- Victor Frankenstein was born in Naples and grew up in Geneva, Switzerland. His father, Alphonse, and his mother, Caroline, first became close when Alphonse's friend and Caroline's father, Beaufort, died. Alphonse became Caroline's protector, and eventually married her
- Victor's childhood is innocent and perfect. His family life is perfect domestic bliss
- When he was five, his mother discovered a beautiful blond orphan girl named Elizabeth in an Italian village and adopted her
- Victor, his parents, and all the Frankensteins adored Elizabeth. She became to him a "more than sister." The two children referred to each other as cousins, rather than brother and sister.
- Victor describes his perfect childhood. He and Elizabeth got along very well, though she favoured poetry while he longed to unravel the "physical secrets" of life, including the "hidden laws of nature."
- An early hint at Victor's dangerous ambition, and his innocent belief that man is powerful and wise enough to comprehend nature.
- In addition to Elizabeth, Victor shares a close friendship with Henry Clerval, his well-read schoolmate. Like Victor, Clerval has a "soaring ambition" to leave his mark on human history.
- like Victor, Henry is also too young and innocent not to see the vanity of his ambitions.
- As he grows up, Victor becomes fascinated with "natural philosophy,"
- He reads widely among the thinkers in this field who want to see the "citadel of nature."
- Nature is portrayed as vulnerable to man. This antagonistic relationship between Victor and nature goes badly
- One day, when Victor observes lightning strike a tree, he realises that the laws of science are beyond human understanding and decides to focus on studies based in fact, like mathematics, rather than natural philosophy. Yet he notes that he eventually returned to it, leading to his "utter and terrible destruction."
- Romantic writers viewed Nature as a sublime force beyond the power or understanding of man. Here Victor senses that too. But his final comment indicates that his ambition overcomes his sense, resulting in disaster.
- Just before Victor turns seventeen, Elizabeth catches scarlet fever and passes it on to Victor's mother, she dies. Her dying wish is for Victor and Elizabeth to marry. Victor says goodbye to Clerval, Elizabeth, and his father and leaves to study at Ingolstadt, a university in Germany.
- Victor's perfect family suffers its first pain. He continues with his quest for knowledge at University.
- He meets with his professor of natural philosophy, M. Krempe, who tells Victor that his previous studies have all been a waste of time. Yet Victor then attends a class with M. Waldman, a chemistry professor, whose lecture on the power and recent successes of science inspire Victor to dedicate himself to revealing "to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." The next day Victor visits Waldman, who supports him.
- Victor's ambition is both to gain glory and an innocent desire to aid society through his scientific achievements. Victor ignores Krempe just as Walton ignores Victor: both are blinded by ambition. Maybe the death of Victor's mother is the catalyst to his ambition.
- Victor becomes so caught up in natural philosophy that he ignores everything else, including his family. He progresses rapidly, and suddenly after two years of work he discovers the secret to creating life.
- Victor's intense focus allows him to fulfill his ambition and conquer nature, but also cuts him off from society.
- Victor decides to build a race of beings, starting with one creature. He spends months alone in his apartment building a body to reanimate, spurred on by the lure of fame and glory, imagining a "new species" that will obey him as its creator.
- Cut off from society, Victor seeks glory rather than what's best for society. He foolishly believes he can replace Nature (and God) as the creator of a species.
