Victor's Guilt Quotes In Frankenstein

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Throughout the entirety of the Shelley’s Frankenstein, the reader questions what Victor is doing very little, even though is most definitely immoral and could even be considered evil. This is due to the focus of negative aspects in Frankenstein's life, such as becoming very ill or the murder of his brother. On the basis of Frankenstein's actions alone, he can be considered evil and immoral, but due to the novel focusing on his family, tragic losses, and guilt, the reader feels much more sympathetic for Victor Frankenstein and is able to see past his experiments.
There are many examples in the novel focusing on Frankenstein's family, rather than the immorality of his creation. It almost seems as if Shelly is attempting to draw the attention …show more content…
Victor’s creation, the monster caused the death of countless people, which caused Victor to feel very guilty. This guilt drives Victor to think very irrational and causes the reader to feel sympathetic for Frankenstein. The first time in the novel when Victor feels very guilty is after the murder of William and execution of Justine. Frankenstein feels extremely guilty about this because, although he did not carry out the act, he created the monster which did. He says, “I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer” (Shelly 105). Basically, this quote is saying that ,even though Frankenstein did not directly murder either victim, he is responsible. In Frankenstein the readers feel so sympathetic for Victor because they believe everyone should be happy due to it being a stable trait among humans. This is best explained by Wray Herbert, author of On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind’s Hard-Wired Habits who said, “The bottom line seems to be that people who believe that happiness is a stable trait — such people may be motivated to believe that unhappy people deserve their plight and, thus, are not worthy of empathy” (Herbert 37). In this quote, Herbert is explaining why some people may not feel empathy or sympathy for those who are unhappy, but it also explains why the majority of people would. This is what the reader is experiencing in Frankenstein. The reader believes Victor is entitled to being happy and when they see how guilty he feels and the depression this causes, they overlook the actions that brought him into this
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