Victor Frankenstein | Victor Frankenstein

We have all come to school without our homework. And what's the first thing we do? We look that teacher straight in the eye and tell them, "My dog ate my homework." As students we make up excuses like this to try to get out of trouble. In Mary Shelley's novel she shows us this through her character Victor. Victor chooses to place blame for his actions on his dad, and his monster. Victor does this to relieve stress and guilt from his life. There are many dangers that come along with doing such actions.

Victor blames others leading up to, and surrounding the monster's creation. Victor's course leading up to creating the monster began early in his life. "Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulate my fate... (p.40)." Natural philosophy became the main focus of Victor's studies. Victor immediately procured all the works he could of natural philosophers and studied them with enthusiasm. "Under the guidance of my new preceptors, I entered with great diligence into the search of the...elixir of life.... (p. 42)." All of Victor's studies of natural philosophy are what led him to create the monster. Victor doesn't accept the blame for his role in the studies. Rather than blaming himself he chooses to blame his father. Victor believes since his father didn't explain why studying this science was a waste of time, Victor had to find out for himself. It was in this task that Victor's obsession for this science blossomed.

As Victor's knowledge in the science increased, he discovered the elixir of life. "I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter. (p. 53)" With this capability, Victor set out to rid the world of the "Irreparable evil... (p. 45)" he saw death to be. Victor spent the next two years gathering body parts and building the body he would bring to life. This project culminates "on a dreary night of November.... (p. 59)," when the monster was brought to life. Disgust and regret immediately fill Victor when he looks into the monster's awaked eyes. Deciding he wants nothing to so with his creation, he abandons it, and leaves it to its own accord. Once again Victor takes no blame foe what he has done. As before, he puts the blame for this action on the shoulders of this father's inaction on keeping Victor from pursuing natural philosophy.

Left to do what he please, the monster sets out into the world. Through various events the monster comes to feel that he must seek revenge on Victor. Victor, he feels, must be punished for causing the monster to live in solitude. "I will work at your destruction nor finish until I desolate your heart... (p. 148)." To do this the monster kills anybody close to Victor. He feels this will cause Victor to live the rest of his live in solitude.

Immediately upon hearing of the first murder, Victor believes the monster to be responsible. As the murders continue Victor realizes with complete certainty that he monster in the murderer. However one fact that victor chooses to neglect is that the monster was forged by his own hands. A great portion of the blame for the murders should rest on his shoulders. Throughout this series of murders Victor completely blames the monster. As usual Victor sees no fault in his own actions, only others.

As you can now see in Mary Shelley's novel Victor defers blame time after time. His blame falls onto to the shoulders of the monster and his father. Therefore in the end Victor in only hurting himself because he is trying to push stress and guilt onto others.