Obsession

It is very clear in Frankenstein that Victor Frankenstein has an obsession with life. The Frankenstein family was very close and had good familial values. Victor had a pretty good life growing up and loved his family dearly. I think that a major part of the book that set the stage for Victor’s obsession with creating life was when his mother died of scarlet fever. This experience was very hard for Victor and his departure from home shortly after didn’t help.

The death of Victor’s mother is brought up later in the novel when his cousin Elizabeth writes to him when he is ill. On page 40, “Surely, Victor, you must have been exceedingly ill; and this makes us all very wretched, as much so nearly as after the death of your dear mother.” The loss of Victor’s mother, Elizabeth’s aunt, is obviously still on the hearts and minds of the family. There is another illness mentioned in Elizabeth’s letter on page 42, “When my dearest aunt died, every one was too much occupied in their own grief to notice poor Justine…” There is so much emphasis on poor health and dying in this novel and I think it is part of what drove Victor to want to create life.

What other factors fed Frankenstein’s obsession?

Why would someone that grew up with such a close family choose solitude later in life?