Frankenstein

Robert Walton

Also known as R. Walton · R.W. · Captain Walton

An English sea captain and explorer writing to his sister, Margaret Saville. He rescues Victor Frankenstein from Arctic ice and records Victor’s account.

Margaret Saville

Also known as Margaret · Mrs. Saville

Robert Walton’s sister in England, to whom he writes about his voyage and Victor’s story. She has a husband and children.

Walton’s lieutenant

An English officer serving under Walton, described as courageous and ambitious for advancement.

Walton’s master

The gentle, courageous master of Walton’s ship. He gave his farm and prize money to help the woman he loved marry her preferred suitor.

the Russian lady

Also known as Walton’s master’s former mistress

A young Russian woman loved by Walton’s master; she loved another man, whom the master helped her marry.

the Russian lady’s lover

The poor man loved by the Russian lady, whom Walton’s master helped her marry.

the Russian lady’s father

The father who initially refused his daughter’s marriage to the man she loved.

the first sledge traveller

A gigantic human-shaped figure seen by Walton’s crew crossing Arctic ice in a dog-drawn sledge; Victor pursues him as a dæmon.

Victor Frankenstein

Also known as the stranger · Frankenstein

A Genevan scientist who created a living being and recounts his history to Walton. His creature kills Henry Clerval, Elizabeth, and others; Victor pursues it until his death aboard Walton’s ship.

the surviving dog

The sole dog alive when Victor’s icebound sledge drifts to Walton’s ship.

Victor’s father

Also known as Alphonse Frankenstein

A respected Genevan public servant, husband of Caroline, and father of Victor. He dies after Elizabeth’s murder and the accumulated family tragedies.

Beaufort

A formerly prosperous merchant and close friend of Victor’s father. He fell into poverty and died in Lucerne, leaving Caroline an orphan.

Caroline Beaufort

Also known as Caroline

Beaufort’s daughter, who cared for him in poverty before Victor’s father married her. She is Victor’s mother.

the relation who sheltered Caroline

A relative in Geneva under whose protection Victor’s father placed Caroline after Beaufort’s death.

Elizabeth Lavenza

Also known as Elizabeth

The orphaned daughter of a Milanese nobleman and a German woman, adopted into Victor’s family. She marries Victor and is murdered by his creature on their wedding night.

the Milanese nobleman

Also known as Elizabeth’s father

Elizabeth’s father, an Italian patriot whose property was confiscated; whether he died or remained imprisoned in Austria was unknown.

Elizabeth’s mother

A German woman who died giving birth to Elizabeth.

the peasant foster mother

Also known as Elizabeth’s foster mother

A poor peasant woman who helped raise Elizabeth and told Caroline about the child’s origins.

the peasant foster father

Also known as Elizabeth’s foster father

A poor peasant who helped raise Elizabeth before Caroline adopted her.

the village priest

The priest consulted by Elizabeth’s peasant foster parents before they let Caroline take the child.

Victor’s younger brother

Victor’s second brother, born seven years after him; he is not named in the passage.

Henry Clerval

Also known as Clerval

Victor’s closest friend and the son of a Geneva merchant. The creature murders him, and Victor finds his body in Ireland.

Henry Clerval’s father

A narrow-minded Geneva trader who refused to let Henry accompany Victor to university or pursue a liberal education.

Victor’s unnamed younger siblings

The younger children Caroline asked Elizabeth to care for on her deathbed; they are not identified individually.

Cornelius Agrippa

An author whose works on alchemy and natural philosophy Victor reads eagerly as a boy.

Paracelsus

An author whose works Victor studies alongside Agrippa’s, drawn to their alchemical ideas.

Albertus Magnus

An author whose works Victor studies as a boy and whom Professor Krempe dismisses as outdated.

Sir Isaac Newton

Also known as Newton

A natural philosopher Victor invokes through a comparison of himself to a child gathering shells beside an ocean of truth.

the natural philosopher at Belrive

A man of great research in natural philosophy who explains electricity and galvanism to Victor after lightning destroys an oak.

M. Krempe

Also known as Professor Krempe

A professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt who criticizes Victor’s early alchemical studies and directs him toward modern science.

M. Waldman

Also known as Professor Waldman

A benevolent chemistry professor at Ingolstadt who encourages Victor’s scientific studies and becomes his friend.

Homer

A poet whom Walton mentions among the celebrated names he once hoped to join through his own poetry.

William Shakespeare

Also known as Shakespeare

A poet whom Walton mentions among the celebrated names he once hoped to join through his own poetry.

Victor’s creature

Also known as the creature · the monster · the dæmon · the wretch

The living being Victor creates from assembled body parts. Rejected by humanity, he murders William, Justine, Henry, and Elizabeth, then leads Victor on a pursuit across the world. After Victor’s death, he declares he will end his life on a funeral pyre in the far north.

the porter

The porter who opens the gates of the court where Victor took refuge after fleeing his creature.

