Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus characters

Appears from the start

An English explorer writing to his sister from a voyage toward the North Pole. Ambitious and lonely, Walton hopes to make a great discovery but longs for a companion who can understand him. His crew rescues an exhausted stranger from the ice, and Walton records the man's history.

Also known as Mrs. Saville

Appears from the start

Walton's sister in England and the recipient of the letters that frame the narrative. Walton addresses her as a trusted relative who knows both his aspirations and the risks he has accepted.

Appears from the start

A physically ruined traveler rescued by Walton's Arctic expedition while pursuing another figure across the ice. Educated, intense, and initially guarded, he recognizes in Walton the same hunger for achievement that once directed his own life and agrees to explain how it destroyed him.

Appears from the start

Victor's father, a respected citizen of Geneva devoted to his family. He provides Victor with a secure and affectionate upbringing, encourages practical judgment, and later supports his son's studies away from home.

Appears from the start

Victor's mother, the daughter of Alphonse's impoverished friend Beaufort. Her experience of hardship strengthens her concern for people in distress, and she builds a loving household in Geneva after marrying Alphonse.

Also known as Elizabeth Lavenza

Appears from the start

Victor's beloved childhood companion, raised with the Frankenstein family. Gentle, perceptive, and deeply attached to the household, she balances Victor's solitary intellectual drive with an appreciation for human relationships and the natural world.

Appears from the start

Victor's youngest brother, a lively child growing up in the Frankenstein household in Geneva. He is loved by his parents, siblings, and Elizabeth and is still very young when Victor leaves for the university at Ingolstadt.

First appears in chapter 2

Victor's closest boyhood friend, generous, imaginative, and fascinated by languages, history, and heroic literature. Unlike Victor, he is drawn chiefly to human culture rather than natural philosophy and remains loyal despite long separations.

First appears in chapter 3

A professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt who dismisses Victor's early reading in alchemy as obsolete. His blunt contempt embarrasses Victor but also directs him toward the modern scientific curriculum.

First appears in chapter 3

A chemistry professor at Ingolstadt whose warmth and eloquence restore Victor's excitement about scientific study. Waldman respects earlier seekers while explaining the greater powers of modern research, becoming an important intellectual encouragement.

Also known as The Creature, The Monster

First appears in chapter 5

The enormous living being Victor constructs from human remains after discovering how to animate lifeless matter. Victor selected features he thought beautiful, but their combination horrifies him when the being opens its eyes, and he immediately abandons his creation.

First appears in chapter 6

A young woman closely attached to the Frankenstein household, where she once served and was treated with affection. After caring for her own dying mother, she returns to Geneva and is regarded by Elizabeth as a trusted friend rather than merely a servant.

First appears in chapter 12

An elderly blind man living in poverty with his adult children in a cottage. Unable to judge the creature by appearance, he becomes the focus of the creature's hope that patience and speech might win human sympathy.

First appears in chapter 12

De Lacey's son, who works constantly to support the impoverished cottage household. The creature secretly observes his tenderness toward his father and sister and learns the rhythms of family life from him.

First appears in chapter 12

De Lacey's daughter and Felix's sister. She shares the family's labor and sorrow, and her kindness within the cottage helps teach the hidden creature about affection and mutual care.

First appears in chapter 13

A young woman from Turkey who arrives at the De Laceys' cottage and is warmly welcomed by Felix. As the family teaches her French, the creature listens from hiding and advances his own understanding of language and society.