I Blame Victor

Upon the tragic end of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the reader is left with a number of dead bodies and an obvious suspect. Though one can certainly blame the wretch for killing these people, it is Victor who is ultimately responsible for these deaths.

Following the death of William in the beginning of the novel, to the death of Victor's beloved, Elizabeth, towards the end, causes much grief upon Victor. He, however, has no one else to blame but himself for his misfortune. Victor proceeded to creating life, that is a human-like monster. Upon creating a new being comes many responsibilities, that Victor obviously didn't fulfill, which eventually began to ruin his life. Victor and his creature relationship resembles one of a mother and her new born. You would not plan to have a child unless you were ready to take on all the responsibilities that come with raising a baby. Therefore, Victor is responsible for the wretch's wrongdoing and indirectly participated in the killing of his loved ones. If Victor proceeded with the monster's request about creating a new female creature, or merely taken care of his creature, he could have prevented the deaths of his family and friends.

It is in the last few pages on the novel that the reader is provided with both Victor and the creature's view on who's to blame. I believe Victor is extremely selfish and only created the wretch to benefit him. Victor clearly states "...I have longed for a friend; I have sought on who would sympathize with and me. Behold, on these desert seas I have found such on; but I fear, I have gained him only to know his value, and lose him". Thus, though he longs for a friend, as does the wretch; when he discovers that the creature is too much to handle he abandoned it. The wretch's solitude comes solely as a direct result of being the only creature of his kind. He simply longs for love and companionship, that Victor is hesitant to provide him with. As he is neglected by his creator, Victor Frankenstein, he is forced to adapt to society on his own. Thus, i sympathize for the wretch for wanting to get revenge upon Victor. The wretch provides a valid point when he states “...when I discovered that he, the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for happiness; that while he accumulated wretchedness and despair upon me, he sought his own enjoyment in feelings and passions...of which I was forever barred”. While Victor caused much suffering upon the wretch, he selflessly found happiness with his own companion, Elizabeth, and was thinking about getting married. These feelings of love, care, and companionship that the wretch was inevitably denied filled him with a “..thirst for vengeance” towards Victor. As a result, I believe that Victor caused the “evil” monstrous creature that the wretch becomes in the end of the story. Therefore, he is undoubtedly the one to blame for the story's tragic ending because he created a monster he could not control.