Ernest Frankenstein

Also known as Ernest

Victor’s younger brother, sixteen in Elizabeth’s letter. He was with William before William disappeared and later tells Victor that Justine has been accused.

William Frankenstein

Also known as William

Victor’s youngest brother, a child beloved by the family. The creature murders him and frames Justine by planting Caroline’s portrait on her.

Justine Moritz

Also known as Justine

A kind young woman raised in the Frankenstein household and beloved by Elizabeth. Wrongly convicted of William’s murder, she confesses under pressure from her confessor and is executed.

Madame Moritz

Also known as Justine’s mother

A widow who treated Justine harshly, later regretted it, and died after declining in health.

M. Moritz

Also known as Justine’s father

Justine’s father, who favored her; he died before her mother called her home.

Justine’s siblings

Justine’s brothers and sister, who died one by one before their mother; they are not individually named.

Justine’s aunt

The aunt whose home Justine visited on the evening William disappeared.

the market-woman

A woman who encountered Justine near where William’s body was later found and testified that she seemed confused when questioned.

the man who questioned Justine

An unidentified man who asked Justine whether she had seen William as she returned from her aunt’s home.

the servant who found the miniature

A Frankenstein household servant who found Caroline’s miniature in Justine’s clothing after William’s murder.

the servant who reported the miniature

A second servant who was shown the miniature and reported it to a magistrate.

the magistrate

The magistrate to whom a servant reported finding Caroline’s miniature in Justine’s clothing, leading to Justine’s arrest.

Justine’s confessor

A Catholic clergyman who pressured Justine to confess to William’s murder by threatening excommunication and damnation.

the advocate against Justine

The unnamed advocate who presented the case against Justine at her trial.

Justine’s judges

The judges who convict Justine despite Elizabeth’s plea and testimony from people who knew her.

the Dutch schoolmaster in The Vicar of Wakefield

A schoolmaster invoked by Henry Clerval in a joke about his father’s former belief that Greek was unnecessary.

De Lacey

Also known as the old man · the blind old man · the old father

A blind, elderly Frenchman of good family, living in poverty and exile in a German cottage with Felix and Agatha. He responds kindly to the creature’s story, but his family flees after discovering it.

Felix

Also known as the youth · the young man · brother · son

De Lacey’s son and Agatha’s brother. His efforts to free Safie’s father led to his family’s imprisonment and exile; he loves Safie and drives the creature from the cottage.

Agatha

Also known as the girl · the young woman · sister

De Lacey’s gentle daughter and Felix’s sister. She helps care for her father and faints when the creature reveals himself.

Safie

Also known as the Arabian · the stranger · the lovely Arabian

The daughter of a Turkish merchant and a Christian Arab woman. She loves Felix, learns the cottagers’ language, and chooses to join him in Germany.

Safie’s father

Also known as the Turk · the Turkish merchant · the merchant

A Turkish merchant imprisoned and condemned to death in Paris, whom Felix helps escape. He deceives Felix, opposes his daughter’s marriage to a Christian, and leaves for Constantinople.

Safie’s mother

Also known as the Christian Arab

A Christian Arab woman enslaved by the Turks and married to Safie’s father. She taught Safie her religion and encouraged her intellectual independence.

Safie’s father’s old servant

Also known as the old man, a servant of her father

An unnamed servant of Safie’s father who understood French and helped Safie write letters to Felix.

Safie’s attendant

Also known as the Italian

A native of Leghorn who accompanied Safie to Germany and understood Turkish; she fell ill and died near the De Lacey cottage.

the woman who housed Safie

Also known as the woman of the house

An unnamed woman who cared for Safie’s attendant and arranged for Safie to reach Felix’s cottage after the attendant died.

the shepherd

Also known as the old man in the hut

An elderly man whose hut the creature enters while seeking shelter. He flees in fright, leaving breakfast behind.

the countryman guide

Also known as the guide

An unnamed guide who accompanies Safie on horseback to the De Lacey cottage.

the first village’s attackers

Also known as the villagers

Villagers who flee or attack the creature when it enters their village, driving it into hiding.

the first village’s children and woman

The children shriek and a woman faints when the creature enters a cottage in the village.

the beggars who left the fire

Also known as the wandering beggars

Unnamed travellers whose abandoned fire teaches the creature to use warmth and cook food.

the neighbouring farmer

An unnamed farmer for whom Felix sometimes works, as the creature infers from Felix’s absences.

the servants of the De Lacey household

Also known as the servants

Unnamed servants who help Felix and Agatha with their work after Safie’s arrival.

the woman who visited the shepherd’s hut

An unnamed woman in the first village cottage who faints when she sees the creature.

the children in the first village cottage

The children who shriek when the creature enters their home.

Adam

The first man in Paradise Lost, whom the creature compares with himself as a being without companions and cared for by his maker.

