Frankenstein characters

Victor Frankenstein

Also known as Victor, Frankenstein, the stranger, my guest

A brilliant and ambitious Swiss scientist who becomes obsessed with the secret of life, ultimately creating a sentient being that leads to his downfall.

Bonds:ElizabethAdopted sisterHenryFriendsCreatureAdversariesAlphonseFather

The Creature

Also known as the monster, monster, the wretch, the fiend, the dæmon, the daemon, the being

A being brought to life through Victor's scientific experiments; he is highly intelligent and sensitive but driven to violence by societal rejection and loneliness.

As drawn: A gaunt, towering figure of about eight feet, wretched rather than monstrous, FULLY CLOTHED in ill-fitting salvaged peasant clothes — a coarse dark coat too short at the wrist, rough shirt, no bare chest. His face is haggard and sorrowful: sallow, sickly skin drawn tight over the bone, long lank black hair, thin dark lips, and pale watery eyes set in shadowed sockets. Stooped, weary, deeply sad. Muted, subdued colouring. NOT handsome, NOT stylised, NOT glamorous, no bright yellow, no bare skin.

Bonds:ElizabethHostile encounterHenryFriendshipVictorAdversaries

Robert Walton

Also known as the captain

An Arctic explorer and the narrator of the frame story who rescues Victor and listens to his tragic tale.

Bonds:VictorAppeal

Elizabeth Lavenza

Also known as my dear Elizabeth, sweet Elizabeth

Victor's childhood companion and eventual wife, who serves as a symbol of innocence and domestic peace in his life.

Bonds:VictorAdopted sisterHenryCo-conspiratorsWilliamBrother and sisterCreatureHostile encounter

Henry Clerval

Also known as my friend Henry

Victor's closest friend, characterized by his romantic nature and appreciation for literature and chivalry.

Bonds:ElizabethCo-conspiratorsVictorFriendsCreatureFriendshipWaldmanMentor

Alphonse Frankenstein

Also known as my father, father, Alphonse

Victor's father, a respected and kind man who provides a stable, loving upbringing for his son.

Bonds:VictorFatherHenryFriends

William

Also known as the child

A character mentioned as being among the deceased friends of Victor.

As drawn: A SMALL CHILD of about five or six, Victor's youngest brother: sweet-faced with laughing blue eyes, dark eyelashes and curling fair hair, in a boy's short jacket buttoned to high-waisted ankle-length trousers. Child proportions and a child's face; never an adolescent.

Bonds:ElizabethBrother and sisterCarolineMother and son

Caroline Frankenstein

Also known as Caroline, Caroline Beaufort, my mother, mother

Victor's devoted mother, Beaufort's daughter, who marries Alphonse Frankenstein and later dies of scarlet fever caught while nursing Elizabeth.

As drawn: a gentle, graceful woman in her forties with soft features, kind hazel eyes, and dark brown hair pinned softly up, wearing a modest elegant late-1700s Genevese gown in muted blue

Bonds:WilliamMother and sonVictorMother

Professor Krempe

Also known as Krempe, M. Krempe

The gruff professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt who ridicules Victor's reading of the old alchemists.

As drawn: a short, squat man with a gruff voice, blunt heavy features, thick brows and untidy grey hair, in dark professorial robes

Bonds:HenryMentor

Professor Waldman

Also known as Waldman, M. Waldman

The benevolent chemistry professor at Ingolstadt whose lecture on modern science sets Victor on his fateful path.

As drawn: a kindly professor of about fifty, short but remarkably erect, black hair greying at the temples, a sweet expressive face and calm voice, in neat dark academic dress

Bonds:HenryMentor