the decline of one person, of one villain, such hinting at the fact that Victor Frankenstein is the true villain of the story. Victor realizes this — he realizes his vanity and tries to warn Walton — and tries to kill the Monster, very much like the rabbi who wants to destroy his Golem after he was out of control.Doppelganger in Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley The notion of double in Frankenstein. All along the novel, the theme of the double is recurrent.

The Merriam-Webtser defines a doppelganger as a ghostly counterpart of a living person or the evil alter-ego of a person. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley used that very motif to describe and characterize her characters. Indeed, the Creature can be seen as the . A summary of Themes in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Frankenstein and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Introduction In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley she uses doppelganger to represent the creature as a double of his creature Victor.

The monster although hideous in appearance is a well educated creature, who feels pity and regret which is something that Victor is missing. A summary of Themes in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Frankenstein and what it means.

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Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The Doppelganger motif of Victor Frankenstein and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Katja Buthut GRIN Verlag, Sep 14, - Literary Criticism - 4 pages. Mary Shelley explores the definition of monstrosity in her novel Frankenstein through the descriptions, actions, and underlying, psychological motives of her characters.

Victor Frankenstein’s creature is an imaginary projection of Victor’s own mind.