Satan

The fallen angel in Paradise Lost, whom the creature sees as a fitting emblem of his lonely, rejected condition.

Eve

The woman in Paradise Lost, whom the creature imagines as a companion who might soothe his sorrows.

Werter

The hero of The Sorrows of Werter, whose feelings and death deeply affect the creature.

Numa

An ancient lawgiver whose life in Plutarch’s Lives the creature admires.

Solon

An ancient lawgiver whose life in Plutarch’s Lives the creature admires.

Lycurgus

An ancient lawgiver whose life in Plutarch’s Lives the creature admires.

Romulus

A founder of an ancient republic described in Plutarch’s Lives; the creature prefers peaceful lawgivers to him.

Theseus

A founder of an ancient republic described in Plutarch’s Lives; the creature prefers peaceful lawgivers to him.

Volney

The author of Ruins of Empires, the book Felix uses to teach Safie.

the girl rescued from the river

An unnamed young girl whom the creature saves from drowning; an armed rustic then takes her and shoots him.

the rustic who shot the creature

Also known as the armed rustic

An unidentified man who takes the unconscious girl from the creature after it rescues her, then shoots and wounds it.

the beautiful child

Also known as the boy · M. Frankenstein

A young boy identified by the creature as M. Frankenstein’s son. The creature seizes and kills him after learning his family name; he is William Frankenstein.

the woman in the barn

An unnamed young woman asleep in a barn near the child’s murder. The creature plants Caroline’s portrait in her clothing, framing her.

the half-finished female creature

Also known as the unfinished companion

The female being Victor begins creating as the creature’s companion. Victor tears apart her unfinished remains and casts them into the sea.

the English philosopher

An unnamed English philosopher whose discoveries Victor considers important to creating the proposed female companion.

the person from Scotland

Also known as the Scottish friend

An unnamed former visitor to Geneva who writes from Scotland, invites Victor and Clerval north to Perth, and lives there.

the Orkney islanders

The five unnamed inhabitants of the remote Orkney island where Victor rents a hut to work on the female creature.

the fishing-boat messenger

Also known as one of the fishermen

An unnamed fisherman who brings Victor letters from Geneva and Clerval while Victor is on the Orkney island.

the fishermen

Unnamed fishermen whose boat voices Victor hears and who later bring him letters while he is adrift.

Charles I

The king whose forces assembled at Oxford during the English Civil War; Victor and Clerval recall his connection to the city.

Falkland

A companion of Charles I, described by Victor as amiable and remembered in connection with Oxford.

Goring

A companion of Charles I, described by Victor as insolent and remembered in connection with Oxford.

Hampden

A patriot whose tomb Victor and Clerval visit at Oxford; he fell in a nearby field.

the priest and his mistress

An unnamed priest and his mistress, said in Clerval’s account to have been overwhelmed by an avalanche in the Swiss mountains.

the first victim of the creature’s revenge

The young child the creature kills after learning he is M. Frankenstein’s son; this is William Frankenstein.

the Irish man who confronts Victor

Also known as the hoarse-voiced man

An unnamed man in the Irish town who tells Victor that the Irish hate villains and directs him toward the authorities after a murder.

the man who escorts Victor to Mr. Kirwin

Also known as Victor’s conductor

An ill-looking, unnamed man who tells Victor to account for himself to Mr. Kirwin and escorts him there.

Mr. Kirwin

Also known as the Irish magistrate

A benevolent Irish magistrate who investigates Henry Clerval’s murder, arranges Victor’s care and defence, and informs Victor’s father. He understands Victor’s ravings because Victor speaks his native language.

the fisherman who finds Henry’s body

Also known as the first fishing witness

An unnamed fisherman who testifies that he found Henry Clerval’s body on the shore with marks of strangulation.

the fisherman’s son

The son of the fisherman who found Henry’s body; he confirms his father’s account.

Daniel Nugent

The fisherman’s brother-in-law, who testifies that he saw a one-man boat like Victor’s near the shore before Henry’s body was found.

the woman who saw the boat leave

An unnamed woman living near the beach who testifies that she saw a one-man boat push off from where Henry’s body was later found.

the woman whose cottage received Henry’s body

An unnamed woman whose cottage the fishermen carried Henry’s body into while trying to revive him.

the Irish hired nurse

Also known as the old woman in the prison

An indifferent woman hired to nurse Victor in prison; she is the wife of one of the turnkeys.

the turnkey who is the nurse’s husband

The prison turnkey married to Victor’s hired nurse.

the physician who treats Victor in prison

An unnamed physician who prescribes medicine for Victor during his prison illness.

the Geneva criminal judge

An unnamed judge whom Victor approaches after his release, asking him to pursue the creature. The judge doubts the creature can be captured.

the people at the inn

The unnamed people at the inn who gather in terror after Elizabeth is found murdered.

the women who mourn Elizabeth

Unnamed women who weep around Elizabeth’s body at the inn.