Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist of the 1818 novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. A protagonist is the central figure of a story. ... 1818 (MDCCCXVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... This article is about the 1818 novel. ... Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley née Godwin (August 30, 1797–February 1, 1851) was an English writer who is, perhaps, equally-famously remembered as the wife of Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ...

In Shelley's novel

He is the son of Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort Frankenstein, the latter of whom died of scarlet fever when he was young. Victor had two younger brothers — William, the youngest, who was killed by his creation, and Ernest, the middle child, who wants to join the Foreign Service like a "true Genevese". Victor fell in love with his adoptive sister, Elizabeth Lavenza (in the 1818 text, his biological cousin; in the 1831 revision, a blonde among Gypsies whom his mother doted upon). Boris Karloff as Frankensteins Monster in Frankenstein (1931) Frankensteins monster (sometimes Frankensteins creature or the Frankenstein monster or even Frankenstein) is a creature first appearing in Mary Shelleys novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... The United States Foreign Service is a personnel system established under the Foreign Service Act. ... Hunters a cool hobo For other uses, see Geneva (disambiguation). ...

DR. Frankenstein is a young Swiss student of chemistry, who after studying chemistry at the University of Ingolstadt, becomes obsessed with the idea of creating life in inanimate matter through artificial means, dropping out of school to pursue the alchemy of Paracelsus and Cornelius Agrippa. This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, duke of Bavaria at the time. ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ... Dropout may refer to: // A student who quits school before graduation. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... // Paracelsus (11 November or 17 December 1493 in Einsiedeln, Switzerland - 24 September 1541) was an alchemist, physician, astrologer, and general occultist. ... Cornelius Agrippa, as portrayed in Libri tres de occulta philosophia Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (born in Köln September 14, 1486 - died in Grenoble February 18, 1535) was a magician and occult writer, astrologer, and alchemist. ...

Assembling a humanoid creature perhaps by stitching together pieces of human corpses, perhaps by the use of a chemical, apparatus or a combination of both (he avoids the question three times when asked, though the fact that he noted lightning striking down a tree in his childhood is a prominent clue), Frankenstein successfully brings it to life only to be repulsed and terrified by its monstrous ugliness. He abandons and flees his creation, who disappears and soon embarks upon a journey of vengeance that results in the deaths of several of Frankestein's family and friends. Boris Karloff as Frankensteins Monster in Frankenstein (1931) Frankensteins monster (sometimes Frankensteins creature or the Frankenstein monster or even Frankenstein) is a creature first appearing in Mary Shelleys novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, personality and behavior. ...

Frankenstein pursues the "fiend" or "daemon" (as he calls his creation) to the Arctic with the intent of destroying it; he ultimately fails in his mission, however, and after relating his tale to the captain of a ship of explorers that has picked him up, he dies of pneumonia. His creature, upon discovering the death of its creator, is overcome by sorrow and ends the novel by vowing to commit suicide. The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ... Pneumonia is an illness of the lungs and respiratory system in which the alveoli (microscopic air-filled sacs of the lung responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere) become inflamed and flooded with fluid. ... It has been suggested that The Pros of suicide be merged into this article or section. ...

Characterization

While many subsequent film adaptations (notably the 1931 movie Frankenstein and the Hammer Films series starring Peter Cushing) have portrayed Frankenstein as insane (the prototypical "mad scientist"), Shelley's original novel depicts him more as a man tragically driven by ambition and scientific curiosity, unable to deal with the consequences of his actions in "playing God" (not Shelley's words), or being an irresponsible, neglectful parent. It is also important to note that Victor Frankenstein of the novel was not a "Doctor", as he is typically portrayed in adaptations. Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Frankenstein is a 1931 horror film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. ... Hammer horror refers to horror films produced in the late 1950s through the 1970s by the British film studio Hammer Films. ... Peter Cushing OBE Cushing (left) in the television adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four in the winter of 1954 on BBC Television. ... Inmates at Bedlam Asylum, as portrayed by William Hogarth Insanity, or madness, is a general term for a semi-permanent, severe mental disorder. ... Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of a mad scientist. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... A parent is a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian // Mother This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the novel, Victor promises Waldman three times that he will explain later by what process he brought his creature to life, and never does. This indicates that he was deliberately reticent about his techniques that became a showpiece in adaptations.

See also

• Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
• Frankenstein
• Frankenstein in popular culture