In classic Gothic Literature, there’s often a reoccurring theme of a heroine being threatened by a tyrannical male. In Frankenstein, there isn’t really the main heroine character but Shelley exhibits a tyrannical male through Frankenstein in a powerful way by telling the events from his perspective. Dr. Frankenstein qualifies as a tyrannical male because he comes from a background of privilege, is driven by the idea of greatness, he puts the females in his life (and everyone in his life) in grave danger and at his core, he’s a coward.
Frankenstein, as he admits himself, had many reasons to be happy. He was wealthy, well educated, had a great friend and wonderful fiance. Still, he takes it for granted and wants more. This greed for more ultimately destroyed everything he has. By being ungrateful for what he has, he subjects everyone in his life to his tyranny.
His desire for knowledge could have been altruistic, but instead, it is focused on his own desire for power. He wants to be a creator of a master race, hinting at a desire to own other humans. This idea of greatness motivated him to make his greatest act of tyranny, making the monster.
Lastly, he was a coward which put everyone in danger. At the creation of his monster, he ran away in fear. This was cruel to the childlike monster. Then when he had the opportunity to acquit the Justine, he held his tongue out of fear for his own skin. On his wedding night, he allows Elizabeth to be murdered because he was worried about his own safety. Once he has lost everything he gathers the courage to track down the monster but then he ultimately fails.
This transformation into the tyrant makes us less likely to relate to him as we might to a sympathetic heroine but rather serves as a cautionary tale. The real horror isn’t the monster, it is Frankenstein’s self-destructive plummet into being a gothic tyrannical male.
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