Victor is also a villain in a Archetype sense. Victor was trying to play god, when he created the creature, and that is something he shouldn't have done, because humans can't become too powerful, even though they always try. Victor became so obsessed with creating life, that it clouded his judgment, and took up all of his time and energy. On page 66, just before Justine's trial, Victor thought to himself, "During the whole of this wretched mockery of justice I suffered living torture. It was to be whether the result of my curiosity and lawless devices would cause the death of two of my fellow beings." This line shows two things, first Victor knew that Justine, and William's death was his fault. Also, he knew that his experiments, shouldn't have been done, and were against the laws of nature and god. On page 39, Victor says, "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me." This quote shows how Victor wanted to be like a god. He wanted to be admired, and praised as a species creator. And this want is another reason he was the real villain of Frankenstein.
Finally, Victor is the Gothic villain of Frankenstein. In order to see this, Victor and the creature must be viewed as a part of a bigger character, not actually in the novel. Victor and The creature are different parts of the same person. Victor is the conscious part of the greater person, while the creature is the subconscious part. When Walton describes Victor he says, "I never saw a more interesting creature: his eyes have generally an expression of wildness, and even madness; but there are moments when, if anyone performs an act of kindness towards him, or does him any the most trifling service, his whole countenance is lighted up, as it were, with a beam of benevolence and sweetness that I never saw equaled." This description shows Victor at both extremes of the greater being's personality. He is a man and beast, sensible yet mad, fluent and silent, benevolent and despairing. The creature can also share those characteristics, showing even more how the two characters are the same.
Although, Victor doesn't realize it, he wants William dead. On Elizabeth's letter to him, she writes, "I must say also a few words to you, my dear cousin, of little darling William. I wish you could see him; he is very tall of his age, with sweet laughing blue eyes, dark eyelashes, and curling hair. When he smiles, two little dimples appear on each cheek, which are rosy with health." Victor is jealous of William because of all the attention he gets. Victor thinks of Elizabeth as a mother figure, and wants all of his "mothers" love for himself. The creature suits Victor's need to get William out of the picture, so subconsciously, Victor leaves his notes, including his families location, for the creature to find. After a while, Victor also needs Elizabeth killed. This is because they are supposed to be married, but Victor doesn't feel comfortable marrying someone who is like a parent to him. This is best expressed in one of Victor's dreams, ". . .I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel." Because of this need to have Elizabeth dead, Victor marries her prompting the creature to kill her. So although, Victor isn't the one actually doing the killing, his subconscious ideas are the things that lead to Elizabeth and William's death.
Although most people assume that in Frankenstein, the creature is the killer, the truth is that it is the converse. Victor is the real killer. He is the killer when the novel is viewed on three different symbolic levels, as a Romantic novel, Archetype novel, or a Gothic novel. On the romantic level, Victor is the villain because he abandons the creature and leaves it to fend for itself. The creature is miserable and just wants a friend, but was abandoned by Victor making it almost impossible. On the Archetype level, Victor is the villain because he tries to play god. He wants to be worshipped like a god, by creating his own species, and creating life from plain matter. But in doing so, Victor disturbed the natural order of things. Finally, Victor is the villain on the Gothic level. There he is the villain, because he and the creature are part of a greater being, and Victor's subconscious wants William and Elizabeth dead, which is why the monster kills them. Despite the fact that Victor didn't physically murder anyone, he was the villain of the novel.
