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Character analysis · son of old De Lacey, whose family the creature observes and idolises

Felix De Lacey

in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Felix De Lacey is the son of the blind old man De Lacey and the brother of Agatha. The creature secretly observes and idolizes Felix’s family from a nearby hovel. He is the most active and, in the creature's view, the most sorrowful member of the household. Despite this, he keeps a cheerful tone for his father's sake, all while carrying a heavy personal sadness. The creature eventually discovers that this sadness stems from a selfless act: Felix risked everything to save a Turkish merchant who had been wrongfully imprisoned in Paris. Unfortunately, this led to his father and sister being imprisoned in retaliation, resulting in the family's loss of wealth and exile, while the merchant betrayed Felix. The arrival of Safie, the merchant's daughter whom Felix loves, brings a brief moment of joy to his life. Felix also becomes Safie's teacher, reading from Volney's Ruins of Empires and explaining it thoroughly—lessons the creature overhears and uses to learn about human history and society. When the creature finally reveals itself to old De Lacey, Felix returns to find it clinging to his father's knees. In a fit of rage, he pulls the creature away and beats it with a stick. He then leaves the cottage for good, informing the landlord that his father's life is in danger and that his wife and sister will never recover from the trauma. This departure shatters the creature's last hope for human connection and directly leads to its desire for revenge.

About this character

Role
son of old De Lacey, whose family the creature observes and idolises
Form
Novel
Author
Mary Shelley
First published
1818

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Felix De Lacey?

Felix De Lacey is depicted through the creature's observations as the hardest-working and saddest member of a gentle, impoverished family living in a cottage in Germany. The creature learns his name—"Felix, brother, or son"—from its early experiences. Despite his obvious sorrow, Felix speaks cheerfully to his blind father, performs small acts of kindness for Agatha, and works for a neighboring farmer as well as in the family garden. He is also literate and intellectually curious, often reading aloud to his family and later teaching Safie from Volney's Ruins of Empires with detailed explanations.

02·Arc & motivation

What is Felix De Lacey's arc and motivation?

Felix's backstory, detailed in Chapter 14, reveals the source of his sadness. After witnessing the unjust imprisonment of Safie's father, he pledged "to deliver him," obtained passports, and helped the merchant and Safie travel from France to Italy—all at great personal risk. When the French government uncovered the plot, De Lacey and Agatha were imprisoned; Felix turned himself in to try to free them but was unsuccessful, leading to the family's exile and poverty. The merchant then abandoned Felix, sending him a meager amount of money as an insult. Felix embodies both noble self-sacrifice and the painful reality of ingratitude. Safie's arrival in Chapter 13 transforms everything for him: "every trait of sorrow vanished from his face, and it instantly expressed a degree of ecstatic joy." His driving force is love—for his family and for Safie—and a strong, though costly, sense of justice.

03·Key moments

What are Felix De Lacey's key moments?

  • Chapter 12: The creature first identifies Felix by name and notices that he is "always the saddest of the group," yet his voice is "more cheerful than that of his sister, especially when he addressed the old man." Small gestures—like bringing Agatha the first spring flower and clearing her path of snow—reveal his tenderness.
  • Chapter 13: When Safie arrives on horseback, Felix visibly changes; he "seemed ravished with delight," kisses her hand, and calls her his "sweet Arabian." He begins teaching her language using Volney's Ruins of Empires, and the creature overhears these lessons and benefits from them as well.
  • Chapter 14: Felix's full history of sacrifice unfolds—his vow, his secret visits to the prison grate, his efforts to help the fugitives across Europe, his self-surrender to French authorities, and the merchant's ultimate betrayal.
  • Chapter 15: After a walk in the countryside, Felix, Safie, and Agatha return to find the creature clinging to old De Lacey's knees. Felix "darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father" and "struck me violently with a stick."
  • Chapter 16: Felix tells the landlord "the life of my father is in the greatest danger" and that "my wife and my sister will never recover from their horror," then leaves the cottage for good. The creature never sees the De Lacey family again.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Felix De Lacey's most important relationships?

