Perhaps the most interesting event in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the perverse dream that Victor Frankenstein experiences after he brings the creature to life. Examination of the dream through Freudian theories on sexual motivation and the Oedipal Complex provide insight to the actions and character of Mary Shelley's protagonist. Further examination also reveals the reason for Victor's actions and character and how each affects his relationship with those closest to him.

Victor's retelling of the dream in Frankenstein states:

I though I saw Elizabeth

In the bloom of health,

Walking in the streets of Ingolstadt.

Delighted and surprised I embraced her,

But as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips,

They became livid with the hue of death;

Her features appeared to change and I thought I held the dead corpse

Of my dead mother in my arms;

A shroud enveloped her form,

And I...