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makesomethinguseful-yt · 6 days ago

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most men in gothic lit are autistic, Including Jekyll and Hyde.

The demons compelled me to write an essay explaining why I think that Victor Frankenstein is autistic.

(Essay below the cut, or just read it on AO3)

Frankenstein through an autistic lens (2145 words) by Dragon_Shark28 Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley, Lisa Frankenstein (2024) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Henry Clerval & Victor Frankenstein & Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor Frankenstein & Frankenstein's Creature Characters: Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Creature, Henry Clerval, Elizabeth Lavenza Additional Tags: Essays, Autistic Victor Frankenstein, i wrote this in the span of two days, the demons compelled me Summary: A behavioral analysis I wrote on why the character of Victor Frankenstein most likely has autism spectrum disorder (the man named Victor Frankenstein has been consuming my life and he definitely is a bit silly and most of his behavior can be explained with autism!)

Frankenstein Vs. Autism

Narcissistic, selfish, immoral. These are all words commonly used to describe Victor Frankenstein but they are also used to describe autistic people. Autism is common, much more than many people think. Most people know someone with the condition personally, a friend, family member, classmate, or figure in their life. Many people assume that they can immediately tell if someone is autistic but this is far from the truth. Autistic people do something called ‘masking’ - a trait that is prevalent across the neurodivergent family. Masking is the adoption of social practices, such as eye contact, facial expressions, and speaking when expected, to name a few. 2.2% of people in the U.S. are diagnosed, but the number is certainly much higher because of gender bias and lack of access to resources. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is a heavily debated book in classic horror literature. Whether people are discussing how it could be an allegory for teen pregnancy or the similarities between the creature and titular character as the book progresses, chances are his neurodivergent traits will be mentioned, even if that isn’t what they are identified as. Many people use these reasons to dislike Victor since many of his behaviors are seen as odd or socially rude. Victor shows many traits of autism throughout the book, both internally and externally.

A special interest is a longtime obsession that most autistic people have, such as Pokèmon or human anatomy/injury to name an example. Victor speaks about his childhood, “My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately…It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in it highest sense, the physical secrets of the world” (Shelly 23). Some people will attempt to learn everything they can about their special interest while others are content just vibing along and collecting objects or things that relate to it. Victor falls into the former category, adoring chemistry and biology - perhaps to an unhealthy level. He longs to learn of these topics instead of playing like his peers do, causing him to not have many friends. While similar to a hyperfixation, a special interest can last months or often years. When speaking about his university days, Victor says,”From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, became nearly my sole occupation. I read with ardour those works, so full of genius and discrimination, which modern inquirers have written on these subjects. I attended the lectures and cultivated the acquaintance of the men of science of the university…My application was at first fluctuating and uncertain; it gained strength as I proceeded and soon became so ardent and eager that the stars often disappeared in the light of morning whilst I was yet engaged in my laboratory” (Shelly 37). Victor quite obviously loves chemistry more than anything else in the world. He goes to every lecture and class that the University of Ingolstadt hosts.

Autistic people often have issues connecting to other people on an emotional level. After he returns home from Ingolstadt, he says, “Ernest began to weep as he said these words. “Do not,” said I, “welcome me thus; try to be more calm, that I may not be absolutely miserable the moment I enter my father’s house after so long an absence” (Shelly 48). Ernest just lost his brother whom he was very close to. He was playing with William when he ran away and was murdered and certainly blames himself for it. Victor is unable to understand the cause of his brother’s distress and is only frustrated because it causes him to become upset as well.

Low empathy often causes people to find their own emotions and desires more important than others’. When Victor goes to visit the condemned Justine, he states, “During this conversation I had retired to a corner of the prison room, where I could conceal the horrid anguish that possessed me. Despair! Who dared talk of that? The poor victim, who on the morrow was to pass the awful boundary between life and death, felt not, as I did, such deep and bitter agony” (Shelly 74). He is extremely upset by his inner turmoil because of how his younger brother Ernest died since their servant Justine has been burdened with the blame of the crime and shall soon be put to death. He can’t relate to her struggle and pain because he doesn’t believe that it can compare to his. The knowledge that his creation killed his younger brother but he can’t tell anyone for fear of being called crazy weighs heavily on him.

Many people with autism have difficulty making friends or simply choose not to. When Victor is speaking about his childhood, he says, “It was my temper to avoid a crowd and to attach myself fervently to a few. I was indifferent, there-fore, to my school-fellows in general” (Shelly 23). Most neurotypical children easily form bonds with their peers because they understand how they’re supposed to act but neurodivergent children often have more difficulty with this process because they may act or speak in a way that repels people. Victor has no desire to form friendships with children his age because he can’t connect with them, as he says “It was my temper” (Shelly 23). His passion for science isn’t something that most children his age share.

