Victor's Decisions In Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s Decisions
First of all, I would like to start off by asking a question. Why must it be that when bad things happen to a character, it is always a result of the actions precisely in that span of time leading up to their demise? I say nay, in order for us to truly understand the magnitude of these consequences we need to look back upon past routes taken. This is the method of analysis that I have chosen to use in determining the reasons behind the downfall of Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein was all about making the easy choice, especially when it came to dealing with his problems. The first instance of Victor taking the easy way out occurs when he travels to Geneva instead of grieving with his family over the death of
his mother. This would prove to be a pivotal moment in his social ideals, in that he would begin to separate himself from others and start himself on the downward spiral that was his insanity. By walling himself off, we see a man who cannot truly associate himself with others, and all of these factors come to fruition on his wedding night, where he is preparing himself for the monster's attack. During this time he does not think of anybody but himself and the monster takes advantage of that and kills his wife and inadvertently causes his father to have a heart attack and die. It is plain to see that if Victor had thought about anybody else people might have been saved, but because he made the easy choice to only care about himself, he is now stuck with the all consuming guilt that he had a hand to play in the death of most of his family. Another instance in which Victor decides to take the easy way out is when he refuses to acknowledge his creation after he is "born".
By shaming him and freaking out when he sees him, he immediately sends a bad message, in that he shows that he does not want him to be a part of his life. This scars his creation into thinking he is some kind of monster, which in reality some could argue that he is correct in his characterization. But, this did not have to be the case as if Victor made the harder decision to look after his creation he would not have been put in the difficult situation that he arrived at in the Arctic. This is an important argument that is conceived when discussing nature vs. nurture. In this instance it can be difficult to raise this "newborn", but in order to accurately mold him into the being that he wants, or society wants, he must make the harder choice to stay with his creation. Unfortunately for his creation, Victor bails on him and we see that this was an extremely detrimental time in the monster's life. Imagine, that even before you were able to understand signs, expressions, or even words, your caregiver immediately throws you out. I can only imagine, that would be pretty scary for most of us. This easy choice by Victor plays right into the hand of fate, and sets him on a road with which there is only a dead end…. By also playing god, he decidedly shows his lack of foresight into the events that take place against his will. Victor should have
considered the ramifications of assembling parts of dead people in case he actually brought one to life. This was yet another one of his infamous easy choices that insofar they have brought him nothing but grief. A third decision that both antagonized the reader and Frankenstein's creation was when he decided to broker a deal with his creation to make him a wife.
As if he hadn't learned from the first time he tries this, he gives the monster false hope and only adds fuel to the fire when the monster sees that he is going to be alone on this earth. By showing him hope, Victor is making the easy choice to not confront his creation in the woods and take his punishment like a man. (Even though these wounds may have been a bit more catastrophic than most of ours). Instead, he chooses to further anger this beast (at this point, the creation has devolved into a beast, no matter if he has the grammar of a 19th century novelist) by destroying his wife in front of him. This would prove to be a grave mistake, as he unleashes this monster unto the world without a thought for anyone's safety but his own. This is an example of the level of ignorance that Victor is living up
to. A lesson to be learned from Victor is stated perfectly by Sister Aloysius when she says, "Every easy choice today has its consequences tomorrow. Mark my word". And that cryptic phrase holds true throughout Frankenstein and through every choice that Victor makes, be it personal, social, or through overall lack of compassion. Victor Frankenstein is the ideal character to showcase bad decisions because he does not value the life that he has created, nor the lives of those around him until it matters most to him.