Letters, Ch. 1-5

#1: At the end of Chapter 1, we see Victor's love for Elizabeth as a possessive, protective role in which he believes he must fulfill. Although his parents tease that she is a gift to him, he takes this quite literally and feels ownership of Elizabeth. This idea of eternal love for family burns deeply in Victor; his family brings about pure happiness within him, never anger or discontent as he witnesses other family's do to certain members within. Victor is more or less a loner to all except his family and Henry Clerval, which parallels Robert Walton's claims of having no one to be able to talk to as one would discuss life with a friend. Walton also obviously has a strong bond with his family, in his case his sister, because of his communications during his journey to the North Pole. The similarities between Victor, the stranger in the fourth letter, and Walton are so apparent that it is certainly more than chance that Walton found Victor, took care of him and was able to confide in him as he had not be able to do with others, finding a true friend.

#2: Victor's studies of natural philosophy are constantly called useless and outdated by his superiors, beginning with his father upon his earliest studies of these theories. M. Krempe brings to light Victor's persistence of these studies. Although they are useless, Victor knows their potential is far more grand and useful to the world than the modern scientific studies that he sees as having little use in the world. He desires to be the greatest and to achieve this, he must recreate and affirm these great studies of the past, no matter their inadequacy to modern science. He wishes to create life or bring back life. This could possibly be Victor still mourning the death of his mother and searching for a way to bring her back to life or bring back those in his future whom will die.

#3: While being consumed in confinement by his occupation (the monster), Victor does not keep in touch with his family or friends back home. He is reserving his emotion for the final product of his work. He is reserving his humanity, his affections and energy for his lifeless creation which needs these traits he has in order to be completed. Victor must transfer his affections to his work in order for it not only to be created but also to survive. Upon the creation of the monster in Chapter 5, Victor is struck with the inescapable horror of his wrongdoing. He has created the ultimate evil, possibly a result of his "evil studies" which he previously realized to be so. Desperately in need of rest, he falls asleep and has a dream. In this dream, he sees Elizabeth and goes to embrace her yet she withers away in his arms, resembling the corpse of his dead mother. This dream is the culmination of Victor's neglected affections for his family and the monster itself, which now has consumed every inch of his world. He sees those he has pushed to the back of his mind and sees how his work has changed his connections to them.