However, when autistic people do choose to form friendships, they often connect in a very deep way, forming strong emotional bonds.Victor also mentions, “But I united myself in the bonds of the closest friendship to one among them. Henry Clerval was the son of a merchant of Geneva” (Shelly 23). The behavior of choosing one or two people to attach themself to is common for autistic people, since it can help them mask better. Victor chooses someone who matches his freak, albeit in a different direction. While Victor obsesses over science, Henry desires to become a name in history - a heroic figure.

Many autistic people hyperfixation on one thing - depriving themself of self-care and anything besides their topic of focus until their obsession has run its course. When Victor talks about creating the creature, he says,”I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour. My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement…Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves sights which before always yielded me supreme delight so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation” (Shelly 40-42). Victor sets his sights on creating a race of beings invulnerable to disease and death and he’ll be damned if that isn’t what he does. He deprives himself of health and company so he can finish his experiment, certainly without realizing the effects on his body until later. When their brain gets bored of their fixation, people will often feel disgust or distress at their topic they so strongly fixated on such as Victor’s anger at his creation. When the creature comes to life, Victor says, “Whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form…I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelly 43). The Creature no longer tickles his brain in a way that feels good, added by the disappointment of not executing him to the expectation he held. He expected one thing and when that expectation wasn’t met, he couldn’t fit it properly into the reality he knew.

Autistic people often have a difficult time understanding sarcasm, even if they can wield it themself. In the first chapter of the book, Victor says, “She presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine-mine to protect, love, and cherish” (Shelly 21). While this could simply be a child’s simplistic perspective on life, many children understand levels of simple exaggeration at the age of five - the age Victor was when this occurred. Victor however, held this belief until his death, while a neurotypical person would certainly have realized the true meaning of her words by the time they reached adulthood. To many readers, the point after Victor disassembles the Creature’s half-built wife’s effect is clear - the Creature intends to kill Victor’s fiance Elizebeth on their wedding night but to Victor however, it is the opposite.Before the creature leaves after Victor kills his mate, he says,”It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night.”… All was again silent, but his words rang in my ears. I burned with rage to pursue the murderer of my peace and precipitate him into the ocean…And then I thought again of his words - “I will be with you on your wedding-night." That, then, was the period fixed for the fulfillment of my destiny. In that hour I should die and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice” (Shelly 158). Victor takes what the creature says at face value - believing that the Creature plans to face him in a final showdown. This is another example of Victor taking things too literally despite the true subtext being clear - at least to a neurotypical. Despite that it makes sense for his wife to be killed as punishment for the creature’s wife dying - an eye for an eye - Victor believes he must face the creature for the final time, face his sins.

Stims are self soothing or stimulating movements that everyone performs although it’s increased in autistic and adhd people. Captain Robert Walton describes Victor, “Does him any the most trifling service, his (Victor) whole countenance is lighted up, as it were, with a beam of benevolence and sweetness that I never saw equalled. But he is generally melancholy and despairing; and sometimes he gnashes his teeth, as if impatient of the weight of woes that oppresses him” (Shelly 11). Victor’s most obvious stim is his teeth gnashing. He does this oral stim throughout the book whenever he feels a strong emotion - most commonly anger or sadness. Victor has a kind soul but an offsetting personality and most likely depression.

Autistic people often stim when they don’t know what to do in a situation.

Victor lurks in a corner to avoid excess stimulation when he states, “The poor victim, who on the morrow was to pass the dreary boundary between life and death, felt not as I did, such deep and bitter agony. I gnashed my teeth, and ground them together, uttering a groan that came from my inmost soul” (Shelly 74). This is both an example of Victor’s low empathy and stimming. He doesn’t know how to deal with his internal conflict, turning subconsciously stimming to regulate himself.

Autistic people have always existed since the beginning of the human race - or perhaps even earlier in Neanderthals or our primate relatives. Even though the label of ‘autistic’ didn’t exist in Mary Shelly’s time, that certainly doesn’t mean that people with the disorder didn’t. Throughout time, they have been called anything from changings or fae to the r slur. Most people don’t like it when someone doesn’t conform to the social standards and neurodivergent people still die for it today. It’s also important to note that neurodivergent is a wide label and doesn’t just include the identities of autism, adhd, anxiety, and depression. People who have cluster disorders such as bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and antisocial personality disorder, people with tic disorders, and dys disorders all fall under the neurodivergent spectrum. The term simply means that your brain doesn’t function like a “normal” brain does, which means that Victor Frankenstein almost certainly was neurodivergent. Other popular speculations in the gothic literature community include narcissistic personality disorder and bipolar disorder. Autism spectrum disorder makes the most sense however, due to the multitude of symptoms that Victor presents throughout the book, autism spectrum disorder seems to be the most likely. The quotes in this are all taken from the 1831 version of the text as opposed to the 1818 version, which is more focused on the hubris of man and therefore, certainly has more evidence to support Victor Frankenstein being on the Autism spectrum.

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