A professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt. He dismisses Victor’s study of the alchemists as wasted time and encourages him to begin his studies anew.

(a)  

The professor of chemistry who sparks Victor’s interest in science. He dismisses the alchemists’ conclusions as unfounded but sympathizes with Victor’s interest in a science that can explain the “big questions,” such as the origin of life.

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The magistrate who accuses Victor of Henry’s murder.

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Victor’s father, very sympathetic toward his son. He consoles Victor in moments of pain and encourages him to remember the importance of family.

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A merchant and friend of Victor’s father; the father of Caroline Beaufort.

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A young girl adopted into the Frankenstein household while Victor is growing up. she is blamed and executed for William’s murder, which is actually committed by the monster.

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An orphan, four to five years younger than Victor, whom the Frankensteins adopt. Victor’s mother rescues her from a destitute peasant cottage in Italy. She embodies the novel’s motif of passive women, as she waits patiently for Victor’s attention.

(a)  

Victor’s boyhood friend, who nurses Victor back to health in Ingolstadt. After working unhappily for his father, he begins to follow in Victor’s footsteps as a scientist. His cheerfulness counters Victor’s moroseness.

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Victor’s youngest brother and the darling of the Frankenstein family. The monster strangles him in the woods outside Geneva in order to hurt Victor for abandoning him. His death deeply saddens Victor and burdens him with tremendous guilt about having created the monster.

(a)  

The eight-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation of Victor Frankenstein. Intelligent, eloquent, and sensitive, who attempts to integrate himself into human social patterns, but all who see him shun him. His feeling of abandonment compels him to seek revenge against his creator.

(a)  

The doomed protagonist and narrator of the main portion of the story. Studying in Ingolstadt, he discovers the secret of life and creates an intelligent but grotesque monster, from whom he recoils in horror. He keeps his creation of the monster a secret, feeling increasingly guilty and ashamed as he realizes how helpless he is to prevent the monster from ruining his life and the lives of others.

(a)  

A family of peasants, including a blind old man, De Lacey; his son and daughter, Felix and Agatha; and a foreign woman named Safie. The monster learns how to speak and interact by observing them. When he reveals himself to them, hoping for friendship, they beat him and chase him away.

(a)