Felix's relationship with his father is filled with tenderness; he reads to him, walks with him, and ultimately sacrifices his freedom in an attempt to rescue him from prison. With Agatha, he shows quiet care by performing domestic tasks for her. His love for Safie is the emotional heart of his story: it initially drove him to risk everything for her father, and her return is what momentarily lifts his spirits after years of hardship. His encounter with the creature marks a turning point for the second half of the novel: the creature had idealized Felix as one of its "protectors" and a model of human virtue, making Felix's violent rejection—though understandable as a father's instinct—the moment that shatters the creature's hope and ignites its fury.

05·Connected characters

How is Felix De Lacey connected to the other characters?

De Lacey

Felix is the devoted son of the blind old man De Lacey; he reads to him daily, walks with him at noon, and surrenders himself to the French authorities in an attempt to free his imprisoned father.

Agatha De Lacey

Agatha is Felix's sister; he tends to her with small acts of care such as bringing her the first spring flower and clearing snow from her path, and her horror after the creature's appearance is one reason he abandons the cottage.

Safie

Safie is the woman Felix loves; he calls her his 'sweet Arabian,' and his joy at her arrival is described as ecstatic, while her father's treachery in separating them is the deepest source of his earlier misery.

The Creature

The creature watches Felix for months with admiration and longing, but when it reveals itself Felix beats it with a stick and drives it away, an act the creature later cites as a defining injustice that fuelled its hatred of humanity.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Felix De Lacey

Why is Felix so melancholy when the creature first observes him?

As Chapter 14 explains, Felix gave up his family's safety and wealth to rescue Safie's father from wrongful imprisonment in Paris. In return, the merchant betrayed him—leaving him behind, taking Safie back, and sending only a small amount of money. The pain of losing Safie and the damage done to his family because of his virtuous act are portrayed as "misfortunes more bitter and irreparable" than mere poverty.

What role does Felix play in the creature's self-education?

Felix teaches Safie how to speak and reads to her from Volney's Ruins of Empires, giving detailed explanations of what he's reading. Meanwhile, the creature, hidden in its hovel, absorbs these lessons to understand human history, society, property, and government. This knowledge intensifies its desire for companionship and amplifies its pain from being shut out of humanity.

How does Felix react when he discovers the creature in the cottage?

In Chapter 15, Felix comes back with Safie and Agatha to discover the creature clinging to his father's knees. He "darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father," then "struck me violently with a stick," only stopping when the creature, overwhelmed by pain and anguish, ran away.

What is the significance of Felix's relationship with Safie to the plot?

Felix loves Safie, and that love drives him to rescue her father. The promise of marrying her keeps him going during his struggles. When Safie finally arrives at the cottage, it brings Felix joy and gives the creature a chance to learn language and history from their lessons together — her presence sparks the creature's education and, indirectly, influences its later actions.

How does the creature regard Felix, and does that view change?

The creature initially views Felix as one of its "protectors" and thinks he is "excellent," valuing his gentle demeanor and small acts of kindness. However, after Felix strikes it and the family flees, the creature's admiration turns into resentment. Later, it questions Walton about why he doesn't hate Felix, who drove his friend away with scorn—framing Felix's rejection as one of the injustices that led it down a path of crime.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Felix as an ironic moral exemplar

    He is portrayed as virtuous and self-sacrificing, yet his impulsive violence against the creature triggers the novel's tragic cycle of revenge—raising questions about whether good intentions suffice for moral action.

  • The limits of sympathy

    Felix's story illustrates how sympathy often has boundaries; he extends it to a stranger (the Turkish merchant) but cannot extend it to the creature, suggesting Shelley's critique of selective human compassion.

  • Education and its double edge

    Felix's lessons to Safie inadvertently teach the creature about history, society, and "the sanguinary laws of man," which the creature claims taught it "to work mischief," making Felix an unwitting agent in the creature's radicalization.

  • Ingratitude and disillusionment

    The Turk's betrayal of Felix parallels, in a smaller way, the creature's sense of abandonment by Victor, inviting a comparison between the two figures wronged by those they served.

  • Domestic virtue versus the monstrous

    The De Lacey cottage symbolizes an ideal of humble, affectionate domesticity that the creature can never be part of; Felix, as its most active male figure, embodies what the creature can never attain.

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