The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is William Frankenstein?
William Frankenstein is the youngest child of Alphonse Frankenstein and, at the time the novel takes place, is cared for by a household that includes Elizabeth Lavenza and Justine Moritz. Elizabeth's letter in Chapter 6 provides the only physical description: he is tall for his age, has "sweet laughing blue eyes, dark eyelashes, and curling hair," rosy cheeks that dimple when he smiles, and a favorite playmate named "Louisa Biron," a five-year-old girl. He is portrayed as universally cherished — "our darling and our pride," according to Ernest — and as the embodiment of innocent domestic joy.
02·Arc & motivation
What is William Frankenstein's arc and motivation?
William doesn't have a character arc; he appears in the novel primarily as an object of love and later as a figure of mourning. His role is structural: his murder transforms Victor's private horror at his creation into a public tragedy with real victims. Because William is so clearly innocent and loved, his death underscores the full moral weight of Victor's wrongdoing.
03·Key moments
What are William Frankenstein's key moments?
- Chapter 6: Elizabeth's letter describes William as a living embodiment of childhood joy, setting up the tenderness the reader is meant to feel before the devastating event occurs.
- Chapter 7 (Alphonse's letter): The shocking announcement "William is dead!—that sweet child, whose smiles delighted and warmed my heart, who was so gentle, yet so gay! Victor, he is murdered!" marks the novel's first major catastrophe. The letter also reveals that Elizabeth had given William a miniature portrait of Caroline Beaufort on the night he was killed, and that the picture was later found missing from his body — a detail that will implicate Justine.
- Chapter 7 (Victor at Plainpalais): Upon returning to Geneva, Victor visits the site of the murder during a storm and cries out, "William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!" A flash of lightning then reveals the creature, leading Victor to conclude, "He was the murderer!"
- Chapter 8: Victor privately knows the creature is guilty but fears being thought mad if he speaks out; he watches as Justine is convicted and executed, referring to William and Justine as "the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts."
- Chapter 24: At the cemetery, Victor kneels over the graves of William, Elizabeth, and his father, swearing an oath of vengeance. In his final address to Walton, he names William first among those the creature has destroyed.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are William Frankenstein's most important relationships?
William's connection with Elizabeth is the most significant aspect of his life presented in the novel: she loved him as "that lovely darling boy," and her choice to let him wear the miniature on the night of his death becomes her source of guilt — "O God! I have murdered my darling child!" — and the circumstantial evidence that leads to Justine's conviction. His relationship with the creature is strictly that of victim and killer; the missing miniature is referred to as "the temptation which urged the murderer to the deed," though no further details about the creature's motives are provided. His relationship with Victor is posthumous: Victor never sees William alive during the novel's present action, and William becomes a symbol of guilt for him, a name he cries out into storms and mutters in fever.
05·Connected characters
How is William Frankenstein connected to the other characters?
Study06–07
06·Questions
Questions readers ask about William Frankenstein
What does William look like?
Elizabeth's letter describes him as being tall for his age, with bright blue eyes that sparkle with laughter, dark eyelashes, and curly hair. He has rosy cheeks and two dimples that appear when he smiles.
How and when is William killed?
Alphonse's letter in Chapter 7 mentions that on the evening of May 7, William took a walk with the family at Plainpalais. He sprinted ahead with Ernest to play hide and seek, but he was found dead around five in the morning, lying on the grass, pale and still, with a fingerprint from the murderer on his neck.
Why is Justine suspected of William's murder?
A servant searching Justine's clothing discovered the miniature portrait of Caroline Beaufort in her pocket. William had worn this portrait the night he died, and it was previously noted as missing from his body, leading to the assumption that it was the murderer's motive.
Who does Victor believe killed William, and why?
Victor becomes convinced that the creature is the murderer when he visits Plainpalais during a storm in Chapter 7. A flash of lightning illuminates the creature's enormous, distorted figure near the scene. Victor concludes that "nothing in human shape could have destroyed the fair child."
What role does the miniature portrait play in William's death?
Elizabeth let William wear a valuable miniature of Victor's mother on the night he was killed. The portrait went missing and was seen as the likely temptation that drove the murderer to commit the act. Its later discovery in Justine's pocket directly leads to her wrongful conviction.
How does William's death affect Elizabeth?
Elizabeth blames herself, crying out, "O God! I have murdered my darling child!" because she lent William the miniature. She weeps continuously and is so transformed by grief that she finds no joy in her usual activities; every bit of pleasure feels like a sacrilege to the deceased.
Is William's name mentioned after his death, or does the novel move on?
William's name appears repeatedly in the novel, symbolizing Victor's guilt. Victor cries it out into the storm at Plainpalais, refers to himself as "the murderer of William" during his feverish rants (Chapter 21), mentions William in his deathbed confession to his father (Chapter 22), kneels at his grave to vow revenge (Chapter 24), and lists him first in his final plea to Walton.
07·Essay angles
Use this in your essay
Tool · Essay angles
The miniature as plot mechanism and symbol
Guilt and displacement
William's name as refrain