On one hand the creature can be seen as a victim of Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge a he is created against his own will and then rejected by his creator. However, he can also be seen as a victim of society and nature. On the other hand, it can be argued that the creature is rather a villain than a victim as he is physically powerful and is able to use his power. Furthermore, he is able to use his circumstances to benefit himself by leaning the common language and adapting to Nature.

The creature can indeed be considered a victim of Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge. The creature can be considered a “victim” since it implies isolation, oppression and loneliness, all of which the creature is affected by. Thus, the creature is a victim of Victor’s over-ambitious nature. His creation is brought about as a result of Frankenstein’s immense desire to create and “father a monster race”. The monster is a victim of circumstance and questions Victor, “did I request thee… to mold me Man?” Here, it is clear he is a victim since he has not asked for his creation and further rejection. Frankenstein refers to him as a “miserable wretch”, damning him from the start of his creation, calling him “hideous” and “deformed”. The monster has no control over his own life and how he is treated and is therefore a victim of Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge. It can be argued that Frankenstein’s parents were significant in felicitating his ambitions. Frankenstein insinuates that his thirst for knowledge is due to his father’s lack of scientific knowledge as he say “My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child's blindness, added to a student's thirst for knowledge”. Frankenstein clearly blames his father for his failure and furthemore, for lacking as a father figure which may have led to Frankenstein’s rejection of his creation.

While the creature is to an extent, a victim of Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge, he is also a victim of society. Having being rejected by his own creator, he is subsequently rejected by others who see him. Since his own creator refers to him as a “deformity”, it makes sense that society would have the same hostility towards him. Nevertheless, witnessing how well Safie is received by the De Lacey family, the creature longs for the same welcome into society. The creature sees that Safie is “endeavouring to learn their language” and so decides to do the same. However, the harsh reality for him is that because of the way he looks, despite learning the language, he is not accepted as Safie is.

The creature could also be seen to be a victim of nature. He is left to the harshness of Nature without any knowledge of how to survive. When “oppressed by cold”, the creature discovers fire for the first time and revels in the fire providing both light and heat. However, when the fire dies out he “laments” it. He does not know how to restart the fire since he has not been taught the survival skills he ought to have been been from his creator. This is a contrast to Adam in Paradise Lost, who the creature likens himself to, saying he “ought to be thy Adam” but he is “rather the fallen angel”. While God has left his creation, Adam and Eve, with the skills to survive.

On the other hand, it can be argued that the creature is not a victim, and is rather a villain or a “fiend” as often referred to by Frankenstein. This connotes evil and relates to the devil. The creature is physically strong and uses this for his own benefit when murdering those close to Victor. Victor feels threatened by this and when the creature requests a female companion, he considers it before refusing. This demonstrates just how powerful the creature can be. However, whether or not possessing power directly contrasts with being a victim, is debatable. Nevertheless, his brutal murdering of William, Elizabeth and Henry demonstrates how violent he is and that he is certainly no victim. The creature “grasps [William’s] throat to silence him”, since he is related to Frankenstein and is therefore involved by relation. This demonstrates the lengths to which the creature will go to because of the way he has been treated. This is clearly a direct response to his rejection by his creator as he does not know any other way of gaining revenge. In conclusion, while the creature is a “fiend”, it is due to his creator’s rejection of him and alienation from society. Therefore, to a large extent, the creature is a victim of Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge and as Frankenstein says is a “victim of his unhallowed arts”. This is because it is his creation and imminent rejection that cause his isolation from society. He is a victim of circumstance as his surrounding have caused him to be less of a victim and more of a fiend.