Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein"

Poor Justine.

With every aspect of her situation, the character Justine evokes pity from the reader.  She was unloved by her own mother who, once all her other children had passed, considered herself "childless".  Thus far in the novel, she has also been supposedly wrongly accused of William's murder.  In this however, Victor's character gets called into the question.  According to him, he was assured Justine did not commit this crime.  He knew without doubt that she was innocent.  Yet, he just stands by and comments on how awful the situation has become.  At one point, he even claims how this is all his fault as the creator of the wretch that he believed killed his young brother.  "Justine also was a girl of merit, and possessed qualities which promised to render her life happy; now all was to be obliterated in an ignominious grave, and I the cause!  A thousand time rather would I have confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine" (Shelley, 54).  Though he was not there and would hold no merit as being the murderer, he still has more power than anyone else to prove Justine innocent.  And, as he has consistently self-characterized himself, his character should not allow him to watch an innocent woman be condemned.  Yet, this is exactly what he does.  Therefore, Victor may not be the perfectly good man he has described himself to be.