As a result of each character's childhood circumstances, Victor becomes a selfish adult who does not understand consequences and the creature's natural kindness develops into vengeful misery. Because Victor was never denied anything as a child, he grows up to be a self-centered being. While during his childhood he supposedly receives lessons of "patience, of charity, and of self-control, [he] was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed but one train of enjoyment to [him]"(19) and, as a result, he never makes any mistakes and does not learn that there are in fact consequences to his actions. The creation of the monster itself is a selfish act that results from his pampered childhood because he never considers that there might be particulars of some sort for the rest of humanity or even for himself. Because he develops this feeling of his own invincibility, when he decides to "unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation" (33), he is really only thinking of his own personal glory as a scientist and fails to recognize the possible problems that controlling nature to this extent can bring. His reaction to discovering his God-like ability to bestow the gift of life is "delight and rapture" in his own power (37), rather than concern about the far-reaching effects of such power. His arrogance extends further when he bestows life upon his creature and, instead of taking responsibility for his creation, he selfishly runs away and does not concern himself with the details of the creature's whereabouts. Once he does finally meet the creature, he has little compassion for him because he cannot understand the feelings of someone who has been repeatedly denied love. Furthermore, Victor does not seem to truly understand the creature's desire for a companion because he has had Elizabeth since childhood. His parents presented Elizabeth to him as his "promised gift" and he has always known that "till death she was to be [his] only" (21), so he has never felt the lonely isolation that the creature does constantly. On the contrary, Victor often chooses to isolate himself from those who love him and separates himself from the companionship that the creature wants.
Also developing adult characteristics as a result of his childhood, the creature changes from his naturally kind state as a child to an angry, embittered adult because of his neglected "childhood". In contrast to Victor, the creature is denied everything he needs, especially love and acceptance, necessities that Victor has in abundance. Once the creature grows up and learns the origins of his creation, he has already experienced much rejection based on his hideous appearance and is already miserable because of the companionship that he lacks. As he reads Victor's journal detailing his creation, he becomes even angrier and refers to the "hateful day when [he] received life" and bitterly curses his creator (113). After experiencing further rejection from the De Lacey family and the father of the little girl who he saves, his anger intensifies and he becomes vengeful towards his creator. The creature's misery and the events leading up to it are a direct result of Victor's neglect to take responsibility both before and after the creature was given life. In the cases of both Victor and the creature, early life conditions negatively influence each character as an adult.
Victor's and the creature's individual faults arising from their upbringings ultimately lead to their mutual destruction. Victor's selfishness and the creature's vengefulness as adults lead to the deaths of those close to Victor. Because Victor denies the creature everything from love and compassion to acceptance, the creature's anger deepens and he is driven to kill Victor's brother William as punishment. William's death consequently causes the death of innocent Justine who is believed to be guilty of his murder. These deaths occur because Victor grew up without understanding of consequences and he, as a result, selfishly denied the creature of the necessities that would have prevented him from committing such abhorrent crimes. By killing Victor's closest friend Henry Clerval and then Elizabeth, his lifelong companion, the creature continues to act on his vengeful feelings because Victor continues to deny him necessities and destroys the monster's own future companion before his eyes. The creature resorts to this life of dejection and violence because of his childhood of neglect and the resulting adult rejection he later experiences. Even after the monster has started to kill and he has expressed his bitter sentiments to Victor, Victor does realize that he has "drawn down a horrible curse upon [his] head," but still sees himself as guiltless and does not acknowledge that he could have prevented this misery if he had only taken responsibility for his actions and had not been out for scientific glory. The monster's final revenge on Victor, leading him through the arctic regions, eventually leads to both of their deaths. Because of Victor's selfishness, the creature feels the need to lead him on a physically and emotionally draining journey that causes Victor's health to decline and finally Victor's death. Once Victor has died and the creature no longer has a reason to live in his loveless, companionless state of existence, he vows to put himself out of his misery and die.
Victor's overindulgent childhood and the monster's emotionally dry upbringing lead to the destruction of those close to them and, eventually, their own tragic death.
While the creature's barren childhood sharply differs from Victor's supposedly ideal upbringing, both situations lead to problems for both characters as adults and ultimately lead to each's destruction. Shelley presents these two opposing experiences, but she sets both the "ideal" and the blatantly horrific up to fail and lead to death and misery. She suggests that maybe what seems like an ideal child rearing method when the child is given everything he could ever want really raises an adult who is self-involved and inconsiderate of the world around him. Shelley further uses the far-reaching effects of these extreme childhoods through the entirety of the characters' lives to imply the importance of a balanced upbringing to create a balanced adult. Shelley expresses through her novel that it is essential to have all of these elements in order to survive in the world.
